A Southampton restaurant forced to close after a fire at the weekend should open before Easter, its managing director said.

John Ferris told The Royal Gazette he was hopeful that Henry VIII's would reopen to customers at the beginning of April. "I think we are still looking towards that," he said. "The staff have taken it pretty good. We are trying to keep them employed and that's the big one."

The kitchen of Henry's was gutted last Sunday morning after a blaze started behind a grill. Staff tried to quench the flames but were overcome by smoke and had to flee the building.

Firefighters from Port Royal station eventually extinguished the blaze. Lt. Dana Lovell, from Bermuda Fire Service, said that the fire was started by open flame coming into contact with excessive oil and grease.

Mr. Ferris said insurance assessors from the US had visited the property this week to estimate the scale of the damage but have yet to come up with a figure.

Mr. Ferris guessed at the weekend that the cost of a new kitchen and equipment could run to more than $100,000.

He said: "We are sorting everything out right now, getting it back to its shell. We are working with about two or three different companies getting quotes."