Press release | Restaurant opening | Pizza Mario x Gambino

The AMANO Group opens the "Pizza Mario x Gambino" pizzeria in the AMANO East Side hotel in Berlin. With this project, the group returns to its culinary roots. Toni Gambino, Mario Grünenfelder and Jerry Aceves are in charge of the restaurant. From now on, Neapolitan pizza can be enjoyed on the large sunny terrace.

Berlin, July 2022. The Hotel AMANO East Side is the AMANO Group's newest hotel in Germany. Gastronomically, the hotel is already known and popular among locals and hotel guests especially due to the East Side Bar and the rooftop terrace overlooking the Spree. The "Pizza Mario x Gambino" now complements the hotel with a restaurant consisting of 120 indoor and 140 outdoor seats and a large sunny terrace where Neapolitan pizza is served. With the opening, the AMANO Group is returning to its roots. In 2012, Pizza Mario in Berlin Mitte was one of the group's first restaurants. The AMANO Group, which is best known for Israeli concepts, unites with "Pizza Mario x Gambino" the preference for conviviality, good drinks and passion.

The pizzeria's Italian cuisine convices especially through its craftsmanship and imported ingredients from Italy, which support the preparation of the characteristic dough of a Neapolitan pizza. In addition to pizza classics like marinara, margherita and diavola, the menu also includes a selection of pizzas like the "Morty" pizza with mortadella, pistachios and burrata, as well as original Italian meat and pasta dishes.

Mario Grünenfelder and Toni Gambino are behind the excellent food and the warm ambience of the restaurant. Grünenfelder returns to the hotel group as a former team member. In the past, he was responsible for the AMANO Group's first bar and managed to position the AMANO Bar as the first hotel bar in the Berlin scene as well as beyond the city limits. The AMANO Group is therefore particularly pleased to be able to welcome back its esteemed member.
Toni Gambino was born into a family of restaurateurs in Berlin. His parents used to own restaurants in Berlin and Italy, and he learned about the Italian cuisine and hospitality from a young age. From 2014, he ran the restaurant "Chicago Williams BBQ" in Berlin together with his partner Nawid Samawat and his own pizzeria "Gambino's Pizza & Highballs" in Friedrichshain from 2020 to 2022. Gambino has also had business and friendly ties with the AMANO Group for many years. His goal is to make the best pizza in Berlin at "Pizza Mario x Gambino". According to Gambino, you can recognise a good pizza by simple classics like "marinara" and "margherita", because no other ingredients distract here from the basic elements of the pizza.

The team is complemented by Jerry Aceves, the F&B manager of the AMANO East Side hotel. Together with Mario Grünenfelder, he founded the gastronomy consultant group "Dirty Ducks" in Barcelona. Grünenfelder brought him to Berlin for the "Pizza Mario x Gambino" project.
The Hotel AMANO East Side is centrally located between the East Side Gallery and the Ostbahnhof with a view of the Spree. In addition to 174 rooms and spacious conference rooms for business events or private functions, the Hotel AMANO East Side now offers the perfect evening entertainment with "Pizza Mario x Gambino", the East Side Bar and the rooftop terrace.

Opening hours: Tue-Sat 5pm-2pm

Address: Strahlauer Platz 30-31 | 10243 Berlin

The AMANO Group is a Berlin-based hotel company that currently owns eleven hotels, including eight in Berlin, one in Düsseldorf, one in Munich and one in London. The hotel project in Leipzig is under construction, and three more hotels are planned in Hamburg and Munich. Founded in 2009 by the Süsskind, Schiff and Rokeach families, the AMANO Group aims to design hotels that are integrated into the cultural life of the city. Therefore, all hotels follow the standard concept of offering sophisticated urban living in a central location at a fair price. This includes interior design and a level of service that far exceeds the three-star standard. Through trend-setting gastronomy concepts such as restaurants, bars and a club as well as several roof terraces, the AMANO Group creates a lively exchange between the city and the hotel.