IF YOU’RE looking for an authentic taste and atmosphere of one of Portugal’s most beautiful islands, you need look no further than Bridge Street in Taunton.

That’s where the town’s newest restaurant Skewer House opened on Tuesday evening.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Diogo Rodrigues and partner Nathan Slate who live in Bridgwater.

The pair have been looking to open a restaurant in the area for some time, but had been waiting for the perfect venue, so were delighted when the premises popped up.

Cooking runs deep in Diogo’s veins, thanks to his family’s roots.

Originally from Madeira, his family run two successful restaurants in Essex, including the original Skewer House.

The restaurant serves the popular skewer style dish Espetada which is a selection of skewered meats/fish/vegetables which are cooked over a chargrill or hotcoals.

They are traditionally served on a stick from the Bay tree, and served during the festivals of the Portuguese islands, and the theme and decor of the restaurant reflects this perfectly.

Diogo said: “My family run two restaurants in Essex, including a Skewer House there.

“The first restaurant has been open for nearly 10 years now, my mum used to have all of us kids helping out in the kitchen, we were all involved.

“You’d moan at first but it was great once you got stuck in and I really love cooking now.

“We’ve been wanting to open a restaurant for some time but couldn’t really find the right venue so when this one popped up we were thrilled because it’s such a great building.

“I don’t think there is a lot of variety around Taunton and Bridgwater which is why we were keen to open something like this.

“Nathan and I have spent around two months revamping the place, it’s been stressful but we’ve enjoyed it.

“We’ve tried to keep a traditional Portuguese feel to the place, so the bunting we use comes from Madeira and is what is hung during the festivals over there, we’ve got family pictures on the walls, and traditional fabric from Madeira which is also used for the skirts of our waitresses.

"We’ve sourced a lot of the furniture locally and made a lot of the furniture ourselves with wood from the Milverton Saw Mill.

“We’ve got these great church pews from St Mary’s Church in Bridgwater where a revamp is being carried out, so we’ve cut some of them down to make them smaller and kept one long one for one of our rooms.”

And it’s been a real family affair.

Diogo’s family all travelled down earlier this week from Essex to help with the launch of the restaurant.

He added: “They have all been a great help and were really excited to help us with the opening. We want people to come here and not just enjoy the food but enjoy the atmosphere as well, so it is quite relaxed and nothing formal. We won’t be rushing people to leave as soon as they’ve eaten, because that’s not enjoyable.

“I would say that is typical of Portuguese culture, you want everyone to come and sit down and enjoy some good food, a good atmosphere and just relax and themselves.

“I’m heading up the kitchen and Nathan is front of house, he’s great and loves talking to people so it works really well.

Traditionally, it is skewered beef sirloin served on a stick from a Bay tree.

“The meats and fish and vegetables are all marinated and infused with bay leaf to give it a traditional taste.

"We’re really looking forward to running the restaurant here in Taunton and we’ve had some great feedback and positive messages from people already.”