Da Vinci has been part of Aberdeen since September 2017, but the story behind the restaurant started a few years earlier, with a holiday in Scotland.
Owner Elena Ionascu visited Scotland and fell in love with the country. A couple of years later, she decided to make the move and start a new life here.
When the opportunity came to open Da Vinci, the location immediately caught her attention. Tucked away down a little lane in one of Aberdeen’s conservation areas, it felt quite different from the rest of the city.
“In Aberdeen you don’t see many little lanes like ours. It reminded me of the narrow old lanes you find in Tuscany, and I think that’s one of the reasons I loved the place from the beginning.”
The building already had plenty of history of its own. Before Da Vinci, it was home to The Courtyard, a restaurant that many Aberdonians still remember very fondly.
“We still have people coming in and telling us that they used to eat at The Courtyard. I love hearing their stories. Some remember dinners there, others celebrations or evenings out from many years ago. It’s lovely to know that people were making memories here long before Da Vinci arrived.”
Da Vinci opened in September 2017 with Elena and her former business partner. In 2018, he decided to return to Italy and Elena bought his shares. Since August that year, she has been the sole owner of the restaurant.
It hasn’t always been an easy journey.
Like so many independent restaurants, Da Vinci has had to navigate Covid, rising costs and some very difficult years for hospitality. There have been plenty of challenges along the way, but more than eight years after opening the doors, Elena is still doing what she set out to do: sharing her love of good, authentic Italian food.
“I won’t pretend it has always been easy, because it hasn’t. It’s been eight very intense years and I’ve learned a lot along the way. But I’m still here and I still love what we do.
“For me, good Italian food doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s about fresh ingredients, cooking from scratch and respecting the food. In Italy, food is about much more than eating. It’s about sitting around a table, talking, spending time together and enjoying what is in front of you. That’s the feeling I want people to have at Da Vinci.”
That approach is still at the heart of the restaurant today. Food is prepared from scratch using fresh ingredients, bread is made in-house and pizzas are cooked in the wood-fired oven. The focus has always been on authentic Italian cooking and the simple, honest food Elena loves.
And, just like The Courtyard before it, Da Vinci has gradually become part of people’s lives in Aberdeen. Over the years, its tables have hosted birthdays, anniversaries, family celebrations, business dinners and countless evenings spent enjoying good food and good company.
Now Elena is starting another chapter in the restaurant’s story, with Da Vinci becoming a member of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
For Elena, joining the Chamber is about getting to know more of the people and businesses that make up the city she chose to call home.
“Scotland gave me a home and Aberdeen gave me the opportunity to build Da Vinci. After all these years, I’d like us to become a little more involved in the business community around us.
“I’m looking forward to meeting other Chamber members, building new relationships and hopefully welcoming some new faces down our little lane.”
Alongside the restaurant, Da Vinci offers private dining for groups of up to 26 people, company dinners and catering for local businesses and offices.