The Costa family · since 1979

About us: two generations of Taormina

Cateno Costa founded Taormina in Elberfeld in 1979 – today his son Fabrizio runs the house with the same Sicilian warmth.

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Black-and-white photos: two men in the restaurant doorway, earlier on the left, with the current taormina sign on the right

Dal 1979

One house, two generations, one passion

Ristorante Taormina on Südstraße is a genuine family business: what Cateno Costa started in 1979 is now carried on by his son Fabrizio Costa and a dedicated team. Close to the Historische Stadthalle and Elberfeld city centre, we have been part of Wuppertal's evenings for more than four decades – with the full range of Italian cooking and the full flavour of Sicily.

Rose in an olive oil bottle on the table, a picture of the Colosseum on the wall

1979

Cateno Costa founds Taormina

In 1979 Cateno Costa opened Taormina in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. His ideal was simple and is still our benchmark: honest Italian cooking, a warm welcome and a table where you feel at home straight away.

Over the years the restaurant became a house with a history – for guests who enjoy pizza, pasta and a good glass of wine with us. That atmosphere is the foundation we continue to build on.

Open kitchen: chef in whites plating rocket carpaccio at the stainless steel counter, kitchen helper behind

2011

Fabrizio Costa takes over

Since 2011 Fabrizio Costa has run his parents' restaurant as the second generation. He brought fresh energy to a tried and tested house: Sicilian flavour, an open kitchen where you can watch the cooks plate up, and service that sees itself as hosting rather than waiting tables.

For him, Taormina is a dream come true. In his own words (translated from German):

"Continue my parents' restaurant? What was unimaginable to me for a long time is now my dream come true. Taormina is my self-fulfilment.
We are relaxed, offer the full range of Italian cuisine, and with the fullest Sicilian flavour. That is what I carried on and yet also built up for myself.
I see myself and my team not just as boss, waiting staff or cooks. We are entertainers who offer our guests what we would like to have in a restaurant ourselves: the feeling of eating at the home of friends. Friends who cook with taste and are simply first-class hosts. It is important to me to turn every meal into an event that people want to experience again and again."
– Fabrizio Costa

It is important to me to turn every meal into an event that people want to experience again and again.

Fabrizio Costa · Owner & host

Ristorante Taormina, Foto von Sascha Perrone

The house

Inside Taormina

Wooden tables, a comfortable bench seat, roses in olive oil bottles, pictures of Rome and Venice in the wall niches and a Vespa above the bar: Taormina has Italy in its details. The long dining room is warm and relaxed – just right for dinner for two or an evening with friends.

And because we want every meal to become an event, small gestures belong too: olive oil is poured fresh at the table over your pizza, and the chalkboard tells you what the kitchen is preparing.

Our team