Santa Maria Pizzeria is heading to Fitzrovia for site number three

The restaurant group, which already operates sites in Fulham and Ealing, has secured the ex-Chillies Tandoori restaurant on New Cavendish Street for an opening later this year.
 
The first Santa Maria Pizzeria opened in Ealing in west London in February 2010 to great acclaim, followed by a bigger site in Fulham last May. Last year Santa Maria also took over The Red Lion pub next door to its Ealing restaurant, creating an Italian themed pub menu.  

Its pizzas are regularly voted as some of the best in London.

The company, which is led by Pasquale Chionchio and Angelo Ambrosio, is also believed to be looking at further expansion opportunities, with Bethnal Green a likely location for site number four.

The pair say growth plans will never compromise the quality of their product. “We are aiming on growing, of course. Everybody would love a Santa Maria pizzeria on their own doorstep,” they said before the launch of the Fulham site. “But it has to be an organic growth, a natural one. We will never be the kind of business where profits and margins will be more important than our reputation.

“We have been meticulous at every single stage in the process, we have never taken short cuts when it comes to our food and our ingredients, we have never rested on our laurels and have always strived to improve our pizza every single day.”