The owner of Kent's top-rated restaurant has revealed why he decided to open its second site in Whitstable - and which seaside towns narrowly missed out.

Encouraged by the success of his Broadstairs burger joint Please Sir!, founder Steve Lawrence is hoping to repeat the trick with an eatery further along the county's coast.

The new restaurant will be opening in about nine weeks' time, replacing Tabitha's Kitchen at 41 High Street.

"I chose Whitstable because it's similar to Broadstairs in terms of its demographic," Mr Lawrence told the Gazette.

"It's a beautiful location. I love being in Whitstable, it has a good air about it.

"Initially I was going to go to Deal, but we had some problems with the landlord so we pulled the plug on that, and I did also look at Herne Bay, but it just didn't feel right."

Please Sir!'s Broadstairs site is currently the number-one-rated Kent restaurant on Tripadvisor.

Ex-Royal Navy man Mr Lawrence says the new site will be a similar size to the first, and he will once again be getting his hands dirty fitting it out.

"I put those pallets on the ceiling, I was outside varnishing all the tables," the restaurateur says, pointing around Please Sir! in a video on the restaurant's Facebook page.

"There's more to it when you've built it yourself, you care about it," he said.

The 38-year-old plans to take a few staff members from Broadstairs to the Whitstable location so that they can hit the ground running, but he will also be looking to hire some new staff.

"I don't want people who just want a job, I want people who want to be there, people who will love the business," he said.

"Our five-star rating is a part of myself. I want to be the best and for the people who work for me also to have that same level of pride."

Further down the line, Mr Lawrence sees the third restaurant being in Faversham, Maidstone or Deal.

"It all depends on what can be managed well," he explained. "I believe that the Whitstable location happened for a reason, and the next one will also happen for a reason.

"Even though we are opening up a new location, I am fixated that we will maintain the same standard. Without sounding arrogant, we want to keep being the best."