In a couple of sentences, can you give us a potted history of Etrusca Restaurants?

My father opened La Spezia at London Bridge in 1951, followed by four more restaurants. When I left school in 1976, I took over running the restaurants with my older brother Piero. My father made my life a misery: because I’d had a public school education and was supposed to become an accountant, he gave me the most rubbish jobs to try to put me off the restaurant trade. But it didn’t work, and when my father retired in 1984, my brother and I expanded the company. We now have nine restaurants and one patisserie in London and three restaurants and one nightclub in Spain.

Why has the restaurant business held your interest over the years?

I love the buzz when a restaurant is full and people are enjoying themselves. Now, unfortunately, I’m a business man and don’t get to work the floor any more. But I get a different kind of satisfaction from working behind the scenes because I get to watch people grow in their careers: someone who was a waiter becoming a manager, for instance.

What are the easiest and hardest aspects of a restaurant product to get right?

The easiest thing to get right is the atmosphere when the restaurant is full. The hardest thing is the atmosphere when the restaurant is empty.

How has the City dining scene changed in recent years?

The days of the expense account, when money was no object and people would come in at 12.30pm and leave at 4.30pm, are over. These days, people are a lot more conscious of what they spend and they only have one and a half hours to spare for lunch. And there’s an emphasis on quality rather than quantity. Customers are much more discerning and will spend the same amount of money on one bottle of wine that they used to spend on three.

What do you think of the quality of food in the City?

There are some seriously good restaurants in the City. And given the pressure that the restaurants are under – no weekend trade, light evening trade – it’s commendable that the quality is so good.

How do you think the Italian restaurant scene is doing?

It’s growing stronger and stronger. It encompasses everything from the humble pizza to Michelin-starred cooking.

What is the big difference between Italian restaurants in the UK and in Italy?

In Italy, employment laws are totally different. Everything is family-run and they don’t have as many staff as we do here. And the way they serve you is different. They put a menu in front of you and then they tell you what to eat. I love that. But English people are scared of putting their trust in the kitchen. It’s about time people here realised that restaurants aren’t there to sting you.

Do you think that Italians are naturally better at service and hospitality?

There’s positivity to the Italian character. My father’s generation integrated very well wherever they went in the world and just got on with things. What made Italian restaurants were the characters – your Tony or Luigi who would be at the door saying ‘How are you, have a glass of wine’. Now, however, the younger generation is trying hard to be more professional, and is losing that personality.

Which restaurateurs do you most admire?

Sir Terence Conran. In its heyday, Quaglino’s was serving 700 people on a Saturday night – that’s a hell of an operation to run.

Aside from your own restaurants, where do you personally most enjoy eating?

Harry’s bar is consistently very good, but very expensive. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to eat at too many restaurants that aren’t mine, as I have to see my Managers.

Our latest survey suggests that service is the biggest gripe among London diners. How do you ensure all your staff meet excellent service standards?

If you have a team that is totally efficient, you’ve got boring service. If all your staff are strong characters and constantly chatting, you’ve got inefficient service. So you try to balance the two types of personality. A good manager will find a minute to talk to every table in the restaurant, and is someone who is working very hard but doesn’t look like they are.

What next for Etrusca Restaurants?

We’re refurbishing La Spezia, looking at opening a new restaurant in the City and another disco in Spain. And, given the right deal, we would expand in the West end.