Edinburgh’s Pronto Pizza to open new venue in Portobello this month offering guests authentic Neapolitan pizza

The seaside pizza joint is set to open next Friday 

An authentic Neapolitan pizza restaurant is set to open in Portobello next week after months in the making. 

Pronto Pizza on Brighton Place will be open seven days a week, where visitors can dine in to enjoy Neapolitan -style pizza in the evenings with plans to introduce Roman-style al taglio pizza during lunch service in the coming months. 

Pronto founder, Michael Notarangelo, said he is delighted to bring his business to Portobello

Michael Notarangelo, owner and founder of Pronto, who also operates Pronto Slice on Castlehill, said he had his eye on the seaside venue for a while and jumped at the opportunity to expand his business. Michael, who is Portobello born and bred described the venue as ‘the perfect place.’

Speaking to the Evening News, Michael said: “I noticed that you can’t get authentic Neapolitan pizza in Portobello - Civerinos is great but that is more of a New York style pizza and other than that there are only chippys - so I know there is a market for it.”

Pronto Pizza began life as a pop-up in Edinburgh Zoo in April 2022 - with Miachel’s stall becoming a big hit at the Corstorphine attraction. Knowing he was onto a winner, he would later open Pronto Slice on the Royal Mile in November last year, becoming the first Edinburgh establishment to sell al taglio pizza - a Roman style pizza popular in Italy.

Coincidentally, on the same day Michael viewed the Castlehill premises for the first time, he also noticed that La Favorita in Portobello was up for sale whilst driving home. Quick to capitalise on the alluring opportunity, he put in an offer and secured a lease months later. 

Michael said: “I’d had my eye on that shop for a long time and I knew it would be the perfect place. So in the space of one day, I was offered a partnership in the Royal Mile and then saw this opportunity in Portobello. It was too perfect to put into words - it all just fell into place at the right time.”

Pronto Pizza on Brighton Place in Portobello will open on March 29

Although Pronto Pizza is not due to open until next Friday, Michael said the Portobello restaurant has actually been a ‘well-oiled machine’ for the last five months, being used as a dark kitchen to make pizza dough for his city centre business. 

The Pronto team are working hard to finalise the menu ahead of its grand opening next week and Michael said he is excited to share the food from his childhood. He said: “Making authentic Neapolitan pizzas is a way of tapping into my roots from growing up in Italy. I was always around real Italian food where everything was bought from the market and all pizzas were woodfired. When I younger I didn’t realise how good that was but as you get older you realise it’s hard to emulate that flavour.

“But that’s customers will get at Pronto Pizza. We’ve got a great supplier in Cibosano who import top quality Italian ingredients - better than you can find anywhere else. We want to make sure everything we use is authentic, DOP stamped, so customers get the best experience.”

Pronto Pizza on Brighton Place in Portobello will open on Friday, March 29 at 5pm.