Everyone has a story. The combination of Egyptian heritage and Italian childhood has made Eglal Gomaa passionate about food. But it’s Italian food she loves the most, which is why she’s set up Girasole offering a taste of Italy on Seven Sisters Road near Finsbury Park. Interview by Nicola Baird
Eglal Gomaa, owner of Griasole, taste of Italy at 150 Seven Sisters Road. (c) www.islingtonfacesblog.com
Just like the sunflower it is named after Girasole, an Italian deli and café, has been offering a bright presence on Seven Sisters Road since it opened in January 2015.
“I loved living outside London,” says owner Eglal Gomaa in her busy café “and I wasn’t sure about Finsbury Park at first, but I liked the shop (which had been a Greek restaurant). When I researched the area I saw there were lots of schools and a council office close by. Now I love Seven Sisters – I live opposite and enjoy this busy place and the beautiful customers.”
Vegan croissant at Girasole (c) girasole on www.islingtonfacesblog.com
At 10am on a weekday morning Girasole is busy enough to need two staff serving, plus another two in the kitchen cooking. An endless queue of locals pick up coffee or treat themselves to the delicious pastries including biscotti, cannoli and an unusual, but delicious vegan charcoal croissant, carbone vegetale. The deli is open until 7pm which could explain why their home-cooked lasagne or parmigiana are the best selling items. Eglal* seems to have struck lucky with location – as have the people living around that bit of Hornsey Road.
It’s not luck though: Eglal is a careful planner with a long career working in a food service company as a retail manager. “It was a very creative and complex job and demanded a lot of travelling around Britain,” explains Eglal. “I’d been doing it for seen or eight years and felt it was time to leave the corporate environment.” So she started work on her business plan, sold her flat in Purley to invest in the new business and began the search for a good site to stock a vast range of Italian products and sell freshly made Italian food.
Find Little Sardegna at 170 Blackstock Road, N4.
Restaurants Eglal Gomaa likes in Islington
“I’ve been working from 7am-7pm for the past year so I haven’t discovered north London yet, but I know I like Islington. It’s very colourful and I can see there’s more to do. I’d like to lift up the area more by investing more in the area.”
- I like Kitchen 149, 149 Hornsey Road. Veronica is a lovely lady who started her own business too so we help each other. @kitchenat149
- Another nice Italian restaurant is La Dolce Vita, 489 Liverpool Road. It’s a sweet place with old fashioned décor but authentic food and the chef, who is only 24, is very talented.
- The food is lovely at Little Sardegna, 170 Blackstock Road. I love the limoncello there too. Not far away is Il Guscio, 231 Blackstock Road, run by a really nice guy and lovely staff.
- There’s a Japanese restaurant next to us, Hana Sushi – they are lovely neighbours and the food is delicious so I eat there often. I love the salmon teriyaki.
Italian foodie treats at Girasole on Seven Sisters Road. (c) girasole via www.islingtonfacesblog.com
“I didn’t like Seven Sisters Road at first but it has a lot of potential. I love Seven Sisters now and I’d love to support other businesses coming here. When a new business opens I hope to have a hard time because I’m very competitive and it makes me think what to do better,” she explains breaking off to give a cheery Ciao to a regular and then continues in a rattle of Italian to help the staff sort out deliveries.
Italy
Although Eglal is an Arabic name* she was born in “Milano. My family are originally from Egypt. My dad was a mechanical engineer working for an Italian company in Egypt and they transferred him to Milan. At first he found the Italian community was not really open like the UK are – and this was 60 years ago – but step-by-step the family fitted in really well and my mum started making a lot of friends. My family spoke in Arabic but I always replied in Italian.”
Vegan charcoal croissant at Griasole, 150 Seven Sisters Road (c) www.islingtonfacesblog.com
After school Eglal studied oriental languages – a mix of anthropology, ethnology and art – at university in Venice. “I never liked grey Milano, but Venice was wonderful. It’s a living museum with Gothic buildings and such beautiful art. I became part of it. I studied and worked 12 hours a day at a pizzeria. It made me realise that I had an entrepreneurial heart. I wanted to run the pizzeria by myself, but I didn’t have much experience as it was my first job!”
She did well at her studies becoming a specialist in Islamic religion and history but when offered an unpaid job at the university decided that she didn’t want to stay in Italy. Her brother suggested she should learn English in London. “It was 16 years ago that I came to the UK,” says Eglal with a big smile. “I didn’t know the language or anyone in London but I booked a two week language course at Oxford Street.” And she loved it.
Now 44, Eglal, is adamant that “you should do what you are best at. At Girasole we do traditional Italian food. I was so tried of not being offered the right Italian food. It should be authentic, comfort food.” And of course this ambitious business woman also has plans for the future. “I’ve got several five year projects and then I’d like to retire from the deli at 50 to develop another company on art fashion in London,” she says.
That gives us Islingtonians another six years eating delicious Italian food at Girasole – do go and visit for a coffee or meal. There’s also an impressive store of ingredients including pasta (from orecchiette [ears] to rainbow-coloured sambero [Mexican hats]) to dry beans and marinated vegetables. Buon appetito!
- Girasole, 150 Seven Sisters Road, N7
- www.girasoletasteofitaly.co.uk
- Facebook Girasoletasteofitaly
- Instgram @girasoletasteofitaly
- Twitter @eglel23
Words*
Eglal says: “My granddad registered my name wrongly, he used the English way (with an a). Eglel (with an e) is an Arabic name, a combination of two angels’ names meaning light and symmetry. I like to use that as my nickname.”
Over to you
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