Historic Old Portsmouth pub The Duke of Buckingham to reopen as 'family' Italian restaurant Florio's D'Italia

Florio’s D’Italia, a pizzeria and deli run out of an industrial estate on Claybank Road, Copnor, will soon take over the former site of The Duke of Buckingham on High Street – which has been vacant for the last 10 months. The pizzeria will occupy the lower floor of the historic building while the top will remain The Duke of Buckingham Hotel.

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Florio’s was started in 2020 by father and son team Alessandro Florio and Max Florio when the pair bought the former Verrecchia's ice cream factory. Alessandro used to work for the well-known company as an ice cream salesman, and Max will be continue his family’s passion for sharing Italian cuisine as co-director of the new restaurant alongside his sister Izzy.

Max said: ‘We’re not a restaurant in the way you might imagine in the traditional sense. It’s going to be more of a casual dining experience. We will be baking fresh bread every day, fresh pizzas every day - with tables but not neccesarily knives and forks and that formal experience. It’s something that’s quite common in Italy – informal pizzerias where there’s not neccesarily a table service but you can go in and feel sort of like you’re at someone’s house.’

Max explained that the venue will continue to serve alcohol, offering wines, beers and cocktails, but he is hoping to cultivate a family-friendly image for the eatery with additions such as ‘proper Gelatto’ ice crem. Florio’s will also sell hundreds of imported Italian products from its deli. The team hope to open on Monday, June 26, and Max said he is ‘nervous but excited’ to welcome customers. He also urged people to visit the Copnor site for a last chance to glimpse a piece of Portsmouth’s Italian culinary history.

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He added: ‘It’s a one stop shop for anyone who loves cooking, loves food and loves Italy as well. Pompey is great for a lot of reasons, but when it comes to Italian cuisine, it’s behind other cities. Really, we are just trying to bring Portsmouth up to date in that regard by bringing fresh Italian produce that’s authentic and made primarily for passion rather than profit.’