Carluccio’s, an Italian caffè, restaurant and foodshop with a major presence in Dubai, won top honours at the inaugural "BBC Good Food Awards Middle East" held recently.

The restaurant is being operated by Foodmark, the food and beverage division of the $3.2 billion retail chain Landmark Group in the region.

Carluccio’s also made its first venture outside of the UAE in Qatar, opening an outlet in Doha’s The Pearl and most recently Carluccio’s has also opened at The Avenue’s Mall in Kuwait City, said a top official.

The team from Carluccio’s clinched the award in the highly competitive category of “Best Casual Dining” outlet. This follows a successful year for Carluccio’s, with presence now in Dubai Mall, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Marina Mall.

Carluccio’s had won the “Best Family Restaurant” honour at last year’s "Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards".

Naveed Dowlatshahi, head of Foodmark, said, “This is a fantastic win for Carluccio’s, and is a credit to the whole team from kitchen staff to waiters to chefs and head office, very well deserved."

"The past twelve months have seen Carluccio’s grow in size from a single outlet to five now in the GCC, with further expansion planned both here and in potential locations across the Middle East," Dowlatshahi remarked.

Duncan Muir, country operations manager for Foodmark was present to collect the award along with Carluccio’s brand chef Giulio Brignola.-TradeArabia News Service