First Look: New £1m renovation sees East Kilbride restaurant add Ice Cream and Churros bar

These are the first images of one of East Kilbride’s most popular restaurants following a £1 million makeover – including the launch of the town’s first ‘authentic churro bar and gelateria.’

Churissimo is part of a new-look Di Maggio’s East Kilbride that owners DRG say will become a ‘dining destination’ for families across the town, South Lanarkshire, and the west of Scotland. 

It is DRG’s first venture into a specialist gelateria, offering an impressive array of treats including 12 core ice cream flavours and highly popular churros – the classic Spanish fried donut dessert.  

Churissimo features specially sourced churro equipment costing more than £20,000 so the delicacy can be produced on site. Chefs have also been sent to Spain for specialist churro training to ensure an offering unlike anything else in the west of Scotland. 

The new images show off the impressive new Di Maggio’s interior is modelled on Italian heritage, with nods to the brand’s Italian-American roots, and seats more than 220 diners.

The project is the first major refurbishment of Di Maggio’s East Kilbride since the 200-seater, purpose-built venue opened in 1994. In the time since, the Italian-American-style family restaurant has been a smash hit with the EK population, serving more than a quarter of a million visitors spanning three generations. It has also provided hundreds of jobs for EK locals over the years. 

Tony Conetta, co-owner of DRG and son of Di Maggio’s co-founder Joe Conetta, said: “We’ve been serving the community of East Kilbride for more than 30 years and this is a huge moment in our history in the town. A tremendous amount of love and care has gone into the refurbishment, and we’re sure the introduction of EK’s first authentic churro bar will go down a treat.

“We love being a part of East Kilbride, we’ve welcomed thousands of families through our doors, and we look forward to thousands more. It’s also about playing a part in bringing new people to the town, and we hope the new-look Di Maggio’s East Kilbride and Churissimo will achieve that for the next 30 years.” 

The new-look Stroud Road officially launched this week. The project is the first step in a refresh of the Di Maggio’s brand as it marks its 40th anniversary this year. 

For more information on Di Maggio’s East Kilbride, and to order, visit dimaggios.co.uk/east-kilbride.