A CITY centre restaurant celebrated their 25-year anniversary with an extended week-long celebration.

French restaurant Chez Joules filled their menu with old favourites and decked the tabletops with their signature red and check tablecloths in a nod to their early years on Thursday, July 7.

Guests enjoyed glasses of French champagne on the house.

To further celebrate #25Années, owner and founder Jason Ellison asked customers to share memories and photos of celebrations held at Chez Jules throughout the years.

These have provided a wonderful record of the customers Chez Jules moments all the way from the late 1990s.

A highlight of the celebrations was the arrival of a fire engine, in homage to the building’s previous life as a fire station.

Jason Ellison said: "The celebrations have become a real time for reflection on what we have achieved over the last quarter of a century. From our conversion of our beautiful building in the 1990’s, bringing authentic French food to Chester, to seeing our beloved customer’s families grow and develop over that time.

"However, this really must be a celebration for our team – and a thank you to them for their hard work and dedication over the years. They keep our business alive and vibrant – they keep our customers coming back and they alone create that special warm atmosphere that Chez Jules is known for."

Chez Jules launched in 1997 with the purpose of recreating a neighbourhood French bistro in Chester.

Jason, while travelling through France, fell in love with the French way of creating a daily changing menu, handwritten, with dishes made from the fresh food available on the local market.

He added: ‘"There are not many restaurants who still operate how we do in the UK today.

"We make every dish fresh and in-house. Our chefs buy our food daily and when something runs out, we take it off the menu- in fact we don’t use a freezer at all.

"We have a mission to keep on providing quality ingredients and simple cooking that is value for money for the next 25 years too!"