Ciro Pomodoro plans to bring Italian cuisine, with ravishing club energy, to town, writes Marian Sharaf

There is an old saying by some intellectual genius that goes: “Music is soul for food!” Isn’t that so true? – Especially for addicts like me who are ‘Made in Music!’ I wonder if any of you ever pondered over the fact that our city is over crowding with restaurants – we love entertaining and if we don’t have anyone else to entertain, we entertain ourselves. Ha! Check out the streets of Lahore and you’ll see no one sleeps hungry in this city.

However, when it comes to music, very few modern day restaurants know what they are serving to those paying heavily to fill up their tummy. Especially for me, savoring scrumptious food in a place which unfortunately does not even know what club music is (as happened to me at one of the famous cafes on M M Alam Road, Lahore); it’s a big turn off. Music casts a spell on everyone, and eating to a good beat or tune, fills the soul while filling the stomach. Guess what? It seems soon, Lahore will be getting lucky in this aspect.

Knowing Lahore is one of the best cities worldwide when it comes to food, Ciro Orsini brings his club energy restaurant to Pakistan. “From the first Ciro’s Pomodoro in Knightsbridge in 1978, Orsini has developed a restaurant that works across different cultures and countries.” It has set the benchmark for other restaurants aboard by establishing connections with celebrities from Hollywood. The restaurants have added life to the cosmopolitan cities like Beijing, Bahrain, and Kiev to name but a few.

To extend his relationship at this corner of the world, Ciro plans to jazz Lahore up with his club energy restaurant soon. For Ciro, it’s not just a restaurant. It’s building a new family in a very different part of the world that some have quoted as ‘The most dangerous country in the world.” Ciro, when asked about this, said, “I love Pakistani people; Lahoris are awesome. It doesn’t matter what the world says; I have to die one day and it does not matter if it is here.” The Ciro’s Pomodoro family works closely with each other in mutual support of the four pillars that ensure their growing success; Great Food, Great Live Music, Great Atmosphere and Great Service.

Mainly based on Italian cuisine, Ciro is willing to experiment with Pakistani cuisine as well. He believes, “The ‘cult of personality and ambience’ surrounding Ciro’s Pomodoro is a perfect combination of Italian food, image and high energy, forming the nucleus of the success formula, creating the greatest asset to the organization.”

VELOCITY Marketing & Communications organized Ciro and his, partner in Pakistan, Tauseef Asif’s (Tipu) meeting with a few exclusive guests at Royal Palm. It was Tipu and his father M Asif Hafiz’s friendship that inspired Ciro to open Ciro’s Pomodoro here. Hafiz, a business and construction tycoon has large investment portfolios – textiles, construction, international trade and polo clubs to name a few. Tipu has a dynamic vision for the food industry in Pakistan. At a time of distress and economic instability, when people are planning to move out, Tipu has the confidence and courage to invest in Pakistan. Together with Ciro and Tipu, the new Ciro’s Pomodoro family carries the message of peace and brotherhood, with excellent cuisine to add to Lahore’s scrumptious cuisine and club energy. Let the good times roll!