A much-loved Neapolitan café on Surrey Street have revealed exciting plans to open a new second site in 655 Ecclesall Road this May.
Since opening in January 2022, Caffe Tucci have built a fantastic reputation for authentic, quality Italian coffee and food, and their new Ecclesall Road site promises to further enhance their rep for the latter, thanks to a bigger kitchen and expanded food menu.
The format of the venue will remain the same, with similar opening hours, the same high quality, Italian coffee and the popular ‘build your own panini’ menu, but with added food options and and upstairs seating area, all in a slightly bigger space.
Stefano Capasso, who co-owns the café with his brother Salvatore, told Exposed: “We always planned to have the chance to cook everything from scratch in our own cafe, but we are limited due to the amount of space in our kitchen. When we saw the opportunity to have this place, my imagination flew!”
Stefano tells us that having a bigger kitchen will allow them to expand their menu to include Italian staples like lasagne, meatballs and Neapolitan ragu, as well as halal meats and a whole host of street foods, famous in his hometown of Napoli.
“As soon as I saw the place, I was thinking about all the different options for street foods and desserts.” says Stefano, “For example, we’ll take Parmigiana di melanzane, which is a traditional layered aubergine with tomato and mozzarella, and place it in a panino, with melted smoked cheese and pesto – it’s amazing.
“People don’t know that Napoli is famous for these kinds of street foods, and I’m so excited to bring them to Sheffield. It will improve our menu, so it’s not just about opening a second place to have a second place, it will improve what we already have. Don’t get me wrong, we love our first café, it’s our first baby, but the new shop will allow us to be totally ourselves.
“It gives us the chance to showcase our skill and showcase our food in a new way. It’s really my dream place; It’s small, cosy, and with a nice layout. It’s a beautiful location, and you can see us from Endcliffe Park, which I love.”
Cooking and food are in Stefano and Salvatore’s blood. Their father was a chef for 45 years and Stefano remembers making his first parmigiana, under his father’s tutelage, at just eight-years-old.
“My passion is food, that’s why it will never be hard for us.” says Stefano, “That’s why we always come to work with a smile on our face. The main thing for me is connection with people. When you come to us, I want it to feel special and to give that feeling that, for a second, you’re somewhere else.
“I have so many ideas, and because of the new kitchen, we’re going to bring something that Sheffield has never seen before. I literally can’t wait!”
Neither can we, Stefano! The new venue is set to open in May and for more info head over to their socials.
