Naples, 1951. Life was difficult after WWII so Michele di Benedetto decided to exchange the sunshine of this lovely Italian city for the grey skies of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he found a job in a fish and chip shop. Strange choice for an Italian? Maybe, but one has to remember that during those years pizzas were almost unknown to the average working-class Scot – not given to adventurous eating at the best of times!

In 1956 Michele moved south of the border to Battersea, London, and was joined by son Giorgio in 1959; already full of the boundless energy that is such an integral part of this larger-than-life personality Giorgio, at just 24, opened his own fish & chip shop in Islington. But it was a fish & chip shop with a difference, combining a café/restaurant where the menu was a little more varied and the seating a little more comfortable! In 1979, and for three consecutive years, the venue won the Evening Standard “Best Fish & Chip Shop” award. Soon Giorgio was opening eating venues all over town: Kings Road, Holborn, Shoreditch… and had been joined by five of his brothers allowing Michele to retire to the sunshine of Calabria in Southern Italy.

In 2000 a friend persuaded Giorgio to come to Mallorca; they stayed at Bendinat and got very little rest due to the construction noises coming from down the road where the Bendinat shopping centre was being built. They visited Puerto Portals and other resorts but Giorgio saw nothing that convinced him to consider opening a restaurant here. However, one day he visited the building site that was making sleep impossible after 7 am, and met Andrew Spence, the constructor’s agent, who showed him final plans. The irrepressible Giorgio found himself taking a closer look and visualising waterfalls, terraces and colour schemes. He was hooked! But, for the first time, he decided this had to be a family decision so, laden with ideas he returned to the UK to consult with his wife Pam and his two sons, Michele and Daniel.

After a further visit with Adam Frankly, consultant architect to Tiffanys, and with the approval of his family, Giorgio finally bought what was to become the definitive “Di Benedetto” which was opened in July 2001…and Mallorca welcomed a magnificent new restaurant with a distinctive Italian flavour.

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