Lunch Quest: Edinburgh

Vittoria is part of a family of restaurants, owned by the Crolla family, that covers the two branches of Vittoria, Taste of Italy, Divino Enoteca, and La Favorita. Although, I’m yet to sample Taste of Italy, despite its relative proximity to my office, I’m extremely familiar with the others. Many happy trips have been made to the Vittorias; La Favorita remains, to my mind, the best pizza place in the city; and we reviewed the super-stylish Divino, a couple of months ago, and found that the stylish surroundings and exceptional wine rather overshadowed the food.‬

‪This evening marked the start of festive dining for me. Not only did I sample the Gregg’s “Festive Oval” for lunch (essentially a chicken club with cranberry – tasty, but not saturated in festiveness), it was with considerable festive spirit that I approached Vittoria’s doors.
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Drinks orders were swiftly taken, and we settled our choices fairly quickly. This particular annual night out focuses on the ritual of the Xmas Pizza, so it was to that section that our full attention was focussed.

‪I did opt to sample their soup of the day, to start, of course.‬


Carrot and onion gave me slight expectations of a very sweet concoction, but it was very well judged. It was a hearty broth, and richly savoury. I enjoyed it very much.


The pizza I had to follow was as good as ever. It was topped with a nice array of seafood, including mussels in the shell.

Overall, I enjoyed Vittoria. It served us good dishes, in a lively environment, to a good standard. The staff are clearly adept at dealing with the odd mishap, as they ably demonstated when smoothly handling a little spillage that took place, near our table. Next time you feel the need for Italian in a medium sized group, head to Vittoria. They will serve your needs, very nicely.

‪Scores

Blythe scores Vittoria:‬
‪4/5 for food
‪3/5 for presentation
‪4/5 for service
‪3/5 for setting
‪giving an overall 14/20

‪Today’s early Xmas late lunch questers were: Mel, Aileen, Pammy, Milo, Iain, Blythe

We ate: soup, calamari, pizza‬

‪We drank: draught lager, red wine, water

I wore: a much under-utilised YSL tie

‪Total bill:  c.£100 (6 diners)

            

Frankie and Benny’s was a new one on me. I had a very vague notion of its existence, but had no real idea what style of place it was, until I was invited to join some of my work colleagues there for lunch, today. ‬

‪I have a feeling this has something to do with the location of most of the Frankie and Benny’s restaurants.  This is probably a shocking admission, but I don’t really like shopping.  I need to clarify that.  Aside from shopping for groceries, particularly vegetables, I don’t really like shopping. ‬

‪I am a creature of the information age; a complete devotee of online shopping.  When the internet let me down – it’s only ever happened once – and I had to try and find beach footwear for a trip to the Maldives, the attendant flitting between shops in search of the requisite items drove me to considerable distraction.  So Frankie and Benny’s has never appeared on my radar, prior to now.‬

‪We stepped inside the Omni Centre branch, to be confronted by a busy place, full of satisfied looking diners.  The stylings were a slightly cookie-cutter version of 50s Italian America.  Joltin’ Joe featured  heavily in our little corner of the place, with an array of photos and articles about the Yankee Clipper.‬

‪Service was accurate and fuss-free, and we were soon contemplating our starters.  Glancing round the table, I was very happy with my choice.  My soup (are you surprised) looked very good.  It was of the white onion variety, which also sounded pretty good.  I tasted it.  It tasted extremely good.‬


This was a hearty, well-crafted and delicious soup.‬

‪My main course didn’t live up to these levels, sadly.  I was intrigued by the notion of black and blue pasta, combining the charred pepperiness of Cajun chicken with blue cheese, but the dish just didn’t work for me. ‬


‪All the sensations of the dish were loaded at the back-end, so as you chewed and searched for flavour, your taste buds were suddenly set upon by the twin assault of the char of the chicken and the tang of the cheese.  I really like these flavours, separately, but together they clashed wildly.  There’s definitely a good idea lurking in this dish, but it needs refinement to make it a more balanced sensation on the palette. ‬


‪Overall, Frankie and Benny’s was pretty good.  Their soup pleased me, muchly.  Their pasta dish was less good, but their espresso ended things on a better note.  For large group dining, it offers a perfectly pleasant experience, and dishes that are likely to make diners smile.  I think that’s what they’re aiming for, so should be commended for accurately delivering it.‬

‪Scores

‪Blythe scores Frankie and Benny’s
‪3/5 for food
‪3/5 for presentation
‪3/5 for service
‪3/5 for setting
‪giving an overall 12/20‬

‪I ate: white onion soup, black and blue pasta‬

‪I drank: sparkly water, espresso‬

‪I wore: optimal lunch questing gear‬

Total bill: c.£12
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La Lanterna is a staple of Hanover Street, offering a warm welcome in to an Italian family kitchen, in the middle of our fair city. It has its proponents and its detractors, as do all its neighbouring restaurants.

I must admit that my last visit was around the season of Advent, many years ago, and I have to report that I was rather badly behaved. This manifested itself in me eating the roses on the table, petal by petal, and convincing the more gullible members of my party to join me in this "entirely acceptable and routine practice." No doubt I thought it was terribly amusing at the time.

On this occasion, we chanced to walk up, and managed to time it beautifully, so we were rewarded with an excellent booth table in the window. The restaurant was buzzing with a busy evening service. It became increasingly clear that the majority of diners were repeat visitors, clearly paid-up members of the Lanterna fan-club.

We were quickly asked for our drinks order, while we considered our menu choices. Our reflections were a touch frustrated by the revelation that the days harvest of mussels had been exhausted, but our peerless hostess suggested that their excellent prawns would make a beautiful substitute.


Unbowed by the chilling memory from earlier that day, I asked for a verdict on whether to opt for the soup of the day or to go with the classic minestrone. Minestrone was the recommendation, and I went with it.


Garlic bread with mozzarella rounded out our starter order.


My soup was very tasty. I must admit that minestrone isn't a particular favourite with me, but this was of a soup of high quality. The accompanying bread was nicely rustic, too. The prawns proved an excellent recommendation, and the baked chunkiness of the garlic bread looked and tasted great.

My fellow diners opted for pasta to follow. The penne con pollo looked creamy and hearty.


The ravioli (I want to call it PPK, Bond style) PPF (or was it FFP) looked somewhat similar with its richly creamy sauce.


My risotto al mare, minus the usual mussels, but with a good number of clams to satisfy the shellfish requirement, was packed with flavour. Every mouthful affirmed my choice as a good one.


Desserts were considered a must, with a simple plate of ice-cream and two portions of cheese quickly ordered.


The ice-cream came with a tempting looking pot of chocolate sauce.


The cheese, although not fully at room temperature, was provided in plentiful amounts, across an excellent range. A couple of really pungent blue cheeses were of particularly satisfying quality.


Coffees followed, before our hostess gave us a little extra treat, pouring us a little sample of home-fashioned sloe gin, which was sweet and fruity with a wonderful streak of decadence.


Overall, La Lanterna served our needs incredibly well. It offers a warm welcome, friendly service, hearty dishes full of satisfyingly home-spun gutsiness, and an atmosphere guaranteed to put you at your ease. Next time you need a little comfort and joy, pop along to La Lanterna and let them feed you. You'll leave feeling fully refreshed, deeply nourished, and fit to face the world anew.

Colin scores La Lanterna:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
5/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20

Arlene scores La Lanterna:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
5/5 for service
giving an overall 16/20

Blythe scores La Lanterna:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 14/20

Today's late lunch questers were: Arlene, Colin, Blythe

We ate: garlic bread with mozzarella, prawns, minestrone, penne con pollo, ravioli PPF, risotto al mare, ice cream with chocolate sauce, cheese

We drank: Moretti, Peroni, sloe gin, coffees

We wore: routine Turnbull & Asser tie, dancer's calves, sensible boots

Total bill: c.£100

Cucina is super-stylish, as you would expect from the restaurant at Missoni’s palace of uber-chic on George Iv Bridge. I was warmly greeted upon making my way upstairs to the restaurant, and I was swiftly shown to our table.


I had arrived with MJ-style promptness, given I was on photo duty, and was surprised to find the place largely empty. I'm not sure Monday lunchtime is the most popular time for lunching, although with so many of the upper-scale places closed on a Monday, I thought a few more punters might have been lured in to join us, today.


LQ: Istanbul bureau chiefs Mina and Patrick were due to arrive with guest of honour Trish, who was visiting from Inverness. In the meantime, I had some options to consider: the extensive a la carte menu offered a wide range of choices; but the smaller lunch menu offered five choices each for starter and main, and looked good value.

The Mina's general reluctance to adhere even the most basic rules of timekeeping meant that I was sitting waiting for quite a while, but when they finally pitched up, thirty minutes late (shocking!), there was much hilarity in the air. Patrick looked in bad shape after last night's trip to Sygn, but Mina and Trish looked the picture of health, and gently radiated warmth and wellbeing.


And so to business! A lovely bread basket arrived in what appeared to be Mussolini's hat (it had been offered while I waited) and our thoughts quickly crystallised around a suite of dishes. I opted for the Caserecci alla tre cipolle (homemade twist pasta in three onion sauce), followed by the riso. My fellow diners opted for brown shrimp salad followed by coley (Mina), the chicken (Trish), and mussels followed by the chicken (Patrick).


The dishes quickly arrived, and after pausing for photos, and for the waiter to give us a very detailed description of what we were about to eat, we tucked in. Patrick seemed pretty pleased with his mussels, and Mina was complimentary about the salad, although perhaps less a fan of the brown shrimps than the salad leaves. My dish eluded me, I must admit. The pasta was good although not outstanding, and the three onion (red onion, leek, and chive) sauce, combined with a few slices of fresh tomato didn’t really do anything for me. The fresh parmesan, grated on top by our waiter, was outstanding, but when a little cheese topping is the most memorable thing about a dish, there must be something not quite right.


The main courses arrived. This time, our loquacious waiter from the starters was otherwise occupied, so we were allowed to proceed without a full description of our dishes. I was pretty pleased with how my choice compared to the others on offer. It looked neat and tidy, and the rice cakes looked appetizing, once I removed the greenery on top of them. But looks can be deceiving. The dish was like a depth charge; quite the heaviest thing I’ve had to contend with for a good while. It was incredibly greasy, as well. The cubes of seasonal celeriac had good flavour, but ranged from rock hard to squishy soft. The mushrooms were probably the highlight, but they too suffered from being a little too greasy. It wasn’t a case of the dish having been over-dressed with olive oil; simply that too much of what the rice cakes had been fried in made its way on to the plate. Basically, it was a massively disappointing dish.




In terms of service, the three waiting staff, whilst all very good, approached their tasks in very different ways. This lent to my nagging feeling that this place was freshly opened and lacking a coherent approach to dealing with their customers, which is just weird given has been open for a good while, now. They’re aiming for high-end service, but can’t hope to achieve that without everyone pulling in the same direction.


We rounded things out with teas and coffees, and some apricot jelly petit fours that were crammed with sweet flavour, quite over-powering to end a meal, but at least a reasonable high-note on which to end.

Overall, Cucina at Missoni delivers stylish dishes, but not the quality to match the elegance. The menu has some good ideas and some dishes that sound enticing, but suffers in terms of execution. There are many better Italian restaurants in Edinburgh, so I won’t be rushing back there, any time soon.

Scores

Out of 20, Blythe scores Cucina at Missoni:
2/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
3/5 for service
giving an overall 13/20

Today’s Lunch Questers were: Trish, Mina, Patrick, Blythe

We ate: pasta in three onion sauce, fried risotto cakes, chicken, coley, mussels, brown shrimp salad.

We drank: sparkly water, still water, coffees, tea.

We wore: a tie that really didn't match the suit, diamond earrings, top with very elegant cuffs, look of general dishevelment.

Total bill: £80