One millionth customer to be treated to dinner and champagne

By Christine Lavelle

AN Italian restaurant in Edinburgh is gearing up to celebrate its one millionth customer – they just have to wait for them to walk through the door.

Staff at La Piazza, in the west end of the city are keeping a tally of how many customers enter the restaurant and plan to make a fuss when the one who makes the special landmark walks in.

The family-run eatery has been trading in the capital for 13 years, and owner Tony Pia said everyone is watching the countdown closely as they get closer to the target.

He said: “We’ve already started a countdown and every single member of staff is keeping track.

“When that millionth customer walks through the door, we want to mak

La Favorita serves up AA Rosette win for wood-fired pizza

By Shaun Milne

A SCOTS restaurant has been judged one of the best in the country after winning a top food gong – for serving up PIZZA.

La Favorita in Edinburgh has been crowned with a prestigious One Star AA Rosette usually only reserved for such famous high end eateries as The Witchery and The Tower.

And it makes it the first pizzeria EVER to pick up the accolade in Scotland.

Judges made a sneak visit to the Leith Walk restaurant on September 4 and said they were blown away by its traditional wood-burning pizza ovens, fresh use of ingredients and service.

Pizza

And last night jubilant owner Tony Crolla – who says he wants to have the best pizza restaurant in Britain – laughed that he could now set his sights on bagging a Michelin star to complete the set.

He grinned: “I’m surprised at receiving this award as we didn’t know the inspectors had been here – but at the same time I’m not surprised because I think we are one of the best restaurants out there.

“It is very flattering. “In particular, it’s very pleasing to be the first pizzeria to feature in these awards and to know we’re rubbing shoulders with other well-known names in the restaurant world.”

Pizza Hut runs out of dough

By Cara Sulieman

CUSTOMERS at Pizza Hut had a shock at the weekend – when the restaurant ran out of dough and had to shut.

Hungry shoppers had to rush to other cafés in the areas in a mad dash to get some food.

Hopefully Pizza Hut wont run out of dough again

A lonely sign on the front door of the Fountain Park branch of the food chain announced that customers could not be seated due to a lack of dough.

But customers already in the restaurant were able to enjoy their food whilst their fellow diners had to fight through the queues in other restaurants.

A manager at a nearby branch of the chicken chain Nando’s had noticed that it was a busy weekend, but didn’t realise Pizza Hut’s problems.

She said: “I just thought there must have been something new out at the local cinema and that was why we were busy. But that makes sense, if Pizza Hut is closed then that would increase our custom by a lot.”

But it was a lot more noticeable for the customers who were turned away.

Suzanne Mackie, 23, tried to get something to eat before she went to the cinema with a friend on Saturday night.

She said: “There were about two other groups of people trying to get in as well and no one could quite believe it. For a pizza place to run out of dough, the main ingredient needed in every single pizza, is laughable.

“I would have thought an organisation the size of Pizza Hut would know how to control its stock levels – especially with something as necessary as dough.

“As a result the neighbouring units were all full and my friend and I had to grab a takeaway pizza from a nearby kebab shop. The entire situation was a little ridiculous.”

A staff member at Pizza Hut, who doesn’t want to be named, said it wasn’t uncommon for the popular chain to get through their dough ration before the end of the day.

She said: “I’m not saying it happens all the time, but it is difficult to judge how busy the restaurant is going to be. Especially with the way it is just now you just can’t tell how busy it is going to be.

“Nine times out of ten it’s because not enough dough has been proofed for the day’s service. Once it comes into the restaurant it needs to be left for a couple of hours to rise before it’s used and this process takes a couple of hours.”

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut explained that it was an unusually high number of customers that caused the shortage.

He said: “Due to exceptionally high demand at our Fountain Park restaurant, we ran out of dough for a short time on Saturday evening and as a result, the store was closed for around half an hour.

“This can happen on rare occasions as our dough is freshly prepared every day. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Three-time pizza champs lead the delivery race

 By Michael MacLeod

BRITAIN’S best pizza makers are champions for the third year in a row – and this time the award has double toppings.

The Italians at Edinburgh’s La Favorita scooped the title of the UK’s best pizza restaurant AND best delivery service.

The Dominos and Pizza Hut-beating gongs are all the more remarkable because the owners only began delivering pizzas this year.

Bosses at the Leith Walk restaurant spent thousands of pounds on launching its delivery service this year.

They invested in a fleet of five red Minis branded with the La Favorita logo, as well as customer ordering software and top-of-the-range pizza bags to keep meals at an optimum temperature.

Winning the 19th Pizza, Pasta and Italian Food Association PAPA awards was a pizza cake for proud owner Tony Crolla.

He said: “We are only as good as our last meal, but winning awards helps staff and guests to feel reassured they are at one of the best pizza restaurants in the UK.

“We never rest on our laurels and are always thinking of new ways to develop our establishments.

“The PAPA Awards are the most sought-after accolades in the Italian industry in the UK so to win the Pizza Restaurant category almost every year since we opened is a great testament to the staff, work and service at La Favorita.”

The top prize at a lavish ceremony in London’s Royal Lancaster hotel celebrates “the best and most genuine” Italian restaurants in the country.

The capital-based restaurant beat off competition from Heavenly Pizzas in Aberdeen, as well as Dublin takeaway Bistro Bianconi and Lupa and Basilico, two of London’s leading operators.

Tony, who also owns Vittoria on Leith Walk and George IV Bridge, added: “We wanted to create something slick and professional so people could enjoy the high-quality La Favorita product in their own homes.

“I am delighted this has also proven to be a success and winning these PAPA awards is a fantastic end to the year for La Favorita.”

La Favorita’s sister restaurant Vittoria is also celebrating after being shortlisted for Italian Restaurant of the Year in the Scottish Restaurant Awards, with winners announced in January.

Sainsbury’s was voted as the nation’s frozen supermarket retailer of the year and Glasgow’s Bella Napoli took home the best Italian restaurant gong.

PAPA is the only formal trade body in the UK representing the pizza, pasta and Italian food and drink industry.

Jim Winship, PAPA director, said: “These awards are important to the industry as they recognise the work being done by restaurants, supermarkets and suppliers to keep pushing the boundaries through innovation and promotion.”