AN Italian restaurant owner cannot wait to welcome customers to his authentic diner.

Nabucco Bar and Restaurant will open in Market Street, Westhoughton, on January 26, with Italian designer chef Joani Sera at the helm.

The chef has spent hours slaving over the menu choices, taking inspiration from his childhood in Italy as well as working and setting up a Nabucco’s in Italy.

He said: “I am excited, I’m just waiting for the day and the hour I can finally open this place.

“We’ve been doing an amazing job in preparation for later this month and we’re looking to keep the quality.

“The restaurant is going to look so beautiful when people see it and the food is amazing as well as our wine list. It’s very Italian based. Our recipes are all authentic.”

Joani has been cooking and working in restaurants for over 30 years with successful eateries in Italy, USA, Canada and two others in Staffordshire and Glossop along the way.

He said: “I started in the kitchen myself, so I used original recipes for all the food, as that is our philosophy at Nabucco Bar and Restaurant.

“Everything on the menu is homemade and fresh like the pasta, pizza and the salami. “

The restaurant was due to open in November last year but a lot of issues in getting things shipped from Italy halted this.

Joani said: “Actually, we had some problems with getting things over from Italy due to Covid as we tried to prepare accordingly, so we had to wait a little while to work around it.

“But we are ready now, and look forward to seeing everyone dine here, getting the taste of the finest delicacies of Italy.”

Joani and the team are also committed in serving vegan food as the chef himself specialises in vegan Italian cuisine, though he is not vegan himself.

The menu will have a whole range of vegan food to order, which Joani himself has thought of and made prior to putting on the menu, to ensure the taste remains authentic.

Joani moved to Manchester 11 years ago with pastry chef and wife, Carmen Sera, and their children, Fransel and Morena Sera because they wanted to study in the UK.

Since then, the chef has been involved in the openings of many other restaurants in the UK.