Pasta Loco Bristol

Cease of trade.

It is with a heavy heart that we are today announcing the closure of Pasta Loco.

We will cease trading immediately and seek help through an insolvency company in the final matters of our business.

Pasta Loco was the realisation of a dream, we do not use this phrase lightly. Growing up in a family of Italian heritage here in Bristol, we knew what authentic hospitality and good food was from the start. From those early foundations our aspirations grew and, after decades of working for others, we finally got the keys to our own restaurant and Pasta Loco was born.

The venue on Cotham Hill had been a ‘greasy spoon' for many years, unkempt and unloved, as such, the renovation was gruelling. With monumental support from our family and specifically our dads, Mike and Carlos and, despite our shoestring budget, we opened the doors and started serving fresh pasta within a couple months. We hit the ground running and our dream became a successful reality very quickly,

Many people doubted that Ben’s vision for a fresh pasta restaurant had a place on the Bristol food scene. Pasta Loco proved that place existed and gave our team the confidence to grow; Pasta Ripiena followed, then Sorella (now Cotto), then Bianchis, with Pizza Bianchi following on after the pandemic. We now have over 80 employees who are well paid and a company culture that deliberately prioritises opportunity and a healthy work/life balance.

So why then are we closing our doors?

It is well known the difficulties that our industry is facing; energy costs are triple what they were, the rising cost of labour, huge increases on core ingredients and, regrettably, landlords hiking the rent to unjustifiably high levels, which, sadly, has been the case at Pasta Loco. These elements are all major factors in our decision to close.

The final nail in the coffin is the manner in which the City Council have conducted themselves with the Cotham Hill pedestrianisation scheme. Initially, two years ago, we were all for the scheme. Permission to extend the dining area has, without doubt, been a protective factor for our business. And we are grateful for this.

However, the entire process from then until now has been poorly managed, terribly communicated and littered with awful decision making. Finally, to be notified that the scheme will complete over the summer and all retailers are to take down their external structures and remove seating at the busiest time of the year, is the death knell for us.

While we understand the need to complete the project, the absence of any consultation and partnership working is glaring; we have been allocated enough space for two outside tables, as a cycle lane will through the centre of the road. We know that the loss in covers would mean letting go of nearly half of our staff. Ultimately, this option was unacceptable to us, so we have taken the hard decision to close and take our business elsewhere.

We would like to thank all of our customers, those who have been with us from the beginning and who those we’re just getting to know. All of you are Loco-family to us. You have supported our business, eaten numerous plates of home-made pasta in our restaurant and, above all, cared about our dilemma. It’s your commitment to us that has kept us going, day in, day out.

We want to thank our phenomenal staff who have worked hard to reflect our mission and values as a company, and have turned up every day despite the whirlwind of uncertainty that our industry is in.

Pasta Loco has been a joyous ride from the start and will always be our first love, it’s hard to walk away but we know in our hearts that the time is right. One door shuts and another will open. Pasta Loco, our first restaurant, has laid a very special foundation; we will rise and build on we have learnt, loved and created.

From Ben and Dom, with all our love and respect.

***CARBONARA IS BACK***

Over the next few weeks Pasta Loco will see some changes.

Tues - Sat lunches and dinners.

No more Mondays.

As Bristolians maybe aware, Cotham Hill is undergoing some construction work which is out of our control and may affect some current bookings.

We will be keeping everyone in the loop as we know more from the powers at be.

As our concerns for the current economy grows, we thought it'd be lovely for all of our customers if we introduced the

**PASTA LOCO CLASSICS**

From Tuesday 3rd Pasta Loco will be showcasing some classics like the above.

Jump online to resdiary or email to secure your lunch or dinner with us.

Ben, Dom and the amazing Loco team will be waiting for you.

***HAPPY BIRTHDAY***

To our founding sister and all round incredible person .0

Our original day 1, where would we be without you? Thank you for continuing to bring your amazing light into our lives x

***EVENT***

We have a few tables avaliable at 1230pm.

Details of the event on the poster and details of the campaign below.

Bookings via [email protected] only!

Hope to see you there x

***THIS YEAR***

On October 14th, .pietrykowska .ben.harvey , and a bunch of legends will set off to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa.

They are raising money for , a charity we've been working with for over 5 years (thanks to & ) who focus on people experiencing vulnerable living.

Our individual goal is to raise 6k per person (links in their bios)

There are 5 spaces left, so for more info, email [email protected]

Follow
To keep up to date !

Challenge yourself to help others!

***THIS YEAR***

On October 14th, .pietrykowska .ben.harvey , and a bunch of legends will set off to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa.

We are raising money for , a charity we've been working with for over 5 years (thanks to & ) who focus on people experiencing vulnerable living.

Our individual goal is to raise 6k per person (link in their IG bios)

There are 5 spaces left so,for more info, email [email protected]

Follow
To keep up to date !

Challenge yourself to help others!

**FOH MANAGEMENT WANTED**

The Bianchis Group:







Is looking for P/T and F/T managers to rock n roll the FOH throughout our venues.

A love for food and wine is a must!!

Email CVs to thr following with your favourite joke!

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Good luck legends x

⭐️HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY⭐️

The Bianchis Group has been built on the strength, wisdom & guidance of great woman.

From our mothers Anna and Vicky nurturing our hunger for life, to the power house custodians of our business Josie, Magda, Ruth & Holly. Not to mention all of the other women that run and work in our restaurants and kitchens.

Of course a special mention to our Nonna who passed away last year, she paved the way to where we are today without doubt. And like so many woman of the world Nonna worked full time whilst bringing up her four daughters largely on her own.

Woman of the world we salute you, we thank you & we honour you, today, tomorrow & forever x

Ben & Dom

This gorgeous little fried guy is our salt cod fritti with roasted red pepper walnut muhamarah!
Tastes just as good as it looks…

MONDAY FUNDAY is here again! Bring a bit of sunshine to your life with 2 Aperol/Campari spritz or negronis for £10.
Tables available this eve; come on down x

restaurant

**INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY**



To celebrate International Women's Day (8th March) we have a very special guest, Susanna Grassi to showcase her fantastic Chiantis.

We have a specially designed 5 course Tuscan menu for that night only.

On top of these fantastic wines we will have some welcome bubbles plus more in store.

This will be hosted by from .wine at Bianchis, two sittings at 645pm and 730pm.

It is £100 per head with a donation to

Bookings go live from 6pm on or email [email protected] / [email protected]

We have limited space on this one so let us know if you want to play.

We’ve got some saucy new dishes on today; here’s our pan fried with & from our dinner menu 👀
We have space at the bar for you today from 12pm; pop by and say hi x

’m bianchisgroup restaurant

We’ve got space for walk ins today for lunch from 12pm!
Pop on by and say hi and we’ll hook you up with our set price lunch menu;
2 courses for £24
Or
3 courses for £28.
Here’s our malfatti on whipped burrata from last week 👀 Plenty of pasta goodness on the menu for you today; see you soon x
:

restaurant

Pappardelle with mojo pork + blood orange agrodolce
Our mojo pork is marinated overnight and roasted for 9 hours
Spicy zingy fresh naughty as
Grab it while it’s HOT. BOOM

It’s the start of a new week and we’ve got £5 apéritivos on all night!
Space still available for this eve, so get in touch & we’ll hook you up from 5:30pm x

***FRIDAY LUNCH & DINNER***
It’s your lucky day! We have space for you for lunch from 12pm today and a table for 4 @ 6:15pm on the terrace this eve. Call Steph on 01179733000 or emails us at [email protected] to get involved x
:

***WEDNESDAY AVAILABILITY***
We have room for walk ins for both lunch for our set menu, and dinner today! Come see the homies in action and let us give you a plate of the good stuff.
Open from 12pm for lunch; see you soon x

Rabbit ravioli in Bianchis cider jus with celeriac purée & prosciutto 😍

We have space for you this week!
Give us an email on [email protected] to secure a table!
We’d love to have you!

We have space for you for dinner tomorrow from 5:30pm & don’t forget it’s Aperitivo Mondays! £5 Campari/Aperol Spritz or Negronis all night 👌🏻
Here’s a shot of our scamorza & potato rotolo with capers, olives & roasted tomatoes from Saturday’s menu. This one went down a storm; have you tried it yet?

All our tables are booked this evening but we have space for you at the bar from 5:30pm; see you later! x

We have a couple of lunch tables available for Saturday! Jump online to book or sling the gang an email and we’ll hook you up.
Thanks for the gorgeous photo !

Pan fried mackerel with fennel slaw, pickled ginger, furikake & wasabi aioli that we had on a couple days ago, isn’t she beautiful.

Mackerel supplied by

Unfortunately we are all booked up this evening but we have plenty of space tomorrow and Thursday so give us a call or an email and we’ll get you a table!

Ladies in the house today, ready to look after all of your wine and pasta based needs!
Here’s GM Steph showing off our fab Sauvignon Blanc from
We have a couple of tables of two available for a cheeky pre-weekend lunch; see you soon x

Spring is in the air and white wine season is nearly here; we have plenty of gorgeous options and free tables for lunch and dinner today. Ask the team for recommendations and let us chat to you about some of our faves 🌞

💞Our valentines menu is live!💞
We still have a few spots left so give us a call or an email to secure!

There’s a reason why tirimisu literally translates to “pick me up”…
We have a few spaces available this evening so get in touch and book before they’re all gone!

.

A sobering message from Ben and Dom.

We cannot thank everyone for their ongoing support and understanding so far.

For all of the other business operators, stay strong, keep hustling.

Fancy trying something new? Give our stunning nero a go with fritto misto, roasted peppers & aioli. Space all day and evening; get involved Bristol!

🍹🍹APERITIVO MONDAYS🍹🍹
One for the hospitality crew or just anyone that loves a cheeky drink or two at the start of the week!
As of today we and will be opening up on Monday evenings so come and get in on the spritz action!

New to the menu today! West country pork and beef bolognese with French dressed rocket, sometimes the classics just can’t be beaten.