Drinks sparkle at the Coconut Tree, Oxford, as it celebrates the easing of lockdown.

Staff at the independent Sri Lankan restaurant in St Clement’s say they are delighted to be able to welcome back guests.

The restaurant, which serves authentic dishes in tapas-sized portions alongside sweet and fiery cocktails, is encouraging customers back in with 50 per cent off food bills for diners eating in, from Mondays to Wednesdays.

Brand Director Anna Garrod, right, said: “We’ve been inundated with requests to book tables so we were thrilled to reopen and couldn't wait to bring in our Sri Lankan hospitality back to table service once more.”

"As a result of the government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ offer last year, we saw a real surge in bookings; it gave us a new audience who saw it as an opportunity to try new things. So with indoor dining back on the cards, we wanted to introduce even more people to our unique dishes and laid back, island vibe, so will again offer 50 per cent off for eat-in from Monday to Wednesday.

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"Sri Lankan food hasn’t yet been taken to the heart of British culture in the same way Indian food has, and we really want to be the ones to change that, we want to hear people say – ‘let’s go for a Sri Lankan tonight!’."