Italian restaurant Tropea have announced that they are closing their cafe and undergoing a refurbishment just in time for the summer.
Tropea (pronounced Tro-Pey-Ah) is inspired by the small town on the Calabrian coast, with its menu taking its influence from all over Italy. Tropea is the brainchild of Ben Robinson-Young and Kasia Piatkowska, who both graduated in Culinary Arts from the University College Birmingham in 2014.
Located in Harborne, Tropea opened in 2021 as a ‘cafe by day, restaurant by night’. Whilst their menu will not be changing, a small refurbishment will see the cafe side of the business closing to allow more focus on the restaurant menu, with plans for a lunch offering. The evening menu is made up of small plates, designed to share, including antipasti, fresh pastas, seafood and regional specialties. A mostly, but not exclusively, Italian drinks list including wines from regions all over the country is also available.
The changes to the restaurant will see brand new Crittall-style windows adorn the signature blue frontage. A new branded awning will shield outdoor diners and provide shade.
New banquettes will add around four additional covers inside, which will also allow the restaurant to take larger group bookings of potentially up to twelve. The new banquettes and bar will feature colours that complement the branding inspired by Tropea, Italy, with additional nods to this in the bar’s new tiling.
Tropea are hoping to have four tables of two on the new outside terrace. This space is designed to reflect the traditional Italian way of eating al fresco, and will include greenery and plants.
Ben Robinson Young, owner of Tropea, said, “Tropea will not be changing too much aesthetically during this refurbishment, and it will still have the same feel to it. We didn’t want the refurbishment to make the restaurant feel overly designed nor new. We’re just making better use of our space and streamlining the design using what we already have. As we close the cafe side of Tropea, we would like to say a huge thank you to all of our cafe patrons for their support. We are really excited to reveal the space in June.”
Tropea will reopen from the 8th of June. Initial opening hours will be 5.00 pm – 11pm, Tuesday to Saturday. There are plans to open on Monday nights and for lunch, later in the week, in the future.
Bookings for Tropea can be made through their website: https://www.tropea.uk/restaurant#booking