Chef re-opens restaurant as owner

A NEW Italian restaurant has opened in Henley.

Nuno Rosado has reopened the former Casa Nostra premises in Reading Road, where he worked as a chef for 25 years, as Al Forno.

He and his partner Ondine Carington, who own the business, started refurbishing the premises in January and finished last month.

The couple, of Western Road, Henley, stripped out and replaced most of the old interior but left a wood-fired oven and barbecue grill installed by their landlord Mirco Rado, who ran Casa Nostra before retiring in 2013.

When Casa Nostra shut, Mr Rosado bought the old Chef Peking premises in Market Place and re-opened it as Portuguese restaurant The Square.

However, he said many diners in Henley missed his former workplace so he decided to revive it.

Al Forno, which is Italian for “cooked in the oven”, serves traditional Italian food like pizza and pasta as well as steak on a hot stone which cooks at the table. It also has a “Cicchetti bar” serving smaller dishes similar to Spanish tapas.

Mr Rosado, who was born in Portugal, said: “There was a lack of a good Italian restaurant in Henley so, knowing this place well, I thought I would open it. We’re very glad to be back. It has been very busy — we’ve been full every evening so far.

“We’ve seen a lot of familiar faces and we’ve had some great feedback. It has been very popular with families.”