Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Park Street may be the most high profile new opening this month, but for many Bristol food lovers, the most eagerly awaited is the launch of The Muset by Ronnie in Clifton.

This is the second restaurant for chef Ron Faulkner, who has run the award-winning Ronnies in Thornbury for the past four years.

Before opening Ronnies, Faulkner cooked all over Europe and in London, where he worked alongside the influential chef Anton Mosimann and at notable London restaurants such as Quaglino's.

The Muset by Ronnie is a 72-cover restaurant offering modern European cooking and although many of Faulkner's signature dishes from the Thornbury restaurant are on offer, the menu features a number of new ones.

Although he will split his time between the two restaurants, he will be cooking mostly in Clifton for the first few months, alongside new head chef David Underwood.

For the past two years, Underwood was sous chef at the three AA-rosette Cambridge restaurant Alimentum and before that he worked in Melbourne and London, where he cooked at a number of celebrated restaurants, including Michelin-starred Arbutus in Soho and Ransome's Dock in Battersea.

Front-of-house, The Muset by Ronnie will be run by Biagio Iacono, whose CV includes Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Bristol Marriott Royal and Chewton Glen in Hampshire.

Despite the success of Ronnies in Thornbury, Faulkner has always wanted a site in Bristol.

"When we first opened, we wanted to put a restaurant in a major West Country capital and Thornbury happened more by chance because the site came up.

"We made it work and it was a success, but I needed the next stage of the business. I had always wanted to open something in Bristol but I didn't quite know where.

"I always thought Clifton would be way out of my price league so I never looked at the rents there. I always thought they must be high simply because so many businesses fall over very quickly in Clifton."

A major turning point for Ronnies in Thornbury was winning the award for Restaurant of the Year by The Good Food Guide in 2009. Faulkner was presented the award by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal at a star-studded ceremony in London.

"Winning that was an endorsement and a confidence boost because it was my first business and it was recognition that I was doing something right.

"The Good Food Guide award gave me my brand recognition and that gave me something to bring to the market place.

"I thought that if I can get a business working in a relatively rural setting such as Thornbury, imagine what we can do in a thriving city hub like Clifton."

The launch of The Muset by Ronnie comes during an interesting time for the Bristol restaurant scene. With Westbury-on-Trym restaurant Casamia recently winning Gordon Ramsay's Best Restaurant and The Pony and Trap at Chew Magna gaining a Michelin star last month, there is certainly more of a national focus on the city's eateries.

Faulkner acknowledges the thriving scene but still felt there was a gap in the market for another fine dining restaurant.

"I have always thought Bristol does that quirky character thing really well," he says. "Places like The Lido and Flinty Red are quite unique, and chefs like Stephen Markwick are still hugely influential, but the boys at The Pony and Trap and Casamia have brought Michelin glory to Bristol.

"I love what they are doing at Casamia, but it's very modern and it's challenging boundaries all the way.

"I think there is still room for a restaurant that offers high-end, classical cooking and food that is a little more conservative.

"I wasn't in Bristol when Harvey's was open but I know about its reputation and people still talk about it to this day. In some ways, I think The Muset by Ronnie will fill the gap left by Harvey's and I'm hoping it is what Clifton has been waiting for."

The menu at The Muset by Ronnie makes good use of West Country produce, including venison from the Badminton Estate and scallops from Lyme Bay.

The a la carte menu has plenty on offer, too, with eight choices per course. Starters range from £6.50 to £11, with main courses priced between £15.50 to £20.50.

March 1 sees the launch of a set lunch menu at £9.75 for two courses, and a tasting menu at £45 for six courses.

Dishes on the menu this week include wild mushroom risotto, trompettes and Champagne (£7.25), Lyme Bay scallops, garlic purée, pancetta and sage (£11), line-caught Cornish bass, bean stew, mussels and rouille (£18.50) and roast beef, carrots and salsify, oxtail gratin and bone marrow (£20.50).

Desserts range from pistachio cake, poached rhubarb, rose and yoghurt (£6) to chocolate fondant, espresso and malt (£7.50).

Faulkner says his food is seasonal and produce-driven and he likes the dishes to be served complete, without needing side dishes, although they are available for those who want them.

"For us, it is about taking a core ingredient and then 'tricking' it up a little bit to really enhance that ingredient. It's nice to add a little twist to the dishes.

"I think texture is important so if you have sea bass, I like the skin to be nice and crisp and if I cook calves liver, a bit of crisp pancetta across the top adds a nice crunch.

"There are often two or three textures to each dish and I like dishes to be colourful – food is all about using your senses."

One of the most striking aspects of the new restaurant is the special "chef's table", which is in the dining room but which has four overhead television screens showing live pictures of the chefs in action.

This is also the table that will remember The Muset and its BYO (bring your own wine) policy. Although the restaurant has a comprehensive wine list, the eight diners on this table will be allowed to bring any special wines with them to drink with their meal.

Faulkner says: "There's a lot of good will still for The Muset. It was one of Bristol's first celebrated eateries and it goes back 30 years.

"It opened at a time when people were really starting to eat out in restaurants and it was BYO so people could bring their own wine which made dining out affordable so I think that side of it should be celebrated and remembered.

"The chef's table will seat a maximum of eight people and it will be bookings only. If they want to bring their own wines, they will have to book and let us have the wines in advance so we can take care of them in the right kind of way by decanting them or chilling them."

In some ways, The Muset by Ronnies bucks the current trend for restaurants to be more informal and rustic, but Faulkner thinks there is room for both styles.

"People associate fine dining with Michelin stars, small portions and going home hungry. I hate that association, and I take a more North American view of it which is where you can have a burger or a chateaubriand but it has to be done very well with the best ingredients and delivered professionally.

"I want The Muset by Ronnie to be an environment which is fun, friendly, informal and somewhere you can be relaxed but also somewhere you can celebrate, somewhere that looks and feels special without it being rammed down people's throats."

The Muset by Ronnie, 12-16 Clifton Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1AF. Tel: 0800 8494411.