TWO new restaurants are set to open in Oxford city centre early next year, creating more than 40 jobs.

Latin American chain Las Iguanas and upmarket Indian restaurant Shimla Pinks will be part of a new commercial and residential development in Park End Street.

Las Iguanas will create about 30 jobs and have room for 135 diners inside as well as 40 more in an outside seating area next to the Castle mill Stream.

About £600,000 is being spent on fitting out the restaurant, which specialises in Brazilian dishes such as Moqueca, a form of curry, and traditional Latin American fare such as fajitas. It will create about 30 jobs.

There are currently 11 sites in the Bristol-based chain, which was started 16 years ago by school friends Ajityh Jaya-Wickrema and Eren Ali.

Spokesman Lucy Harwood said: "We have found we work very well in student towns and we're really excited about coming to Oxford."

Shimla Pinks will seat about 100 and will be looking for up to 14 staff when it opens, probably next spring. It will be the third restaurant in the chain, which previously had an outlet in Turl Street, Oxford.

Agent Martin Herbert said: "There's a big market for good quality food in Oxford that's currently not being fulfilled."

The restaurant takes its name from the young, party-loving set in the north Indian city of Shimla.

The Park End Street development, built by Oxford firm Kingerlee, has 20,000sq ft of office space on the first and second floors, as well as 55 new flats and 46 student study bedrooms.

The restaurants will occupy the ground floor.