New Italian restaurant Florio's D'Italia opens at site of Historic Old Portsmouth pub The Duke of Buckingham

Florio’s D’Italia, a pizzeria and deli, opened its doors for the first time today (Tuesday, August 1) at 119 High Street, Old Portsmouth after moving from a smaller unit in a Copnor industrial estate. The new premises was formerly the Duke of Buckingham pub, which closed last year. Florio’s now occupies the lower floor of the historic building while the top remains The Duke of Buckingham Hotel.

The eatery, which has a dining area, cafe with takeaway and a shop, is run by brother and sister team Max and Izzy Florio alongside their father and company founder Alex Florio. The Florios say their menu is focused on fresh food with top quality ingredients, and claim the business is one-of-a-kind in Portsmouth.

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Co-director Izzy Florio said: “Everything we’ve always had in our Nonnas house, in Italy or at home, we want to let people in Portsmouth try that food.

“The difference between the last place and here is now we have got tables. It’s more of a sit-down dining experience and we’re going to do more specials – different dishes every week, desserts, wines and artisan gelato. [In Portsmouth] there’s never been anything like this before. We’re doing coffees, gellatos, a pizzeria and a shop all in one. It’s more what you see in London.

Max Florio added: “Rather than cheap gimmicks, we’re focusing on quality and a core menu which people can enjoy time and time again, hopefully for very good value as well. We want to make Pompey happy and hopefully we can do that and contribute to what is already a booming and growing food scene here in the city – which we love.

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Florio’s was started in 2020 by Alex and Max when the pair bought the former Verrecchia's ice cream factory. Alex used to work for the well-known company as an ice cream salesman.

The new venue will continue to serve alcohol, offering wines, beers and cocktails, but is hoping to cultivate a family-friendly image with additions such as ‘proper gelato’ ice cream. Florio’s will also sell hundreds of imported Italian products from its deli.

Alex said: “A lot of people in this area – Old Portsmouth – have said ‘thank god, we needed something like this – not another pub.”

A unique feature of the new restaurant is it’s electric pizza, which was previously used in clebrity chef Marco Pierre White’s Leicester Square restaurant Mr. White’s.

You can find out more about Florio's D'Italia, including how to book a table and what’s on the menu, on the restaurant’s Facebook page.