Dubin’s iconic Toscana restaurants has always belonged to the Bitici family. Voted top 10 Italian restaurant by Lovin Dublin. Chefs Vetoni and his Irish wife Dee own Toscana Dame Street and brother Agi and his wife Anthea are proprietors of Toscana Seafront Dun laoghaire. Both brothers are chefs who began their careers travelling Europe and have worked in many countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Croatia and London for more than 30 years. Now stationed firmly in Dublin for the past 20 years, today one may say a great chef staying in one place that long is a rarity, but the Bitici’s have chosen to grow the perfect business here in Dublin and opened one of the first Farm to Table restaurants in Dublin in the late 90’s. In a city where a decade is usually the maximum survival rate for any given restaurant, the Bitici’s created a spot that has remained timeless.
Toscana’s kitchen has cooked for an array of celebrities such as Hollywood’s Brian Dennehy, Timothy Dalton, Bono, the Dubliners, Sinead O’Connor, George Michael, Rene Ruzzo, Olivia Newton John, Chris O’Dowd, Brendan Gleeson and many prestigious Irish politicians . Both Toscana restaurants are pioneers when it comes to Fresh Home-grown produce which they grow by the seasons from their own Wicklow farm-house gardens. At the heart of Toscana cooking lies a celebration of food that is fresh, home-grown by the seasons and unpretentious, elevating simple traditions and modern cooking into flavours customers enjoy. Toscana Restaurant was the proud winner of the Good Food Ireland best Grow It Yourself Restaurant in Ireland award. This award presented by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny has become the most coveted honour in the world of food and tourism in recognition of Irish food excellence.
“We have travelled the world to learn our craft but every chef knows the secret to the best ingredients are grown right here in Ireland. We rely on just the exacting ingredient to create our dishes from our own farm-house which allows our freshness and flavours to speak for themselves”. Says Agi. The use of polytunnels helps Toscana extend the seasons.
The farm-house gardens are in integral part of Toscana’s philosophy towards cooking and healthy lifestyle, and we believe that our customers should eat as well as we do at home. Avoiding nasty sprays, using organic farm eggs, we grow our own seasonal organic fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs. We pride ourselves on honest seasonal vegetables packed with nutrients. “Our aim is to bring the spirit of the Mediterranean lifestyle into our kitchens, having grown up ourselves on a Mediterranean diet and picking our breakfast from our fathers gardens my brother and I feel great pleasure combining the fertile Irish soil with the rich heritage of classic and modern Italian cuisine”. Says Vetoni.
Toscana menu specials changes nightly so there’s endless variety, but expect crisp, fresh vegetables in spring/summer and early Autumn and winter-cellar produce such as marinated homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chillis and varieties of pestos, chutneys in cooler months: in short, food perfectly suited to the seasonal palate.
Opposite Dublin Castle
3 Cork Hill, Dame Street
Dublin 2
Open 7 days, 12 Noon till Late.