Sicilian market stall to open permanent restaurant

A Sicilian food stall on Norwich Market has set up a permanent home just in time for restaurants to reopen.

Sicily Market, which opened on the market in 2017, has moved into 3 Bridewell Alley in Norwich city centre.

The restaurant is currently only open for takeaway and delivery via Just Eat, but it will open fully to customers from Saturday, July 4, after prime minister Boris Johnson gave restaurants the green light to reopen.

The business is run by Rocco Consiglio, who hails from Sicily and said he would be serving authentic, family meals in the new trattoria.

Mr Consiglio has worked in Italy’s Naples to learn the basics in how to make a classic Italian pizza.

“The plan was always to do this but we couldn’t find the right space until about four months ago, when the coronavirus started,” he said.

“We found this place and have been organising it during lockdown. We are very happy to have found it, it’s not too big and not too small.”

While Sicily Market will be taking over the restaurant, the market will also be open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 11.30am to 2.30pm.

He said it would very much be a family restaurant, where you could eat out but still feel like you were at home.

Some of the stall’s classics will remain on the menu, including traditional pizza, arancini rice balls and antipasto.

Alongside, there will be meat and fish main courses, as well as a changing menu of specials.

Mr Consiglio is joined in the kitchen by chef Bruno Armenante, who specialises in dishes from the Campania or Sicilian regions.

The unit was previously home to Mustard Coffee Bar, which closed at the start of March this year.

Elaine Reilly, who owned the cafe with her husband Gerry, said the closure was due to the catering wing of the business, called Mustard Catering, becoming more successful.

For more information, visit facebook.com/sicilyvan.co.uk