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580 Durham Road
Low Fell
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear
NE9 6HX
0191 487 8257
www.rosa12.com
Mon-Fri 11am-2.30pm, 5pm-10pm
Sat 11am-10pm Sun noon-8pm
Accessibility: Downstairs only (full menu)
This place started out life as a little coffee shop called the Lugano. Then in the 1970s it became Restaurant Italia, a North East institution that just about kept itself alive until the end of 2012.
By then a weary lasagna-and-minestrone joint, with red carpets, chairs and tablecloths, green and brown patterned wallpaper and wooden ceilings with fake fishing nets, the Italia was the sort of place that should have been humanely put to sleep in the 90s, but had somehow managed to survive through the loyal support of an ageing clientele, comforted by a familiar, unchallenging menu and low prices.
Thankfully, Italian food in Britain has moved on since then. Step forward Rosa Twelve.
