Assistant Restaurant Manager

La Casetta — Italian Trattoria About us La Casetta is a neighbourhood Italian trattoria. We cook simple, familiar food and run a warm, smart-casual floor — the kind of place people come back to for pasta, coffee, and an easy meal. This store lives on regulars. Guests should feel recognised, looked after, and glad they walked in. We are looking for someone who enjoys people as much as operations, and who can help the dining room feel like a second home. The role You will support the restaurant manager in the day-to-day running of the trattoria: opening and closing, cashier, simple admin, and floor service. The operational side is standard restaurant work. What matters more is presence. We want someone sociable, vibrant, and welcoming — someone who can hold a conversation, remember faces, make regulars feel known, and naturally build their own following in the neighbourhood. Service is friendly, not formal. What you will do Floor & hospitality • Welcome guests and set the tone of the room: warm, relaxed, and alert • Lead and support the service team during service • Look after regulars — remember names, usual orders, and small preferences • Handle reservations, seating, and guest requests with calm and good judgement • Run the floor quick and efficient but always in control • Always a step ahead of customers, able to anticipate their needs Operations • Open and close the restaurant to house standards • Open and close cashier, with accurate cash and POS checks • Keep the floor, pass, and front of house tidy and service-ready • Support stock, mise en place checks, and simple daily organisation • Help brief the team and keep service running smoothly Admin • Prepare simple daily or weekly reports (sales, covers, cash, incidents) • Organised and detail-oriented, always on top of this week's paperwork • Flag issues early — staffing, guest feedback, equipment, stock • Work independently when the manager is not on the floor • Follow food hygiene, safety, and house procedures Who we are looking for • Warm, sociable, and naturally welcoming • Comfortable starting conversations and making guests feel at ease • Energetic and dynamic on the floor, without being forced or loud • Genuinely interested in people — especially neighbourhood regulars • Able to work independently and take ownership of a shift • Reliable with opening, closing, cashier, and simple reporting • Clear, calm communicator with the team and with guests • Comfortable in a smart-casual, family-style trattoria — friendly, sharp, and unfussy • Happy to work restaurant hours, including evenings and weekends Good to have • Familiarity with Italian dishes and names • Basic wine knowledge, or a real interest in learning the list • Previous F&B or restaurant experience, especially in casual dining or trattoria-style service • Experience managing HR reporting • Experience managing accounting weekly PO/DOs • Charisma — the kind of person guests remember and ask for • Sharp and alert on the floor: sees an empty glass, a waiting table, or a guest who needs something before they have to ask • Ability to build regulars and bring people back • Conversational Italian, or comfort with Italian menus and pronunciation • A local network, or the confidence to become a familiar face in the neighbourhood