Cucina di Vincenzo’s Vincent Margiotta said the venue has been a year in the making
A huge new mural on the side of Croccante Pizza Romana, Penny Lane’s newest restaurant(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A new venue has opened in Liverpool from the family behind another popular Italian restaurant. Vincent Margiotta is the owner of Cucina di Vincenzo and small plates sister restaurant ViVi, both of which are located on Woolton Road.
Vincent runs the two restaurants alongside his children Nina, Gabriella and Luca. Today, Wednesday, August 20, the dad, along with business partners Cristiano Mente and Vito Rosa, has launched Croccante Pizza Romana on Penny Lane.
The team told the ECHO it will be “just like in Italy, only closer”, with Vincent speaking to the ECHO about what customers can expect. He said: “It’s a completely new concept with the three of us coming together for it. We’ve always talked about doing something pizza-specific.
“It is, however, heavily punctuated through Cucina Vincenzo and ViVi as well. Around 95% of the business, we are doing ourselves, and we are making it up as we go along. The opportunity to open on Penny Lane arose a year ago.
Business partners Vince Margiotta, Cristiano Mente and Vito Rosa(Image: Vince Margiotta)
“We saw the unit and we’ve always had a passion for The Beatles, so when the opportunity came up, it created some romanticism, if you like, around the idea.
“There are many pizzerias in Liverpool, but to be quite honest nothing hits the spot as much as we are looking to do. Many chains are much of a muchness. We are hoping to bring something unique to the city.
“We are going to be utilising ingredients that are all sourced from Italy. Flour will be from a particular grain, the mozzarella will come from one producer, the tomatoes to make the sauce are of an extremely high quality.”
He added: “Our customers love our service, reputation, ambience and most importantly food already – we hope to replicate that in a simple, yet funky, pizza concept.” In a post shared on Instagram, Vincent promises customers “there is no better in the city”, with the venue being a year in the making.
Cucina di Vincenzo was opened in 2016 by Vince and his family. Last year saw the family then open ViVi, another Italian restaurant serving up authentic cuisine while keeping the friendly service and atmosphere in a neighbouring venue.
Nina , Gabriella, Luca and Vincent Margiotta, from Cucina di Vincenzo(Image: Cucina di Vincenzo)
Vince has been known on the Merseyside food scene for decades, after being a managing partner of Sapporo Teppanyaki and Il Forno, on Duke Street in Liverpool city centre.
However, he eventually decided to strike out on his own, fulfilling a lifelong dream to own a traditional family-style Italian restaurant, specialising in classic, home-cooked food. Almost a decade later, he is now expanding the brand.
The Margiotta family come from a small village called Picinisco in Southern Italy’s Campania region and Vince’s grandparents moved to Scotland before WWII. Vince’s grandfather Alfonso created the now-famous Valvona and Crolla deli and wine merchant in Edinburgh.
Dining and Cooking