Thousands back calls to save Notting Hill restaurant popular with celebrities amid demolition row

Celebrities have backed calls to save a family-run Italian restaurant in affluent Notting Hill amid plans to have it demolished to make way for the expansion of a cinema.

The Da Maria restaurant, a favourite among locals for its classic dishes, was opened by the Ruocco family as a Neapolitan trattoria in 1980.

Singer Lily Allen, who lives nearby, is said to be behind the campaign to save the well-loved restaurant.

Stars such as Madonna and Annie Lennox are also said to be fans of the eatery, according to Pasquale Ruocco, 65, who runs the business.

The family face losing their "life's work" over plans to extend the neighbouring Gate Cinema, which is owned by the trendy Picturehouse Group.

Both businesses are located in a Grade II listed building.

An online petition, Save Notting Hill’s family Trattoria from demolition, has been signed by more than 1,500.

Pasquale’s son, Luciano, 22, said the restaurant “feels like our home” to their staff, and that they are “praying” the council will reject the plans.

Luciano, who helps his father run the trattoria every evening, said: “It came as a shock to us, as we picked up the letter from the council after we returned from holiday [visiting family in Naples].

“We all thought, ‘that’s it, we don’t stand a chance’, because people love the cinema. But since the petition was set up, our customers have been very supportive and we just hope the council doesn’t allow it.”

The petition, set up by a group of customers, claims that the potential demolition comes “in the charged atmosphere of the destruction of independent businesses in Notting Hill.”

The shared landlord has submitted a planning application to demolish the eatery and extend the cinema’s premises.

In a review last week, the Guardian’s Jay Rayner described attempts to have it demolished as “infuriating and utterly heartbreaking”.

In his comment for the newspaper, he wrote: “A cheap democratic eatery like Da Maria is not just a nice thing. It’s not quaint. It’s a vital resource.

“It’s the kind of place that keeps a city like London both human and, more to the point, humane.

“In the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a restaurant of this quality at these prices is akin to a bloody miracle.”

The local authority said it could not comment until a decision has been made on the planning application, which was submitted in July.

Its planning committee is to make a decision on the proposals on Tuesday, October 10.

The Picturehouse told the Standard that plans were "as as much a surprise to us as it was to our neighbours."