Popular Irvine restaurant Si will officially be reopening in the end of March – with a whole new look and layout.

The restaurant’s long-awaited reopening will see the launch a new “casual dining” section called The Potting Shed – kitted out with garden sheds and an outdoor theme.

However, lovers of the restaurant’s Italian food are not to worry as the building will still be known as Si and they will still be operating and serving the food they’re best known for.

Owner Jack Simpson said: “Downstairs is now going to be called The Potting Shed – so that’s going to be a daytime venue that’s brunchy, serving pizza, and got a very casual dining vibe.

“We’ve built sheds so it’s quite quirky inside. Before it was darker, but we’ve brightened it up quite a lot and changed the theme to it.

“It’s getting split into two different concepts now, but the main building will still remain as Si.”

There will also be a “dedicated dog friendly area” so all of your furry friends can join in on enjoying the new building.

Jack added: “We shut Si in the first place because we were struggling for chefs, and it was a difficult time for chefs across the board.

“So when we shut we thought it would be a great chance to give it a new lease of life, reinvent it, and come back to the market with something a bit different, something that’s urban, and that the local area doesn’t really have.

“We’ve been shut for long enough so we thought we’ll introduce something that’s all singing all dancing to get a bit of hype back into it.”

The restaurant and bar has been documenting their renovations on their Facebook page.

Many locals excited at the news as the announcement of the renovations and reopening gained hundreds of likes.