# About us 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. 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. 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. 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 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 ## Hosts with passion Behind Taormina stands a dedicated team that cooks and serves for you every day with passion – in the kitchen, at the bar and in the dining room. ### Fabrizio Costa Owner, sommelier & head chef ### Sara Dehsouri Service & bar ### Andrei Dragomir Service ### Alireza Kharazmi-Khorassani Service ### Erald Stojku Head chef ### Khalil Bousselmi Pizza chef ### Jemal Rasho Ido Cook ### Salman Kasim Kalaf Kitchen assistant ### Alexander Kraus Logistics & HACCP ### Lucia Morosan Social media Our part-time team ## Reinforcements we count on ### Cristiano Gallo Part-time service ### Jeanette Costa Part-time service ### Giuseppe Lo Grasso Part-time service ### Vittorio De Bosis Part-time service Impressions ## Dining room, kitchen and team at work The dining room with bench seating and wooden tables Open kitchen: carpaccio being plated Long dining room with Vespa and bar Pasta and carpaccio – the kitchen team behind Pictures of Italy in the wall niches Freshly cut: aubergine and salad A laid table in front of the bar The espresso machine up close Tulips, roses and chalkboard Olive oil over pizza, ravioli and carpaccio Benvenuti ## Get to know us at the table Book your table or browse our menu beforehand. [Book a table](https://www.opentable.de/booking/restref/availability?rid=96282&restRef=96282) --- Source: https://taormina.de/en/about-us