Popular Bristol restaurant group opens new venue - and it’s their biggest to date

The award-winning team behind some of Bristol’s best-loved restaurants is celebrating the launch of its biggest venue to date.

The Bianchis Group made its name with Italian restaurants Pasta Loco and Pasta Ripiena before expanding with four other venues around the city.

Today sees the launch of Pazzo (meaning ‘crazy’) in the former premises of Bar Humbug on Whiteladies Road.

It’s the group’s largest restaurant to date and will serve Italian dishes and food from around the globe. The menu includes Cornish crab pappardelle with charred leeks, nori and chilli oil; curried goat tortellini in brodo and Parmesan dumpling, and BBQ pork ribs, nduja braised cannellini beans, chicory, cornbread and aioli.

Pasta Loco on Cotham Hill closed in July, with co-owners Owners Dominic Borel and Ben Harvey saying it was due to rising costs of energy, labour and ingredients and an increase in rent.

But the owners also said the ‘final nail in the coffin’ was because Bristol City Council’s pedestrianisation scheme of Cotham Hill meant they would have to remove their temporary terrace. They said they would lose the majority of the outside tables that had made such a big difference to the success of the business during the previous summer.

New opening Pazzo has a south-facing front courtyard, bar, dining room and a private dining room at the back. There’s also an open kitchen with state-of-the-art equipment and a bespoke grill.

Speaking about the opening of their sixth restaurant, Dominic Borel said: “We want to be regarded as one of Bristol’s best restaurants, if not the best. Unlike the other restaurants, we don’t offer a strictly Italian menu you will see influences from all over the world.

“Having closed Pasta Loco, we wanted to open a venue that paid homage to our roots and philosophy in our approach to the food and service whilst also drawing on all that we have learnt over the years to take things up to the next level.”

Chef brothers Ben and Joe Harvey will oversee the kitchen at Pazzo with Theo Eggleston.