About La Caricatura
The history of the Dino's Restaurant empire begins in 1949 when company founder Signor Acini arrived in London from a small village in Piacenza, Northern Italy. His aim was to bring authentic Italian cooking to London and to celebrate an Italian heritage through his traditionally decorated restaurants and extensive Italian inspired menu.
A few years passed and after the success of the first Dino's restaurant in South Kensington, he opened a further six within premium locations in Central London.
Business was blooming.
Dino's employed over 100 members of staff throughout the chain, predominately Italian immigrants from the North of Italy. They were a major part of Dino's assets, and a large number had been with the company for over 20 years. One member in particular, Antonio Barbieri, had worked for the owners of Dino's for over 43 years and is a trusted friend and confidant as well as having been senior manager of the North Audley Street site.
The transition from Dino's to La Caricatura came when Antonio Barbieri's son Alberto, along with his business partners, approached Dino's in a bid to create a restaurant group that provided 'Naples on a plate' to the British public. Great pizza/pasta, Alberto decided, needed to be cooked authentically in luxurious surroundings, like those he had enjoyed elsewhere in Europe and only in a hand-full of boutique restaurants.
The building, structure, concept and menu has been completely transformed. La Caricatura's 'pizzaiolos' create their edible masterpieces in a specially imported hand-built wood burning pizza oven that reaches temperatures of 500 degrees to make the perfect pizzas...including the most expensive pizza in the world!