You've seen his smiling, friendly face all over the city for many years - and now he is fulfilling his ambition to open a restaurant of his own in the heart of St Albans.

Formerly an employee of Hatch on Holywell Hill, and later, The Potting Shed in Sandridge, he is now taking on the director's chair and celebrating the nation's favourite food with the launch of Toast which opens before the end of the month. 

The Waddington Road brunch restaurant will see Liam Judge very front-of-house as he enjoys and business partner Sarah Highfield also involved. He said: “St Albans has a fantastic food and drink scene, and we are delighted to join such a vibrant and historic high street that loves to enjoy high-quality food.

"Our concept combines imaginative, uplifting and satisfying dishes served in a creative and inspired space that can be enjoyed whatever the time of day – either dressed down with a coffee or up with a cocktail!”

Fellow St Albans business owner Emma Bustamante of Cositas said: "I met Liam when he worked at Hatch a few doors up the road from my shop Cositas. I aligned with his energy straight away and after he left Hatch and moved to The Potting Shed in Sandrige.

"We’ve seen each other go through some professional highs and lows and have always been there supporting and cheerleading eachother. When he won the Kate D’Arcey Best Customer Service Award while he was at Hatch I couldn’t have been more pleased for him and proud!

"He’d only been in St Albans just over six months and made that much of impact on the customers he served - that’s quite phenomenal and it really highlights how Liam’s personality shines through and makes him a part of the product he is selling.

"St Albans city centre is going to be richer and better than ever with the arrival of Liam and Toast."

Liam told us that the menu has something to satisfy every toast craving with sweet and savoury offerings and vegan and gluten free options.

He said that highlights include the Duck on Duck on Duck (duck fat fried bread, confit duck, duck egg) and Bloody Mary on Toast (vodka roasted heritage tomatoes, celery, Tabasco & Worcester Sauce spiced seeds, on sourdough).

Sweets include Crunchy Nut (French toast, peanut butter, chocolate ganache, honeycomb, vanilla ice cream and Berry Bread (French toast, berry compote, fresh berries, meringue)

Toast will be open daily from 9am until 4pm and opens on January 30. 

For more information visit www.ToastStAlbans.com.