MORE than 60,000 people have eaten at Bristol's biggest restaurant in its first month in business.

Diners have been feasting in their droves at super restaurant Za Za Bazaar, which opened in Bristol's Harbourside at the beginning of December.

The all-you-can-eat style £3 million restaurant, which can feed 1,000 at a time, is the biggest in the UK and bosses are hoping to recreate its success with eight more restaurants around the country.

Diners at the restaurant can try a selection of global cuisine, including Indian curries and Chinese steamed dumplings.

Since the launch numbers eating at the restaurant equate to the native population of Venice or one in ten people living in Bristol.

The firm behind the restaurant is now hoping to create more than 1,000 new jobs, including 30 in the city.

They also say they have played a hand in boosting tourism in Bristol – with more people clicking on Za Za Bazaar's page on the Destination Bristol website than any other attraction.

Bristol executive chef Vinay Reddy said: "Adventure and live cooking are at the heart of the restaurant concept, which sets cuisine from India, China, Japan, the Far East, South America and Europe against vivid backdrops, reflecting the cultures from which it originates.

"We are totally uncompromising in employing the best chefs and investing in the freshest, highest quality ingredients.

"We have been delighted by the early success of our new brand, which has broken all our targets. People have tried our food, liked it and brought their friends and families – and Za Za Bazaar is a great place for big parties and celebrations."

The firm say they will use Bristol as a model for their new restaurants and plan to spend between £2m and £3m on each one.

Norwich has already been identified for the second venue, with work set to begin at the end of January.

Mr Reddy said: "Our challenge is finding sites in the right locations for our large-scale operations. We need large restaurants in which we can recreate the ambience of the streets. We are getting the outside inside – making a great place for our customers to explore."

The firm added that the boost for tourism in Bristol by the Za Za Bazaar phenomenon is reflected in web statistics provided by Destination Bristol.

Figures show that the new restaurant generated unprecedented web interest and 4,000 per cent more hits than the next most popular attraction.