A popular Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge has expanded its 51 Beauchamp Place venue famed for 42 years of fresh Italian food and live music.
Family-run Ciro’s Pomodoro has used a £260,000 funding package from NatWest to extend the existing restaurant, adding a further 20 seats to the 145-cover restaurant.
The finance from NatWest will also support the recruitment of four additional employees, bringing the team of front of house and kitchen staff to 23 in total.
Opened in 1978 by Ciro Orsini to serve Londoners authentic Italian food, his nephews Ciro Jnr and Antonio Coppola now run the business which opens from 6pm until 1am every day, with the best live music nightly. Ciro’s became incredibly popular in the 1980s and has continued to build on this reputation, with a three-week waiting list for reservations at weekends and renowned themed nights including open mic music night on Mondays.
For four decades the restaurant has only opened for evening service, but the brothers plan to look at opening for lunch in future, as well as expanding their portfolio of restaurants across London.
As demand has grown significantly for Ciro’s takeaway service over the last three years, plans are also underway to open the kitchen later on Fridays and Saturdays.
Ciro’s reopened at the beginning of August after closing during lockdown and precautionary measures have been put in place to ensure the health and safety of all customers. Live music is on hold until permitted by the government.
Antonio said: “Ciro’s was founded by my uncle and more than 42 years later we continue to offer the same winning combination of great Italian food and live music. Our waiting list for bookings is testament to the restaurant’s popularity and with NatWest’s support, we have been able to expand the premises and hire more staff to serve our growing number of customers.
“We have lots of plans in the pipeline to expand the business, but the essence of the restaurant will always remain the same to ensure we maintain the special atmosphere of Ciro’s that our loyal customers have come to enjoy.”
Rahul Modasia, NatWest Business Development Manager, said: “Ciro’s is a renowned restaurant in Knightsbridge and with the funding we have provided, Antonio and Ciro will be able to build on this popularity. We will continue to support the business as the brothers look at further expansion.”
