A WELL-KNOWN Old Town restaurant is getting ready to reopen under new management.
Rajib Malaker has taken over Mela on Victoria Road with experienced head chef Porimol Dey and is renovating the place before welcoming his first customers.
The seating, flooring, and look of the Indian restaurant has been completely changed as part of a £10,000 top-to-bottom makeover.
The menu will offer a variety of different dishes along with familiar favourites. Porimol recommends the chicken chakmai, garlic chilli chicken, or mazbani.
The restaurant made headlines in April after receiving a food hygiene rating of one out of five with much improvement required, but inspectors raised this score to four and an overall rating of good after coming back for another visit on May 31.
Rajib took charge earlier this month after completing a private sale and soon got to work arranging for the refurbishment to begin.
He said: "It's an exciting time for us.
"Everything is totally different from the previous owner, we've changed the whole restaurant.
"The restaurant is in a very good location. New Town is quiet at the moment but this Old Town area is the busiest place in Swindon.
"With the food hygiene, there was an issue with not preparing raw and cooked meat separately but that's been addressed.
"We feel very good about opening day, we have a few bookings already and we're looking forward to meeting customers.
"We're expecting a lot of dining in and online orders. It will be a busy week!"
Rajib used to manage Aby's Indian Experience on Faringdon Road but switched jobs when Mela's former owner mentioned plans to find someone else to run the diner at the top of Victoria Road.
Mela - Contemporary Indian Cuisine will reopen on Monday August 8 and is open from 5pm to midnight seven days a week.
For more information about the menu, booking a meal or ordering for collection or delivery, visit www.mela-restaurant.com or call 01793 522558.
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