Gio's Edinburgh — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

After months of anticipation, the new Italian restaurant on our corner opened last night. It was meant to be a “soft opening,” but as the people kept arriving, I was glad we’d gotten there early. My husband –a former chef with 20 years’ experience – our kids and I had prime seats for a delicious evening at the beautifully renovated locale. We are picky, we are into our food, and we loved it.

The current menu is supposedly a limited version of what they plan to offer, but we found it plentiful. We started with the focaccia, marinated olives and scallops. All were excellent. The freshly baked focaccia had olives in it and melted in our mouths. The olives were marinaded in something lovely and earthy. And the juicy scallops, which met my husband’s exacting standards, were well paired with crispy bacon and crunchy, lightly fried leeks, and the pea puree complimented them well.

For our mains, my husband opted for the Linguini Busara with langoustines while I had the Calamarata with baby squid. We both noted what a difference fresh pasta makes, its softness and flavour infusing the whole dish. Mine had a delightful lightness to it with just enough complexity and the ideal level of al dente. Our eldest chose the Wild Mushroom Risotto. We are very picky about risottos, but this one is approved, and the mushrooms were rich and tasty. I wish I could tell you how the pizza tasted. Our youngest had the Pizza Romana but absolutely refused to give any away, resisting all begging and bribery, despite struggling to finish it. I think that says it all.

The decor is sleek and lovely, it is very family-oriented but would be good for a romantic meal, too, and there is a nice atmosphere. In conclusion, we are delighted to have such a great restaurant in the neighbourhood and look forward to...

Did takeaway and had the Arancini starter for £9.50 and then the Pesto pasta for £13.50. So £23.00 altogether.

The quality of the food was excellent. Decor is pleasing on the inside of the place and you are able to see the chefs at work next to the counter.

However, the sizes of the Arancini were far far far too small to be charging that amount of money for and the portion size of the pasta were disappointing. I felt like i was getting less food than what i was paying for, even if the quality and taste was excellent

I also have been a few times over the course of the last 12 months and in my opinion, the customer service could be better. Tonight was ok, but on previous visits i was left waiting up to 10 minutes for them to take my order, even ignoring me despite them standing right in front of me. I don't know what the service is like when sat down, but the takeaway service has left me a little disappointed.

In summary, food is good but only worth it, in my opinion, if they knocked the prices down 15-20%. I understand why they don't charge less due to quality of ingredients and also how little margin they probably make given their location, but still not somewhere i would feel happy spending £23.00 and getting...

When reviewing somewhere, I usually try to take a few photos of my experience as I find it useful when looking at Google Reviews myself.

However, tonight, I forgot to take a single picture as I was enjoying every minute as I booked in for my birthday dinner with my family. When you arrive you’re faced with a bustling open hatch kitchen, bustling with tempo, the smell of good food and passionately headed up by the man who’s name hangs on the door.

We were greeted and taken through to our table. The main restaurant space is bustling and full of energy, but you still have plenty space at your table - you don’t feel crammed in, which is so often the case.

We ordered a selection of mains to share, every plate was flawless. It was, without a doubt, the best celebration of hearty, fresh and delicious Italian food I’ve had in this country. The plates were as full as the flavour.

So, in this review, I won’t recommend anything in particular on the menu, but suggest you try anything and everything… Although, if you’re a fan of red wine, get the Montepulciano.

I walked out and booked back in again for next week....