A popular pizzeria in Heaton  already popular with customers is now award-winning.

Tesoro pizzeria opened in May this year and has already proved to be a fan favourite, attracting visitors from as far as London and even international patrons from Italy.

(Image: Joe Whittaker)Cousins Joe Whittaker and Peter Lancaster started working in the hospitality industry before  the lockdown -  working at their family-run delicatessen, Darley’s, in Over Hulton.

Within months of opening, the pizzeria has seen massive success among customers due to its “exceptionally high-quality pizzas” made from local produce.

The restaurant received two awards at this year’s UK Italian Awards in the Best Pizzeria and Best Newcomer categories.

(Image: Joe Whittaker) It was also nominated in the Best Wine Selection, Best Restaurant Manager and Best Team categories.

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Joe was trained by Italian-born Marco Fuso, who can count the 2017 Best Pizza Maker in Britain as one of his many awards.

Joe said: “The restaurant has been a massive success - we’re nearly always booked up even on weeknights we see lots of customers.

“Most people in the industry want to make money, but we care about offering a high-quality experience for customers, hence we have a smaller amount of seating, so people don’t feel crammed in.

“We value the experience on offer over capacity. We don’t do Deliveroo or JustEat so that there aren’t people with takeaway bags coming in and out the restaurant which would disrupt the experience. 

(Image: Joe Whittaker) “It can be difficult in hospitality, we’ve been very lucky to have lots of support from the local community.

“We chose Italian because we sat down and tried to identify where the gaps for restaurants were in Bolton.

“We’ve worked hard on building relationships in Italy to get the best products, we don’t cut corners. I’m happy to spend double what other places do because our customers can taste the difference.”

“Tesoro” is an Italian term of endearment meaning ‘treasure’ and judging by the restaurant’s success and boost to the local economy, it’s how Bolton should regard Tesoro too.

The meticulous attention to detail is prevalent throughout the restaurant, from its food right down to its décor.

The marble bar top, Joe notes, is an Italian version of traditional marble, whilst Tesoro’s 3-ft Neapolitan oven is just one of three in the UK.

(Image: Joe Whittaker)

Peter said: “It's still strange, people make a point to let us know they’ve enjoyed the food. We even had someone from Italy come in and say that it’s just like being at home.

“We’ve stuck to what’s authentic and what works for us, such as using specialist Trapani Sea salt in the dough used by people in Naples.

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“Even though it’s a small change the difference is night and day.”

It’s Tesoro’s pizzas which are the star of the show. The “Tesoro Original” style pizzas always do well, Joe notes, and consist of a variety of toppings from Agreola mozzarella, maletti salami to spicy spianata and Nduja chillies and hot honey.

The restaurant also offers a selection of small plates including hummus with chopped pistachio, EVOO and lemon oil, pickled vegetables, burrata and heritage tomato with straciatella, pickled shallot and oregano.

They import their meat, flour, tomatoes and cheese from Italy, but get their milk, butter and eggs from Smithills Farm. The Gift of Oil, a Bolton company that has its own farm in Italy, supplies the olive oil.

(Image: Joe Whittaker)

Such careful consideration extends to the wine list, which features wines that are appropriate to the region, as well as to the dish itself.

The attention to detail in Tesoro’s is meticulous from  the quality of the napkins and even right down to the way the cheese on the pizzas is cut so that it melts more evenly.

Peter said: “We work so hard to make sure the quality of the food is a cut above.

“You never stop to think about it, you are just do the best you can and be better than you were yesterday.”