Woodbridge set to get a taste of the Mediterranean

The pub in its current form will close at the end of February - and is due to reopen as The Ego at Deben Seal in the middle of April.

The Duke of York in its present form will close at the end of the month. (Image: Google Maps)

It is currently part of the Vintage Pubs chain owned by major hospitality Mitchells & Butler.

It is being transferred to another M&B division, Ego Mediterranean, and will served food inspired by Southern European cuisine.

The chief executive of Ego Mediterranean, James Horler, said the chain was proving very popular elsewhere - and felt that Woodbridge was the ideal place for its first Suffolk restaurant.

He said: "We have several in the south east - there's one at Chelmsford that is very popular - and we think that Woodbridge is a good place for the first in Suffolk.

"There's a large car park there and there's quite a wide catchment area - I think people will like it a lot.

"Woodbridge is somewhere that people are happy to visit and the fact that we have our own car park and it's not far from the main road should make it very accessible.

"But there's quite a lot to be done inside the building - we open up the kitchen so people can see their food being prepared but we hope to be open on April 18, but that depends on how things go."

The style of the restaurants is based on Mediterranean food. (Image: Ego Mediterranean)

The staff at the Duke of York will be offered jobs at the new restaurant - or they could apply for jobs in other Vintage Pubs venues if they preferred to stay there.

The Duke of York opened as a pub in 2000 when it was called The  Seal - the site had been a garage for many decades but historically it had been the home to a pub.

The name was changed in 2011 but when it reopens it will revert to its previous identity.