Nardini's

Over the last week we have had my wife's brother and sister staying with us. Tonight Michael treated us to a lovely dinner at Nardini's in Largs.

The world famous Art Deco cafe and ice cream parlour was created in 1935 by Pietro Nardini, an Italian immigrant who moved to Scotland from Tuscany in the 19th century. In the decades that followed it became a favourite destination for holiday-makers who flocked to the west coast. Its ice cream has been served to Kings, Queens and Prime Ministers. However, it lost out to the foreign package holiday boom of the 1970s. Then in the late 90s there was a bitter family feud which bankrupted the business.

After lying empty and disused for four years, the landmark cafe reopened in 2008 after a £2m refurbishment.

Years of negotiations with Historic Scotland over a revamp of the Category B listed building have culminated in a gracefully restored building, carefully designed to incorporate many of the original Art Deco features.

This is part of the beautiful Art Deco mural.