The team behind Carlisle's Belted burger restaurant is planning to roll out the concept across Scotland and northern England.

The second Belted is due to open in Edinburgh next week, and further branches are planned for Newcastle, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee.

The original 80-cover restaurant, which bills itself as “high-end casual dining”, opened in Carlisle's former crown post office, in Warwick Road, in July 2014.

It was the idea of Jenny and Steve Gilchrist, of Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway, who always intended it to be the first in a chain.

She has run a hospitality consultancy for 26 years while he is an accountant, so they had an understanding of how the industry works. 

They enlisted the help of former Michelin-starred chef Ian McAndrew, who owns the Blackaddie Hotel at Sanquhar north of Dumfries, as a menu consultant, while Evan Taylor, originally from Annan, returned from a spell running restaurants in London to become operations manager.

Mr Taylor said: “They wanted the first restaurant to be within a 50-mile radius of Dumfries and Galloway, and they chose Carlisle because we were offered a great site in a prime location.

“I wouldn't say it was a slow start but we had to work hard to build momentum.

“Now every weekend without fail we are busy. It's not a capital city like Edinburgh – we don't get thousands of tourists in Carlisle – instead we rely on local trade and people coming back, which happens a lot.

“Carlisle has been a great training ground for us and we've been able to develop our menu by listening to feedback from our customers. We're proud of what we've achieved.”

The menu is slightly quirky. An Irn Bru pulled-pork burger, introduced as a special, proved so popular that it became a permanent item.

But the Belted concept isn't about gimmicks. Customer service and quality are central to the ethos.

Mr Taylor said: “We'll serve you a nice bottle of wine, but the person pouring it will be in trainers and a T-shirt.

"We call it high-end casual dining.”

All the meat for its burgers comes from Archie McBride's mainly Aberdeen Angus herd at Carrutherstown, between Dumfries and Annan.

Mr Taylor added: “People are interested in provenance, they want to know how the food on their plate got there.

"We use every single cut of the meat including sirloin, topside and silverside. We use all the prime cuts.”

That philosophy should stand Belted in good stead in Edinburgh, a city that takes food seriously and boasts a string of Michelin-starred restaurants such as The Kitchin, CORR Restaurant Martin Wishart, 21212 and Number One.

Belted's new restaurant, for up to 90 covers, is situated in the fashionable New Town, a stone's throw from the main shopping thoroughfare of Princes Street.

Mr Taylor said: “We've got a great location on Frederick Street, just off George Street – you can see the castle.”