Pasta specialist in Porty opening
Portobello’s foodie reputation grows with addition of pastificio
A POP-UP PASTA specialist is opening a permanent place in Portobello.
Kip Preidys and Giada Betti are taking over the former Bross Bagels shop in the town’s High Street and plan to open Aemilia, a traditional “pastificio”, in early June.
The couple earned a reputation for producing high quality handmade pasta during the Covid-19 lockdown, and sold a range of Italian pasta and sauces at food markets and pop-up restaurant events.
Now Kip, originally from Lithuania, and Giada, from Imola near Bologna in the north of Italy, will open a deli-style shop where visitors and passers-by can watch them making pasta daily.
Customers will be able to pick up a coffee while deciding on what pasta to buy for dinner and all products, from bread to dessert, will be made on the premises. In time Kip and Giada hope to widen the retail offering to balsamic vinegar, olive oil and other traditional produce from Giada’s home region of Emilia Romagna, which is known as the food capital of Italy.
AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE
Kip said: “Our vision is based on life in Italy where people come in to buy fresh pasta each day and customers can watch us making pasta in the Portobello shop each morning. Hopefully, as we progress, we will offer a lunch dish or a dish of the week, as well as focaccia sandwiches. It will be a deli-style shop but the most important thing is that everything for sale will be produced by us.”
Portobello is gaining a reputation for its varied food offerings, with recently opened Civerinos Slice setting up on the Promenade next to high-end BBQ outlet The Little Chartroom on the Prom, while Bross Bagels have relocated to larger premises with an in-store bakery in the seaside town’s High Street.
Giada added: “We live in East Lothian and originally planned to open somewhere like North Berwick but when our surveyor asked if we were interested in Portobello and we saw the space, we knew it was the right location and we really had a vision of what we could do. There are already some great names in the town, including Roberta Hall and Civerinos, and it is an up and coming place as a foodie destination, so we are really looking forward to being part of that.”
Kip, who was shocked to discover that major supermarkets sell ravioli in tins, has worked as a chef in some of Scotland’s best restaurants. Aemilia’s best-selling pasta remains tagliatelle con ragu, one of
Bologna’s most traditional dishes.
He added: “We want to bring a bit of Bologna to Portobello and create a place where people can come and have a coffee and a chat, and I’ve been inspired by many trips to Italy and to Giada’s home town of Imola. We love what we do, it will be like performing every day and we will try to put on our best act.”
Opening times have to be confirmed but it is likely Aemilia will be open Wednesday to Sunday 9am to 5pm.