About us
Ilaria Padovani
Ilaria Padovani doesn’t sell anything she wouldn’t proudly serve herself. That principle has shaped her entire career, from working on the farms that produce Monte Veronese DOP to her roles with respected importers like La Cave à Fromage and Gastronomica Ltd.
A native of Verona, she studied at the University of Parma, one of Italy’s leading institutions for the study of food and culture, graduating with a degree in Gastronomic Sciences.
She has collaborated with food writer Rachel Roddy and Italian food authority Anna del Conte, and was mentioned in Dino Joannides’s Semplice.
After moving to Bridport, a quietly remarkable town with a growing food culture, she founded Mercato Italiano. Now an acclaimed restaurant and pizzeria, it is known not only locally but increasingly to diners from across the UK. What began as a market stall is now a destination for honest, ingredient-led Italian cooking. In 2025, she launched Mercato Pronto!, created to bring that same quality to a wider audience without compromise.
Mercato Pronto!
Mercato Pronto! is the natural evolution of Ilaria’s lifelong dedication to Italian food. It brings her curated selection of rare, regional formaggi, salumi, and pantry essentials to kitchens across the UK. Built on decades of expertise and close ties with Italy’s finest producers, it delivers the depth of a market stall with the speed of modern life.
We are a small team based in Dorset, doing everything in-house. That includes sourcing, packing, design, and photography. Every product comes direct from Italy, chosen with care and tested in our own kitchens before it makes it into yours. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel, just give good food the platform it deserves. No middlemen. No inflated promises. Just a deep respect for the people who make it and the people who eat it. Whether it is a wedge of pecorino or a tin of tomatoes, if it is on our shelves, it is there for a reason.
Wholesale Supplier
Our relationships with Italian producers and our skill of finding the highest quality produce led us to expand the Mercato Italiano business, supplying UK restaurants and cafes as a wholesale supplier with the best Italian ingredients imported directly by Mercato Italiano.
Pizzeria & Café
Also Under the Mercato umbrella, our restaurant nestled inside our wholesale warehouse facility. This unconventional setting, combined with great music and exceptional food, offers an dining experience unlike anywhere else. Mercato Italiano has quickly established itself as one of the most reputable and consistent Italian restaurants and delis in the South of England, where the authenticity of our sourced ingredients meets the warmth of Italian hospitality.
