A passionate family dynasty at the heart of their own 'Italian Quarter' in Liverpool have been bringing authentic recipes and traditions to the city for years.
Located in Williamson Square, P&D, owned by brothers Paolo and Donato Cillo, has been a familiar sight in the city centre since 2012. And while the business has only called Liverpool home for over a decade, it is steeped in culture and history.
Serving everything from high quality coffees, cakes, pastries and more, P&D is no longer the only business to call the site home. In recent years, the building has transformed to house independent businesses owned by different members of the same family - enabling them to continue to bring "experience, not only food" to their customers.
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Donato, originally from Potenza in Basilicata, told the ECHO: "Everything started 12 years ago. I was a teacher in a school in Italy, I had my own restaurant in Italy.
"The owner of Il Forno restaurant (on Duke Street) called me to give Italian training to the staff. Originally I came here as a consultant two or three times and year to train the staff and then I decided to open here.
"We decided to take this place and make it an authentic Italian coffee shop. In what used to be the kitchen area, my wife started to make a few cakes for our customers and me and my brother started to make some coffees."
Walking into P&D, you're immediately greeted by a selection of stunning cakes, pastries and gelato that are artworks in themselves. From Italian classics like tiramisu and cannoli to an array of gelato flavours, vegan treats, a 'Britalian' display of British recipes made by the family and the seasonal Easter eggs now on the counter - there is so much to choose from.
But regular customers will also recognise staff members such as general manager Carmelo and head barista Giuseppe, both from Sicily, at the front of house. Back in Sicily, Carmelo learned to craft the perfect gelato and granita - something customers are always keen to see return to the menu.
Carmelo said: "The granita, after Easter, we will start to make it. Granita is very typical from Sicily, for a different area it’s different preparation.
"It’s water, sugar and fruit and we make flavours pistachio, lemon, almond and coffee. It's ready in seven minutes in the machine but preparation is from the night before. We use all fresh fruit."
And when it comes to hot drinks, P&D uses coffee roasted in Venice, a blend produced only for the family business. Giuseppe told the ECHO: "Carmelo and I, customers like to see us every day but especially they like the coffee. I'd say 99% of customers say you are the best in Liverpool for the coffee and we have the best Italian cakes."
On the ground floor, the bakery also produces fresh sour dough bread, focaccia and more every day. Donato said: "Everyone does something different but our design here is of Italian tradition. We start with the sourdough, it’s eight years old.
"It needs to be treated like a baby, sourdough needs to be fed, refreshed and cleaned three times a day and if something goes wrong it dies and if it dies, we stop all production. The staff start at 2am and they do all preparations and around 10am all the breads come out.
"The philosophy of our business is nothing we supply is something we don't produce. From sourdough breads to sourdough pizza, focaccia - everything is made by us. Most of the time, people might not understand what goes on behind this wall or the full operation - it’s very big. In whole, there are 55 people who work with us."
There are a core group of customers who have come into the business every day since day one - but the site has also welcomed new clientele. Communication of their tradition and culture is the family's aim, from the products they produce to the workforce behind it.
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Now, you can get a different experience in different sections of the 'Italian Quarter.' Three months ago husband and wife, Carmine Cillo and Antonella Bovino opened Hey Farina, serving up authentic pasta, salads, focaccia and baked goods.
In 2021, Donato's son, Antonio Cillo, opened his own business, Brunchin', upstairs after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University. And behind the scenes, Donato’s wife Antonietta heads up a team of bakers to create hand-made pastries, desserts, cakes and gelato not only for the family businesses, but for other restaurants, cafe's and wholesalers.
Donato told the ECHO: "They're all totally different companies, but part of the same family. We've joined all together, the coffee shop is mine, the bakery is my brother's, my sister-in-law and my brother, they opened their concept Farina and the first floor is my son. We are independent family businesses but everyone has got different skills.
"My brother, not just for me, is one of the best bakers and creates all these amazing things and my wife has a different, she creates her gelato and cakes which are very nice.
"Farina means flour and everything we make here ourselves with flour. It’s simple, fresh, Mediterranean - that is the middle of our culture.
"My son, he brought his own Italian mentality because he grew up in the restaurant. He said he wanted to bring something different out, something hearty, brunch and breakfast.
"I said do you want to kill me, where is the pasta, where is the pizza. But he’s done a fantastic job with his business. It’s a different philosophy but I need to say it goes really well, they've been doing a great job.
"The beauty is that families can come here and enjoy different experiences. They can enjoy a simple cake or simple pasta and come upstairs for an English breakfast."
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The ECHO also had a tour of the top floor, where a workforce of bakers led by Antonietta create and decorate everything by hand from Easter eggs and croissants to cakes and more. every week, the team produce up to 3000kilos of gelato.
Antonietta has been baking and working with gelato for over 20 years. After training in Italy, she brought her expertise over to Liverpool.
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Donato said: "We've brought in our own family recipes and traditions - that’s our key. We bring experience, a combination of recipes, passion, tradition.
"We’re happy to share all of this experience with all of the community. They are incredibly nice and they always have a smile for all the team, they always say thank you and appreciate what we do."
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