Award Winning Italian Deli La Bottega to Expand into City Centre

Award winning Italian Deli La Bottega plans to open a new restaurant and past bar in Belfast city Centre, according to reports.

The popular La Bottega on Belfast’s Lisburn Road was recently awarded the Ospitalita Italiana Quality Seal for 2025-26 – the only Italian restaurant in Ireland to hold this recognition – which owner Francesco Iaquinta described as ‘nothing short of a dream come true.’

Now there are plans to develop a new restaurant at Imperial House on Donegall Square – right in the heart of the city centre.

Plans submitted by owner Francesco Iaquinta include changing the former optometrists into a new hot food restaurant, offering both sit in and takeaway options, along with a pasta making area on the ground floor (according to a Belfast Telegraph report).

Francesco, originally from Calabria in the south of Italy, made a personal commitment to bring the real taste of Italy to Belfast when he opened La Bottega four years ago on the Lisburn Road.

In that time, La Bottega has also won the Italian Restaurant of the Year in Ulster title, Best Italian Restaurant of the Year in Ireland, both awarded by Yeschef Awards. It’s also won the Best Wine Experience in Ulster by the Irish Restaurant Awards.

The former personal trainer ha worked in hospitality in London, Bologna and Belfast before launching his first venture only four year ago.

The restaurant hosts a monthly Cucina Regionale night, celebrating a specific region of Italy through its food and wine.

Francesco told LCN back in 2022, that when La Bottega first launched, the idea was to serve up takeaway and authentic deli dishes from the north and south of Italy such as lasagne and arancini, but the vision has evolved and he now employs a chef who serves up delicious food at what is now a sit-in bistro.

Since moving to Northern Ireland over twelve years ago, he was been working both as a manager at Belfast Castle and a personal trainer, before discovering Belfast’s Lisburn Road while working for French Village Group.

“We wanted to serve the best coffee in the world – we have pastries, we have tiramisu made every day.”

While there are many pizza restaurants in Belfast, their food is customised to suit local tastes and many of the dishes served up in La Bottega may be quite unfamiliar.

Francesco said at the time: “We have sfogliatella from Naples, a small pastry with filo pastry and orange flower. We do bomboloni with Nutella, which is like a doughnut without the hole.

“We’re really famous for our cannoli, including pistachio, chocolate and cherries with candied orange. And our charcuterie board is also very famous. It’s a little piece of Italy on the Lisburn Road.”

Now that little piece of Italy on the Lisburn Road looks set to expand to a top-notch location just opposite Belfast City Hall.