Luca, an Italian restaurant serving Venetian cuisine on Allerton Road, is one of the top 50 restaurants in Liverpool on TripAdvisor - and has now launched in the market town of Ormskirk.
The venue occupies the former Spitroast, which is attached to the traditional Grade II-listed pub, The Buck I'Th' Vine.
The move is being overseen by executive chef Andreas Edlbaue on behalf of Luca managing directors Adam Lunt and James Deary, who also run Spitroast in Waterloo and on Smithdown Road.
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The Ormskirk building's layout, with the dining area at the rear and inn leading to Aughton Street at the front, is the same, but the bluey-grey and forest green colour-scheme and signature Luca features now run throughout.
The chef and owners say the menu offers "approachable food" that is true to the Venetian region.
Andreas said: "We do not do anything by half. Some restaurants are reluctant to go all out with things like chillies, but we go through 20 kilos of chillies a week. It is how they do it in Italy and we want to be authentic.
"Ormskirk is a great little town, it fits our demographic, we use high quality products and this town has a good food scene already and we wanted to contribute to that, offering something different so they don't have to travel to a city centre. We are a 98% 'from scratch restaurant' and we think Ormskirk will appreciate it."
He added: "We agreed that the Luca brand would fit here and that Spitroast was more fast-casual, and there's a few options already in the town for that. We want to become part of the fabric of Ormskirk."
Small plates on the menu include slow-braised beef ragu, prawn linguini, artisan cheeses, chicken Milanese, carpaccio and calamari while it also features salads, risotto, pizzettes and muffulettas, which are Italian deli-style sandwiches.
Andreas was born in Norway and has lived in Austria and Florida before settling in the UK after buying a one-way ticket from the US. He started as the head chef at Allerton Road.
He added: "Food is in my blood, my brother is a chef in Norway and my mum is an amazing cook."
The venue is set to offer live music, a specials menu exclusive to Ormskirk and community nights.
The Ormskirk venue is four times the size of the original, and it also includes a revamped outdoor courtyard.
Andreas added: "We have customers come into Allerton Road a couple of times a week, and I hope for that here in a year's time I wound like to walk down Burscough Street and say hello to people on a first-name basis."
Luca at the Buck is open Tuesday and Wednesday from midday and Thursday to Sunday from 9.30am, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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