WORK is underway on a new restaurant in the heart of York.

The upstairs of the former 1331 bar in Grape Lane, close to York Minster is currently being turned into a first floor restaurant called Pig and Potato specialising in homemade sausages and mash.

Owners Sam and Jan Robinson ran 1331 bar and grill for about 20 years before it closed earlier this year.

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Sam will be doing the cooking at Pig and Potato and says the menu will also be gluten free.

"There will still be a bar at the front of the upstairs so people can come in for drinks and have cocktails. There'll be a bit of a 13s vibe, but there'll be more food," said Sam.

"We are going for a black and white colour scheme - it'll be a bit more urban in look with exposed brickwork.

"It will be a modern bar with a bit more of a speakeasy vibe to it, and the pool room will also be open again."

Flashback to Sam and Jan Robinson outside 1331 in Grape Lane before it closedFlashback to Sam and Jan Robinson outside 1331 in Grape Lane before it closed (Image: Haydn Lewis) The meat will be sourced from Anna's Happy Trotter in Howden which specialises in free range pork.

The business already has an alcohol licence which also covers The Cheese Trader and Piece of York puzzle shop across the courtyard.

The couple's son Stephen Andrews already runs Fish & Forest on the ground floor of the building with the reataurant also making use of the courtyard. The 34-year-old chef founded his Michelin-listed restaurant as a pop-up concept in 2018, before opening in Spark in 2020 and then Micklegate the following year before opening in Grape Lane in August this year.

As The Press reported earlier this week, Sam and Jan have already Piece of York opened earlier this month and sells predominantly jigsaws and old school puzzles and games.

In the new year they plan open up the back room of the shop which you get to through a secret bookcase door.

An opening date for Pig and Potato is still in the pipeline.