We’re bringing authentic Italian food to South Tyneside with our new restaurant
A family-run bistro is bringing a tasty of Italy to the borough.
Familia Bistro, on Ocean Road, in South Shields is looking to bring authentic Italian food to South Tyneside with a wide variety of flavourful dishes.
Run by Claudio Bussetti, 49, and his son, Gabriele, 19, the pair opened the new venue on Friday, March 6, at the site of the former Fisherman’s Catch fish and chip shop.
The family, who are from Rome but now live in South Shields, are wanting to share their Italian culture with the borough through the new venue.
Gabriele has told the Shields Gazette that they’ve always wanted to open an Italian restaurant in South Shields and have given an insight into what people can expect from the new business.
He said: “It is a family business and we are bringing a bit of Italian culture to South Shields so people can expect all sorts of pasta and other Italian dishes.
“It has been great so far and because we’re different from everyone else on Ocean Road, we’re hoping to keep expanding it.
“We’ve always wanted to have our own restaurant in South Shields but we wanted to find out to what people liked first so it took a bit of time.
“Now we have an idea of what people like, we’ve decided to open and are going to see how far we can take it.”
Gabriele has also revealed that Familia Bistro’s food has taken some customers on a trip down memory lane.
He added: “Feedback has been great, people have been telling us that the food takes them back to when they’ve been visiting Italy.
“Others have said they’ll be coming back because the food has been full of flavour.”
Familia Bistro is open from 8am until 6pm Monday to Thursday, 8am until 9pm on Friday and Saturday and 9am until 4pm on Sundays.
The venue operates a full breakfast menu daily from 8am until 11am, with a main menu consisting of pizza, pasta and other Italian dishes.
You can find out more about about Familia Bistro by visiting: https://www.instagram.com/familia.bistro2026/.
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