A popular Whitley Bay restaurant is celebrating success after scooping two awards just a year after it opened.
Pranzo Trattoria & Deli opened on Station Road in July 2021, with Tuscan-born owner Pablo Masucci wanting to bring an authentic taste of Italy to the coastal town. And the Pranzo menu has impressed at the Italian Awards, which celebrates the best of Italian hospitality across the UK.
The restaurant bagged both Best Newcomer and Best Trattoria at the awards, a result which has left Pablo and his wife Louise thrilled. The family has thanked Whitley Bay customers for their support after locals cast their votes for the venue to win the coveted awards.
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“It’s been a massive honour,” Pablo said. “We didn’t expect to win, that’s for sure. Just being in a room with two hundred restaurants from around the UK was good enough for us.”
With more than two decades of experience in the food and wine industry in both Italy and the North East, Pablo brought his expertise and family recipes to Whitley Bay to offer “the authentic Italian culinary experience, no compromises”. Pranzo launched an Italian tapas menu earlier this year, alongside serving up mouth-watering pizza and pasta dishes.
“It was always one of my dreams to open an authentic Italian - because there’s not many around,” Pablo told the Chronicle in February. “If we were going to open this place in Italy, it would have been exactly the same.
“We’re making Italian food - not Italian food for the British market,” he added. “That’s the big difference.” Pranzo is set to mark its first birthday in Whitley Bay from 18 July with a full week of celebrations, which will see special tasty additions to the menu - including a carbonara “done the proper Italian way”.
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