A much-anticipated Italian restaurant at one of Stoke-on-Trent’s most popular tourist destinations has welcomed the first diners. Anasma Italian is located near the main entrance to the Trentham Estate.
It offers a range of Italian dishes including favourites such as spaghetti bolognese, lasagna and garlic bread options. The resturant is the third business under the Anasma brand, following on from Anasma Greek Bakery in Newcastle, and the Anasma Greek Eatery, also located in Trentham’s shopping village.
Owners Marianna and Costas Anastasiou say Italian is their second-favourite cuisine after Greek dishes and so decided to broaden their appeal. They are also opening for breakfasts, as well as offering cocktails in the evening.
They have also created a relaxed ambience inside with low-level lighting and traditional Italian music playing in the background. The walls are yellow, with a brick-style wallpaper, while the seats are plush red and grey velvet and a deep yellow bench along one of the walls.
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Marianna, who moved to Newcastle from Cyprus with her family in 2015, said: “Our head chef has 25 years of experience working in an Italian restaurant, although he’s actually Greek too. We’ve also hired an Italian chef because when you grow up around certain dishes and a traditional cooking style you know how to make the food and you care about it more – it’s more of a passion.
“As soon as we found the opportunity for this shop we thought it was perfect. We can keep an eye on our Greek restaurant too, because me and my husband like to be involved in our businesses.
“Our first day looks good so far, so hopefully people will learn more about us and come for breakfast and coffee and cake, because we’re not strictly a restaurant. We have a huge list of cocktails and a wide range of wines which is perfect for warm weather and summer months.
“We started our first business in 2017 from our home kitchen and until Covid we traded at outdoor markets, then we opened our bakery in 2021, and then last year we opened our Greek restaurant, and now we’ve opened this one. We hope people enjoy our food and their experiences with us.”
The Anasma Italian eatery is open from 9am until 9pm on Monday to Saturday, and from 9am until 5pm on Sunday. The breakfast menu is available from 9am until midday.
StokeonTrentLive spoke to some of the customers dining in the restaurant during its opening day. Donna Cromey said: “It’s nice. Everyone seems like they’re on the ball. It’s nice to be well spaced out and not crowded in. The food smells delicious, we’re waiting for our food now and everything we’ve seen coming out of the kitchen looks nice.”
Gail Walker added: “It’s really nice to just sit here and talk. The music is lovely and we don’t have to shout when it’s playing, we can hear each other perfectly which is great. We’re looking forward to trying the food because everything looks and smells really nice.”
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