Liphook might not be Little Italy, but Guido’s Craft Pizza has people travelling far and wide for a taste of Italian flavours.

The restaurant is owned and run by Guido Stucchi, who moved to Liphook with his English wife from Tuscany, where he worked at his family’s vineyard.

He might have traded sunny days for England’s rain-filled skies, but he’s brought a touch of Italy with him – anyone searching for authentic pizza needs to put Guido’s at the top of their list.

The menu is simple but by no means small. Guido’s offers delicious starters, like fried dough balls with smoked cured ham and courgette fritters with goat's cheese. But the real stars of the show are the pizzas.

With more than ten pizzas to choose from, there really is something for everyone. This reporter’s personal pick is the Norma, followed by the pistachio crème brûlée – both were so good, I’ll be returning soon for round two.

It’s not just this Herald reporter who recognises how good the food is. Guido’s beat out every other pizza restaurant in the country to win not one, but two PAPA (Pizza and Pasta) Awards.

Guido has a long history with cooking, so when he’s not running the restaurant, he’s developing new recipes. Every item on the menu has been created by Guido himself.

Guido has one simple rule: if he doesn’t like it, he won’t serve it. And you can tell. Most of the ingredients are sourced from Italy, with most of the wine coming from his own winery.

“Food and drink have been my family’s passion for more than a hundred years,” he said. “Our winery has been in the family since 1846. My mother, Lorenza de Medici, became famous for her cooking.

“In 1983, she opened one of Italy’s first cooking schools at our family’s winery. Since then, she has authored more than 30 cookbooks and became a celebrity chef in the US with her own cooking show. Raised in this household, it was inevitable that I would come to treasure traditional Italian dishes.

“Sadly, while I inherited my mother’s recipes, I didn’t inherit her charisma. So, the televised life of a celebrity chef has likely passed me by. But I say that’s TV’s loss, and Liphook’s gain – and once you’ve tried my food, I’m sure you’ll agree.

“I wanted a place where I could make food that my mum would want to eat.”

Guido’s opened in April 2020, a time that proved the death-knell for many restaurants up and down the country. But not Guido’s. Selling takeaway pizzas and £5 margaritas proved very popular with residents in and around Liphook while they were stuck at home.

Once the pandemic thankfully passed, the restaurant evolved into what it is today – a relaxed, stylish space that has become Guido’s home away from home.

“I opened the restaurant because I couldn’t find any good pizza, so I thought, why not do it myself? Liphook has been great; I couldn’t have picked a better place.”