A BASINGSTOKE restaurant is closing down in the New Year, the Gazette can reveal. 

Coal Grill and Bar in Festival Place will shut in January having been in the town for more than a decade.

Staff at the restaurant, which serves food inspired by flavours from around the world, have been told that their last day of opening will be January 4.

The restaurant is just one of four Coal Grill and Bar's in the country, with the others located in Bristol, Exeter and Gloucester Quays.

Coal Grill and Bar opened in Basingstoke in 2011.

The closure comes as another blow to the Basingstoke shopping centre, which has lost various businesses this year, including the Sushi Maki, Debenhams, and Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

Both Festival Place and Coal have been asked for a comment.