AN Italian cafe and deli in Lancaster has expanded its team of staff and will now be open in the evenings.

Buccelli’s café and deli, the dream of Rome-born Bruno Buccelli and his Lancastrian wife Nicola, opened its doors in Church Street in November last year.

Focusing on fresh choice and good cuisine, it complemented Lancaster’s existing ‘Italian quarter’ as a fresh take on a Mediterranean-heritage café, bar and deli all rolled into one.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Distinctive offerings include their own deli boards, try-before-you-buy tastings and aperetivo (an Italian ‘afternoon tea’ style tradition which offers a ‘chopping board’ of food, washed down with Prosecco).

The local reception has been so enthusiastic that, less than a year later, the café is now expanding into evening service three nights a week, taking the opportunity to introduce a completely new dining experience in the process, called the ‘Osteria’.

Osterias evolved in Italy as bistros serving wine and simple, yet filling ‘sharing’ dishes based around fresh seasonal ingredients. The laid-back atmosphere encourages diners to swap, share and enjoy drinks and platters.

Buccelli’s osteria dishes will be specific to the evenings, while incorporating some of the café’s most popular introductions, the taglieres (cured meat and cheese board).

Owner Bruno explained: “For an osteria there is a set menu, at a set price, where you get a tagliere, a Primo (pasta dish) and a Secondo (meat or fish dish). There will be a vegetarian options and a menu ‘alla carta’ too.”

Choice is important to Bruno, as a father of a daughter with food intolerances.

The café’s team ise being joined by a new evening chef, Dario, who brings with him 25 years of experience. This will enable individual requirements to be catered for. As Bruno put it: “An Osteria means a happy, relaxed atmosphere. In Rome, friends meet to share a tagliere, enjoy good wine, and wind down after their day, without the formality of a restaurant.

“Lancaster’s been so welcoming to us. It’s a great place to be, and I see how much the people here love good food.”

Buccelli’s Osteria is open Thursday-Saturday evenings from 6pm from September 23.

See Buccelli’s on Facebook; for booking inquiries and opening night event reservations call 01524 874970.