Worthing town centre: Everything you need to know about new restaurant set to open

The Fat Greek Taverna served customers in Portland Road for the last time on Sunday (September 3) after nearly 10 years in the town.

Property owner Andy Sparsis, who founded Proto Restaurants, said a new eatery will open after a refurbishment, expected to take between six and eight weeks to complete.

It has now been revealed that Turkish restaurant Efes – which already has a restaurant in Clifton Road – will be opening a second site in the town.

Owner and chef Savas Uloyol said: "It is actually an exciting time to open a new restaurant. We see a lot of good comments about our food.

"I see Worthing is growing every year with great people. Why not open in the town centre? A lot of people are coming here in the summer especially. People like the Mediterranean cuisine, with fresh flavours and healthy food.”

Efes first opened in Worthing 11 years ago and now has a score of 4.5 stars (out of five) from ‎1,040 reviews on Tripadvisor.

"We started small and then slowly built up the reputation with our name,” Mr Uloyol explained.

"It’s quite difficult on that road and it does take time. We focused on serving the quality of food you get in Turkey – it’s proper Turkish grill, with fresh meat prepared with proper flavours.

“We will keep the Clifton Road one and carry on working there but we also wanted to be open in the town centre. We were waiting for the right moment.

"We want to be a success in the town centre. We always look after our customers and try to make them happy. We want to see the enjoyment our food brings when they leave.”

Mr Uloyol said the menu will be ‘mostly similar’ to the one locals already know and love but with some ‘extra meals’,

"We will have a special menu for the customers that they’ve not seen before,” the owner said.

"We will employ ten plus people to work on the floor and kitchen. We already have a couple of chefs who have worked for us a long time.

"We are planning to open some time next month.”

Mr Sparsis, who led the regeneration of Portland Road, told the Worthing Herald that the closure of The Fat Greek Taverna was part of an established business plan – and stressed that it is positive news for the town. Click here to read more.