Inside giant restaurant 'haven' opening in Birmingham city centre square

There are two weeks to go until Chamberlain Square's latest restaurant La Bellezza opens its doors to diners and we're taking a first glimpse inside the new venue. La Bellezza, a restaurant from Big Mamma Group, has taken over the former Vinoteca beside the picturesque Chamberlain Memorial Fountain and it has a prime view over Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the towering pillars of Birmingham Town Hall.

Big Mamma has overhauled the space, adding a timber door and seven metre tapestry curtains that reveal 'ancient Italian artefacts', more than 5,000 vintage bottles of liquor and towering paintings. La Bellezza self describes as a 'haven to long-lost romance and well-loved Italian prodotti'.

The Italian marble flooring is green, like its emerald bar. The chandeliers are crafted from handmade Murano glass, foliage is peppered throughout and there's a six metre-wide bookcase 'filled with vintage novellas and saucy fiction'.

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Food is sourced from 170 Italian artisans, with Puglian burrato and 24 month aged prosciutto di Parma DOP. Focaccia will be made in house every day, dusted with oregano, and the pesto di basilico is home made too.

Pasta, as expected from an Italian restaurant, is a speciality. It'll be served with a range of rich sauces, meats and truffles. There'll be 4kg wheels of pecorino for a classic carbonara, too.

There are more than 40 varieties of wine on the list, with fine organic Italian wine a specialty. Desserts include the six inch tall lemon meringue pie.