A Second Slice: The Return of Grotto on Edward

2003 was a busy year for Rachel and Anthony Barilla.

Not only did the couple open their first restaurant together, they got married six months after Grotto on Edward Pizza-teca opened its doors for the first time.

So it's no surprise that the iconic Norwood pizzeria is filled with personal touches and family history.

Even the menu is peppered with inside jokes like The 1986 (salami, marinated artichoke, Kalamata olives and shaved leg ham), which was Anthony's regular order back in the 80s. 

The Gigi B (pepperoni, mozzarella, fresh basil and chilli honey) is named after their daughter, Georgia Grace Barilla, but “my son Max is devastated because he doesn't have one named after him,” says Rachel.

“That's because he's really boring; he just has sauce.”

Both children grew up loving the restaurant, which Rachel and Anthony ran for 11 happy years.

“It was a thriving little business,” she recalls, “but when you work for yourself in hospitality, you don't get a lot of breaks.

By 2014, the kids were six and eight and we really wanted to get away for a bit, so we decided to take them to Europe for a holiday.

But back then, you just didn't close the shop for a month.”

Determined to have a memorable family break, the couple reluctantly found a buyer.

But predictably, “the minute we sold it, Anthony regretted it.”

Despite running several other venues over the past decade and change, Rachel and Anthony always missed their original baby.

So after 12 months of negotiations, they took over the restaurant in February this year.

While Anthony's original rotating gas stone oven still takes pride of place in the refurbished kitchen,  Adelaide's dining scene has evolved significantly since 2003.

The Barillas have recognised that by putting a modern touch on the interior and expanding the menu to include pastas and mains alongside the trademark pizzas.

They have also added a housemade zeppoli (which are piped and cooked fresh to order) to the dessert menu, alongside a frozen Bellini machine.

In the dining room, Rachel jokes that “we're a little bit older now, and we've realised that it's important to have some support!”

That means replacing some of the trademark stools with chairs, adding more individual tables and installing bench seating along one wall.

Most excitingly, Grotto on Edward has just received approval to use their next-door neighbour's outdoor tables.

Because Vietnamese restaurant VDR only opens for lunch, the two businesses don't compete with each other, and the extra seating will increase Grotto's capacity from 40 to 65.

“The owners have been awesome since we moved in,” says Rachel.

“And we're close with the other nearby businesses like Bravo, Cue Bar and Yanni's Yiros.

We've lived in Norwood since we had Grotto the first time, and we all know each other and help each other out, which is nice.”

Surrounded by old friends in the venue that they launched as a young couple, Rachel couldn't be happier.

“When we came back, it felt like we never left,” she says. “It feels like home to us.

So we want our customers to notice that it's had a bit of a facelift, but we want them to feel like it's their home too.”

Visit today

61B Edward Street, Norwood
W: grotto.net.au/
I: /grottopizzateca