Don Ciccio Osteria Italiana & Pizzeria owner Marco Claudio Valente has doubled down on his opinions about Highgate locals after shutting his Italian eatery after just six years.
The restaurant owner of the Italian diner previously announced that his independent venue would be closing amid a lack of support from the local neighbours.
Despite some reported pushback from residents in Highgate, Mr Valente maintained that his restaurant's closure was primarily the result of the community “never supporting us”.
“We tried to do everything, and despite that, we are the only Italian restaurant, probably in the world, that needs to close, not for any bad reviews, prices, quality of food or the service, but just for the indifference around us,” he told the Mail Online, adding: “Of course I stand by my words.”
He also explained to the outlet that although they had a few customers, it was “very humiliating” to sometimes turn around just £45 a day in revenue.
“We had a lot of very nice customers, but it was very tough. We were struggling there and were somehow humiliated in this place,” he also told the outlet.
Despite pointing the finger at the local community, the Food Standards Agency gave Don Ciccio restaurant a 0 out of 5-star food hygiene rating after inspecting the venue on August 8, 2025.
The report states that ‘major improvement is necessary’ across food handling, building cleanliness, and food safety management.
Mr Valente, who has now headed off to Italy, had earlier blamed “the sheer indifference of our neighbours” for closing, even though they had a 4.7-star Google rating based on over 700 reviews.
Most people on TripAdvisor similarly appeared to have a positive experience at the eatery, with one reviewer calling it a ‘truly authentic Italian gem’ and another writing about the ‘lovely ambience’.
But not everyone had the best experience, according to the reviews. Other guests complained of long waits and described the food as ‘erratic’.
Dwindling footfall led the restaurant owner to complain that his staff had to “endure the humiliation of entire evenings with an empty dining room,” as residents chose to order takeaways instead of supporting local restaurants.
In a public message at the time, he thanked the residents for “never supporting us, not even once,” while also accusing locals of effectively shunning the dinery after the lockdown ended and they could eat elsewhere.
He also accused the local The Highgate Society of failing to respond to his requests for a collaboration.
Although local rents around Highgate are understood to be increasing and businesses have faced a tough few years, Don Ciccio’s woes aren’t reflected among some other companies, including the local pubs and the petrol station.
But with Londoners also looking at ways to cut costs, eating out locally has seemingly become one of the earliest victims of a staggering cost-of-living crisis.
