Turning the Mill: Capparelli reinvents dining in Dundonald

What began as a pandemic rethink has become Capparelli at The Mill, a 76-cover restaurant and deli bringing fresh energy to Northern Ireland’s dining scene.

When Capparelli at The Mill opened its doors this summer, it was the result of almost five years of planning, investment, and patient brand-building by husband-and-wife team Lucie and Carlos Capparelli. The restaurant and café deli has quickly established itself as both a neighbourhood hub for Dundonald and a dining destination attracting customers from across Northern Ireland.

For Lucie, a former food and drink PR consultant, and Carlos, who spent 12 years in London working at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze Grill before nine years at the Ottolenghi group, where he became Head and Executive Chef, this venture is the culmination of their shared passion for food. Capparelli is the culmination of their shared experience in hospitality. It is also a case study in how to launch a large-scale restaurant in a post-pandemic market, build a loyal audience before opening, and create a business that balances commercial ambition with community focus.

“We have been living this project for years,” Lucie says. “We know exactly what we are trying to do, but we cannot assume everyone else does. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, but part of our job is to keep bringing people on the journey with us.”

From London to Northern Ireland: The strategic move

The couple’s decision to return to Belfast was accelerated by the pandemic. In February 2020, their second child was born. Just weeks later the first lockdown hit, and the realities of raising two children in London under those conditions prompted a rethink.

“That was the first time we started thinking seriously about moving back,” Lucie recalls. “But we didn’t just want to come home and take a sideways step in our careers. We had spent years building experience in London, and we wanted to do something with it.”

The opportunity came when a friend mentioned that The Mill, a well-known site in Dundonald, was available. When Lucie and Carlos visited, they immediately saw potential.

“It was exciting but daunting,” she says. “You do not just walk in and open a restaurant. It is a huge commitment, and we knew it would take time.”

The landlords were planning a major redevelopment and were looking for the right operators to anchor the site. Crucially, they were willing to invest alongside the couple and remain involved as partners rather than simply handing over the keys.

“That gave us confidence to go ahead,” Lucie explains. “Having landlords who were not just passive but genuinely believed in us has been invaluable. They invested heavily in the renovation and have been part of every major decision.”

Support also came from investors who backed Carlos in making the leap from senior head chef to business owner. “A restaurant of this scale requires significant investment,” Lucie says. “We had to build the right team of directors and backers to make it viable.”

Building brand equity before opening

With the redevelopment set to be a two-year project, Carlos launched Capparelli Pasta as a way to stay active in the market and start building a local following. The plan was to run the pasta business for six months until the restaurant opened. In reality, it became a three-year exercise in brand-building.

“Looking back, it was the best thing we could have done,” Lucie says. “Carlos established himself, we built relationships with suppliers, and customers got to know the Capparelli name. By the time the restaurant opened, people already had a connection to us.”

Today, Capparelli Pasta is stocked in independent delis and shops across Northern Ireland, England, and the Republic of Ireland. The product also has pride of place in the on-site deli. “When you walk into our shop, there is a whole wall of pasta,” Lucie says. “It is still our top-selling product. It allows customers to take a piece of the brand home.”

For hospitality operators, this approach illustrates the power of building an audience and reputation before a bricks-and-mortar launch. The pasta business not only generated revenue during the long build, it created a ready-made customer base for the restaurant…

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