STAFF and customers of a Ben Rhydding restaurant have been celebrating its

fourth anniversary.

The doors of Pranzo Italian in Ben Rhydding first opened in May 2018, and the anniversary was marked this month with a party at the Bolling Road restaurant.

The business’s customers were all invited to come along for a glass of fizz and to sample a range of taster dishes from the new menu.

Pranzo was the brainchild of local chef, Marco Greco, who grew up in Ilkley, but with a strong Italian blood line behind him, he has always had a passion for making delicious, hearty and comforting Italian food.

The inspiration for Marco’s cooking, and even some of his signature Pranzo dishes, came from his Italian grandmother, Nonna. Growing up, Marco spent many of his summers in Italy with Nonna teaching him her family recipes for delicious Italian cuisines.

Today, pictures of Nonna can be seen at the Ben Rhydding restaurant, in fact something most diners don’t realise all the historic images on the walls are actually of Marco’s family.

Family is everything to Marco and providing authentic home-cooked food in a cosy and relaxed environment for other families to enjoy is what he aims to do.

Marco said: “The past four years have taken a lot of hard work, not to mention the trials of the pandemic and there is still a lot of hard work to be done, but I wanted to take the chance to celebrate with family, friends and customers coming to enjoy the new dishes I have added to the menu and also to thank them all for their support.”

Another reason to celebrate is the launch of Pranzo’s home-made fresh pasta.

Marco said: “Customers already assume we make our own pasta as it tastes so fresh, so our new dishes are about to get even better.”

He said Pranzo would be the only restaurant in Ilkley to be making their own fresh pasta - and this was just one more reason to indulge in this authentic Italian establishment.

Pranzo remains at the top of Trip Advisor’s recommendations in Ilkley.

A recent review says: “Their delicious food is making my waistline spread like rumours! They regularly have new specials all of which are delaying my thoughts of becoming a professional cyclist; the home-made lobster pasta is to die for!”

The Pranzo brand is already growing with a larger restaurant on Cold Bath Road, Harrogate opening last year.

Marco doesn’t plan to stop there. He’s aiming to take the winning formula he created on Bolling Road and open the third Pranzo in the not-too-distant future.