A NEW vegan restaurant will be opening in Stroud next month.

Karibu Vegan Bar and Kitchen will open its doors on Friday March 27, and will be located at 23 Nelson street, at the former No 23 restaurant.

Karibu will be the only strictly vegan restaurant in the town, and will provide street-food in a comfy atmosphere inspired by traditional recipes from all over the world.

Sandeep Kanabar is the restaurant's owner and will also be the head chef.

Born in Kenya where he lived until he moved to the UK in 1999, Sandeep will be using Kenyan recipes and more for the restaurant's menu.

Sandeep, who started out as a vegetarian and made the switch to vegan, said: "When I first came into the UK it was quite difficult to get good vegetarian food at the time.

"Eventually I started my own pop-up catering business called Indie Veggie which was based in Gloucester."

Sandeep even brought his pop-up to the Stroud vegan market and cricket club.

Karibu will bring a mixture of vegan food from South Africa, Kenya, Mexico as well as India.

South African food will include Bunny Chow, with Kenyan dishes such as Mombasa Kachri Bateta.

The Indian dish will include the street food Bhel Puri, with Mexican dishes such as Tex-Mex burritos also on the menu.

The restaurant will also be filled with original artwork from talented local artists.

"Stroud has a great vibe and we look after eachother and we help eachother," said Sandeep.

"So that’s the same ethos im bringing with my restaurant.

"The coffee will be supplied by a local trader, our wines and spirits and quite a few products are being sourced locally as well as our bread."

Karibu will also be plastic free, and will be upcycling, which is the process of transforming waste materials and unwanted products into new products of better quality and environmental value.

Sandeep added: "We look forward to giving our customers a warm welcome, whether you’re looking for a hearty lunch, a feel good dinner, a cheeky slice of cake with coffee or a glass of wine.

"Our cheery staff will always do their best to cater to any specific requirements you may have."

Karibu will also provide gluten free and nut free options.

The restaurant will be open from 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 11pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday it will be open from 12pm to 11pm, and on Sunday it will be open from 12pm to 9pm.