263 Restaurant: New head chef of triple AA Rosette restaurant speaks about his new challenge - and what he thinks about getting a Michelin Star

It's got three AA Rosettes and a place in the prestigious Michelin Guide, and now it's got a new chef in the kitchen.

Last week Sean Wrest took over from Rikki Hughes, who had been at the helm for 18 months, working alongside chef director Oli Martin. He brings with him partner Sam Haigh as the manager.

>>>This is what Rikki said before he left

"It's a very exciting time here", said Oli.

"It's amazing to have Sean and Sam on board, who have both previously worked in Michelin starred restaurants.

"It's very much about carrying on with the core beliefs - hyper seasonal, being as local as possible. We get lambs from Clitheroe, tomatoes from Tarleton and we believe in foraging quite strongly."

So strongly in fact, that in the middle of service last week, staff were out collecting lavender for a gin cocktail and catmint for mojitos in nearby Winckly Square Gardens.

Other favourite areas to forage are the countryside around Longridge, the Lytham Coast and the Lake District.

Sean, who has previously worked at the Fat Duck in Berkshire, and Maaemo in Oslo, has most recently been working at 263’s sister restaurant The Fell Bistro in Longridge, where he will remain as Executive Chef.

He said: "Myself and Oli have quite similar tastes and backgrounds. We've both achieved quite a bit and we want to push the restaurant as far as we can.

"We've worked at places with four and five Rosettes and Michelin stars, and we're definitely heading in that way."

He added: "Everything has to be quality, everything is thought about, daily. Is that the right plate, is that seasoning right. Everything's questioned, all the time.

"We want to be better than the day before."

And the Michelin Star?

Oli said: "As great as that would be, it's not at the forefront of what we're trying to achieve.

"All we want is to be a great restaurant."

Sean added: "We're cooking for our guests rather than for our own ego. It's all about focusing on the customer."

So will a returning guest notice a difference now a new chef is in charge?

Maybe, slightly, comes the answer.

With a focus on consistent quality unwavering, the team are looking at British fine dining with a Scandinavian style.

But don't expect any signature dishes from Sean, it's all about seaonality and with only eight tables, the kitchen are able to be dyanamic enough to change from day to day.

He quipped: "If a farmer brings in 12 of the very best potatoes, then I'll have them and do something with them that night."

The tasting menu this week features ‘Famer John’s Lamb’, chicken liver and cherry and black trompette madeleine.

It might be small and unassuming, and on a city centre side street, but with guests coming in from as far away as Edinburgh to sample what's on offer (Oli points to the train station just a few hundred metres away), 263 is becoming a destination in its own right.