‘Exciting’ Three storeys of ‘great food’ on menu as Italian restaurant expands
AN authentic Italian restaurant that prides itself on “great food” is set to expand into Cheltenham.
Settebello, based at Gloucester Docks, will open its new restaurant in the Belgrave House on Imperial Square.
Formerly the home of Pizza Express, the Grade Ii-listed property has been vacant for more than 18 months and set to be revamped into a three-storey restaurant. Owner Giacomo Bifulco had been looking for a unit in Cheltenham to open a new restaurant inside and is excited to open in a “fantastic location”.
He said: “We are hoping to set up the brand over in Cheltenham. It has been a thriving success at Gloucester Docks since opening in 2019. We have been looking to branch out and Cheltenham was a logical choice.
“We were looking for a unit and this was a perfect one.”
Settebello offers pizzas, pasta and speciality dishes which are all created and prepared by its chefs and reflect the menus of southern Italian and Neapolitan. Targeting a summer opening, Giacomo wanted every floor of the new restaurant to offer different dishes and dining experiences.
He said: “We are trying to bring our unique Italian influence to Cheltenham.
“We have our Italian chefs with a lot of talent and quality. It is a three-storey building and operates over three floors with differing offerings on each floor.
“We want good food, great ingredients and we want to offer three different types of food. More relaxed, formal dining etc. We will also have a lovely cocktail bar downstairs.”
He added: “It is exciting. We wanted to expand for a while and wanted to wait for right location. It is a beautiful building and a great location to spread the brand.”
The new restaurant will create 40 jobs in the local community and bring an empty building back into use. The new restaurant opening will be welcome news for residents after Pizza Express moved its pizza ovens and dough balls from Imperial Square to The Brewery Quarter in November 2022.