A restaurant has tripled in size with the hope of catering for more people – after becoming so popular that hungry customers were queuing out of the door

Marleys in Folkestone has ditched its former home in the Old High Street for larger premises a stone’s throw away in South Street.

It has renovated the unit previously used by Pick Up Pintxos, a basque-inspired restaurant which closed its doors in May.

The business, which first opened in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter five years ago, is run by Charly Mayo, 31, and her partner Mark Hogarth, 32.

The couple told KentOnline the new restaurant will serve the same menu and have the same feel as before, but on a bigger scale.

“You could fit three of the original Marleys in here,” said Miss Mayo.

“It means we now also have three separate areas, so it’s not a massive open room. We wanted to have a cosy feel.

“We have a restaurant area which we take bookings for in the evening and a lounge area which is relaxed.

“Because we only had eight tables before, there was nowhere for people to wait so we would have queues outside. People would have to wait in the rain and it felt horrible making people do that.

“So we now have an area where people can have small bites and cake and coffee and then move over to the bigger area where we do lunch and dinner.

“Because we do breakfast, lunch and dinner, we now also have a much bigger kitchen so we have more space to cater for all three menus.

“We have got about 20 tables now and we want to add six more outside with a heater and an awning for people who want to smoke or bring their dogs.”

The couple started thinking about the move in February but didn't get the keys to the new shop until August.

Despite the changes, the original Marleys continued to operate as normal over the summer but closed for a week before the grand opening.

The new venue opened its doors for the first time on Thursday evening and is open Wednesday to Sunday.

Marleys is ranked as Kent’s 16th best restaurant on Tripadvisor with 329 diners giving it five stars out of 355 reviews.