Unwind and dine at Toscanini

Orantes Moore, Gleaner Writer

London-born restaurateur Lella Ricci is one half of the duo behind the award-winning Toscanini restaurant in Tower Isles, St Mary.

The restaurant, located just 15 minutes' drive east of Ocho Rios, specialises in Mediterranean cuisine with high-quality Jamaican produce and is widely regarded as one of Jamaica's finest.

According to Ricci, who has been running Toscanini with her charming brother, Pierluigi (PG), since 1998, the secret behind the restaurant's success is in the siblings' desire to deliver a first-class culinary service.

The 53-year-old told Rural Xpress: "My dad was a big restaurateur and owned several patisseries in London from before we were born.

"One of them, the original Patisserie Valerie on Old Compton Street in Soho (in the heart of London's West-End), still exists today.

"He bought that in 1962, the year both Jamaica and I were born. My mother ran that place for 35 years and my brother and I just watched and learned the trade from our father.

"He was a hard man of very few words, but one of the key things he taught me was that if the customer has a smile on their face, their stomach feels good, then everything is cool. And that's the key thing for us. We really try to look after our customers."

Toscanini, which is at the scenic grounds of the Harmony Hall Art Gallery, has a wide-ranging menu and an enviable reputation for serving delicious seafood and salads, which Ricci is particularly proud of.

"PG is the chef and he knows his stuff," she explained. "We're both very particular. Although I'm not physically in the kitchen, I know what goes into the pan and what it's supposed to look, smell, and taste like.

"We only use prime meats, fresh local fish, live lobster, which is delivered daily, and as many fresh local ingredients as possible. We always have a nice selection of vegetarian dishes, and our deserts, focaccia bread, and fettuccine and pappardelle pastas are all homemade.

"We never advertise," Ricci stated proudly. "Instead, we prefer to guarantee a good-quality product and a high level of customer service, and that provides the best form of advertising - word of mouth."

high-profile customers

The siblings' customer-first approach to marketing appears to have paid off as over the years, the restaurant has attracted high-profile customers such as former United States president, Bill Clinton, and his wife, Hillary; supermodel Kate Moss; and singer, Harry Belafonte.

However, Ricci is quick to stress that celebrity tourists were not the only people who booked reservations to dine at the quaint venue. In recent times, there has been a sharp increase in the number of customers from the capital.

She said: "A lot of Kingstonians are coming up to the north coast for weekends, which is nice to see. Many of them are the new generation of workers from corporate Kingston, and when they arrive, I can see the tension on their faces. I've worked in a big city, too, so I can appreciate how hard they're working.

"They have to get out on the weekends; get an apartment, villa or guest house; come for dinner at Toscanini; relax; swim in the sea in the morning; and get rejuvenated. They enjoy what we do because there are a few nice restaurants in Kingston, but not many."

Ricci is keen to share her knowledge with the younger generation, which often fails to recognise the value of good customer service.

She says: "Young people should not see the service industry as something to look down upon because to serve somebody is not a degrading thing.

"Sometimes, the weight we bear on our shoulders can become a lot lighter when we make somebody else happy. There's a lot of satisfaction that can be found in that."