One of the highest-rated restaurants in the city has reopened at the former home of a renowned chocolate shop in The Lanes.

The Witchez has opened its doors to customers in Meeting House Lane, Brighton, after moving into the old site of Choccywoccydoodah.

The chocolate shop closed suddenly in 2019 due to financial difficulties after supplying customers with sweet treats for more than two decades.

The Witchez, which specialises in European cuisine from Bavarian schnitzel to Czech fried cheese, was listed as a Travellers’ Choice on TripAdvisor last year and is the fourth highest-ranked restaurant in Brighton on the website.

The restaurant has moved from its original home in Marine Parade and celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this month.

A spokeswoman for the restaurant said: “We are so happy to be back in business.

“We missed it so much and our regulars, friends and family are simply over the moon we are back. It is simply magical.

“The latest TripAdvisor reviews speak volumes - all of them are just an amazing reward to us to see our magic in the kitchen and the fantastic ‘witching’ by very knowledgeable staff making people happy.

“There are no words big enough to say a massive thank you to all our customers.”

MOST READ:

The menu has a range of dishes from the continent, including a “Witchelicious” burger with Polish sausage, rosti - a traditional Swiss dish with pan-fried shredded potatoes, cheese and a fried egg, and pierogi, which are eastern European dumplings.

The Witchez also claims to be the UK’s first photo design cafe restaurant, offering photo restoration services, as well as passport photos and custom tote bags.

Choccywoccydoodah, which first opened in 2001, was featured in its own TV series on the Good Food Channel between 2011 and 2014.

Documents revealed the company went bust owing almost £600,000 in taxes, as well as to landlords, staff and customers.