About Ciro!

Bellini Restaurant is located in the quaint yet sophisticated area of downtown Dunedin. It sits on the corner of Main St. and Highland with an open seating area amongst the red brick lain sidewalk. One can always find both co-owner and chef Ciro Mancini perusing the customers with a huge smile and that notorious Italian charm.

Ciro was born in Naples, Italy and has always had a history of cooking within his family. Being that they owned several dessert and pastry shops, cooking and pleasing others was instilled in him at an early age. Finally, after moving to the States in 2003, Ciro decided to try his hand in the restaurateur business. He moved to Tampa with sights on buying a venue in which to open his very own Italian restaurant. After finding the perfect location in Dunedin, he along with his partner, Mike Howland, and wife, Clarita Mancini, made the move to Dunedin and began the process of building this dream.

Even with being new to the business, Ciro managed, with the help of a few Italian chefs, to concoct a very unique and traditional Italian menu; southern Italian foods like: linguine vongole (linguine with clams), ossobuco (veal shank), Parmigiana di Melenzane (eggplant parmigian), and frittura di mare (fried seafood). Now, Ciro translates his cooking ideas to a sous chefs, who then manufactures these marvelous dishes. He also hand selects and tastes each wine mentioned in their selection. The wine varies from Italy, Argentina, California and New Zealand; ranging from staple Italian wines like amarone , brunello and barolo to crowd-pleasing favorites like pinot grigio and merlot.

Not only do local celebrities frequent the restaurant, but it has been recognized by reputable establishments such as Florida Trend’s Magazine who awarded it Best New Restaurant in 2006 and listed it among the Top 500 Restaurants in Florida in 2007 and 2008. It has also been given rave reviews by the St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune and has been mentioned in world-wide circulatory magazines like Coastal Living and Delta Sky.

Ciro’s motto has been to not only produce southern Italian foods but to also give them a little American innovation to further appease other’s culinary experience. His charm is irreproducible and desire to please others immeasurable, adding to the value of this fine Italian restaurant.