European Union may ban La Mafia restaurant name

IN THE same way that the European Union has agreed that the word Sherry can only apply to fortified wine produced in Jerez and many other regional dishes are protected, the Italian government has made a formal complaint to the EU about a chain of restaurants in Spain commonly called La Mafia although its full title is “La Mafia se sienta a la mesa” (The Mafia sits at the table).

It’s not that the Italians want to keep the word Mafia exclusively for use in Italy, but they believe that the glorification of the criminal organisation in a chain of restaurants enforces stereotypes which are unfair to Italy, especially as the Mafia commit crimes all over Europe and the USA.

After having complaints to both the restaurant chain and the Spanish government rejected, the Italians took the matter to the EU and it appears that their complaint will be upheld and the chain will have to change its name.

As a lot of its promotion and décor is based on the film The Godfather, then it is possible that this or Don Corleone will become the new name, although there is no news as to whether the chain will introduce a horse’s head pizza to its menu.