Published August 2026
There’s a lot of history tucked inside 83 Regent Street.
In 2026, De Luca – the independent Italian restaurant and piano bar that has become a familiar part of Cambridge’s dining scene – celebrates its 20th anniversary. But the story of De Luca began long before the first plate of pasta was served.
The building has been in the De Luca family since 1972, when Paul’s father, Mario, bought it a floor at a time. Over the years, it was home to a succession of businesses, including a hair and beauty salon, while parts of the building were leased to other companies, including the Rank Organisation.
Paul grew up with the building – and with his family’s Italian heritage, which stretches back to Bovino in Puglia. After completing a degree in hospitality and working in London, he was given the opportunity to take on the lease and turn the building into something of his own.
He already knew what he wanted to do. An Italian restaurant had always been the ambition, with much of the inspiration coming from his Nonna’s cooking. The idea was simple: good Italian food, made on site with fresh ingredients from local suppliers, served somewhere that felt distinctive and welcoming.
Before opening De Luca in 2006, Paul travelled around Europe, picking up ideas and pieces that would eventually find their way into the restaurant’s design. Twenty years on, that instinct to keep changing and evolving is still part of De Luca. Paul continues to look for new ideas and inspiration, developing the restaurant as Cambridge itself changes around it.
Some of the features that now feel synonymous with De Luca were unusual at the time. The theatre kitchen, where diners can watch the chefs at work, was an original idea, while the rooftop terrace was later added to give Cambridge diners somewhere to escape to during the summer months.
Then, in 2014, the restaurant took another turn.
Paul teamed up with singer, pianist and entertainer Robin P-iano to bring an authentic Piano Bar to Cambridge. What started as an addition to the restaurant has become a destination in its own right, with guests able to request songs from across the decades – from old favourites to the latest hits – and spend an evening singing along to the anthems they know and love.
The Piano Bar went on to win Best Bar at the Cambridge Food & Drink Awards in 2018. In September 2026, it will reach another milestone, with its 1,000th performance taking place over the weekend of 18 and 19 September.
But for all the changes over the years, some things at De Luca have remained remarkably consistent.
For Paul, the food and the welcome have always come first. That focus has helped build something that is perhaps harder to measure than awards or milestones: a loyal group of customers who keep coming back, year after year.
And after two decades, there are plenty of stories behind those returning faces.
“When you’ve been somewhere as long as we have, you get to know the customers and experience their celebrations and special moments with them,” says Paul. “It’s fantastic to be relied upon by so many people when they want somewhere special to go, whether for date night, a birthday, Christmas or New Year celebrations, or just to enjoy some authentic and delicious food.”
Twenty years after Paul first opened the doors, De Luca is still in the same family, in the same building, serving up the Italian food that inspired him in the first place. The restaurant may have evolved, but the reason people walk through the doors has remained much the same: good food, a warm welcome and somewhere that feels worth coming back to.