A YEAR on from when Il Vello d’Oro took over the Golden Fleece in Shaw, owners Ardit and Mali reflect on what has been a busy but successful year for the Italian restaurant.
The duo have been friends since they were teenagers and have previously worked together in the restaurant industry for over 14 years. Both being trained chefs, they decided to open their own restaurant together.
Although both have years of experience in the restaurant industry, the first year has been a learning experience for them.
Ardit said, “It’s been a challenging year and a lot of hard work and time has gone into the business. We haven’t had a day off since we opened last year, including Christmas day. My wife gave birth in October so she was pregnant for our first eight months – she was on her own quite a bit because I had to be here. We’ve sacrificed a lot to try and make the restaurant a success.
“We’re very pleased to be here. Everyone has been lovely and very friendly and welcoming to us. The village is very supportive and our neighbours have helped us with a lot of things.
“Although we have been busy, there are still lots of people who still don’t know that it’s now an Italian restaurant and not The Golden Fleece any more. We are a completely new team of people and menu. We do have plans to refurbish the entire restaurant and give it a whole new look, so watch this space!
“We are both chefs so our passion is food! We love creating dishes which are exciting and flavoursome. Everything is made from scratch and freshly prepared to order. We have a very big menu with lots of choices and options including pasta and pizza, risotto, steak and fish, but we also serve fish and chips and gammon and our famous Sunday roast served from 12-4pm.
“We haven’t done a huge amount of advertising, we just opened the doors and people came in! It has been a tough year, but it’s been good.
“We would like to say a big thank you to all our customers who have supported us in the last year. For us, it’s worth all the hard work if people enjoy our food. We’ve never had any complaints, so we must be doing something right!”
Why not book a table for Valentine’s Day – there will be a special three course menu for £30.
Visit the website to see the options – www.ilvellodoro.co.uk
