SWINDON is becoming a beacon of international cuisine and alternative eateries, with several new businesses opening up around town.

Healthy eating lunch bar Fitness Kitchen and Polish restaurant Karczma Polska are just two of the new venues opening in Old Town and the town centre during the next few weeks.

Both aim to offer those with a taste for something different the opportunity to extend their culinary vocabulary.

Fitness Kitchen, the place to dine out for those with a healthy eating conscience, opened in Havelock Street last month next door to sports nutrition shop, SNES.

Both businesses are owned by Romeo Pirvu, who opened the kitchen to help those who wanted to stay on track but had no time to cook, the chance to eat out and eat well.

He said: “These days peoples lives are busy, and the majority of people don’t have time to cook healthy food that’s really good for them really well.

“I own SNES next door and we sell sports nutrition and equipment to people. I’ve been running that for six years, so I know the fitness industry pretty well. I probably know the fitness industry better than anyone else in Swindon.

“A lot of what people say is they want to be able to eat out but not compromise their eating plan.

“What we offer at Fitness Kitchen is food made from 100 per cent healthy ingredients and all the things people want to put in their diet. We use organic milks, oils, fruit and vegetables and we cook it nicely, because it takes time to cook good food and people don’t always have that time.

“We opened on November 17 and since then it’s really been growing.

“People are bringing in their friends and family and it’s spread by word of mouth too which is the best kind of advertising.

“It’s certainly getting noticed and I think it will continue to be popular.”

A new restaurant showcasing the best of Polish cuisines is also set to open in the next few weeks, further extending the town’s foodie map.

According to signs on the shop front at the former Los Gatos bar, Karczma Polska, a new Polish and English restaurant, will open in early December after a refurbishment.

In October, the popular Spanish restaurant moved just a few units down the street to expand following demand from customers.

They are now based in Devizes Road in premises formerly occupied by Cakes and Ale.