Pizza on the Square, at 5 Market Place, run by Italian couple Susy and Antonio Margiotta, opens in Newbury

Ciao! A brand new independent pizza business, run by an Italian couple, has opened in Newbury.

The aptly-named Pizza on the Square, at 5 Market Place, opened its doors to hungry customers last week who were treated to the restaurant’s wide variety of pizzas that are all sold by the slice.

Owners Susy and Antonio Margiotta want Newbury’s newest pizzeria to be a place where their customers can enjoy authentic Italian food and relax in a pleasant, laidback environment.

They are already over the moon with the response from locals.

Mrs Margiotta said: “We opened on Friday and we didn’t stop. I was serving people back to back until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. It was mad.

“We are just overwhelmed and super happy.

“People seem to have really understood where we were coming from. Really good food, really warm and family-run service, but it’s relaxed.

“It’s cosy and not stuffy. It’s somewhere you can come when you’re tired with your family or friends and you can just relax and recharge.”

Pizza on the Square menu highlights include the typical offerings of margherita and pepperoni, as well as a spicy meaty pizza, a selection of white pizzas and several vegan and vegetarian options.

Customers can buy slices of their desired pizzas and either sit in their Italian-style first floor dining room or take them away, with both options costing the same.

The restaurant also serves specials that will change either weekly or monthly, it has a deli counter selling Italian cheeses and meats by the gram and it has paired with a Sicilian bakery to provide fresh pastries and desserts.

Mrs Margiotta is both English and Italian, with her mother hailing from Rome and her father from Guildford.

She grew up in Newbury, before moving to the Italian city of Florence after university where she met her husband, who hails from Calabria in the south of the country.

They lived together in Florence for 12 years and had their children there, before moving and settling in Newbury 12 years ago.

Mrs Margiotta added: “I’d been toying with the idea of opening my own business for quite some time now, and pizza has been a passion of Antonio’s for many, many years.

“He has been honing his recipes and his skills and it just made sense to put the two things together and to work as a team and present something that is authentically and genuinely us.”

After soft opening last week, Pizza on the Square will be open Thursday to Sunday for both lunch and dinner going forward, although it will be closed this Saturday (May 4) afternoon for its opening party for friends and family.