Vittoria on the Walk — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

I have been coming to this lovely family run restaurant since the 1990’s . The food and particularly the staff & customer service used to be second to none .

I had not been to the restaurant since before covid started. However I returned for the first time the other evening and I found some of the staff to be unprofessional, unfriendly and one of them down right rude. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be family run any longer .

We had ordered a bottle of wine for the table but hadn’t specified how many glasses were required . When the wine arrived I politely said that I wouldn’t be partaking myself but the waiter gave me a glass anyway and poured me a tiny bit of wine so I could toast the ladies at the table . There could have been any number of important reasons why I wasn’t drinking. You shouldn’t make customers feel awkward for not drinking alcohol and you shouldn’t be making people feel like they are being rude to their family and friends at the table for not doing so.

Our main waitress was a little aloof but wasn’t bad. However mid way through the meal when we were all taking to one another waitress came up abruptly to the table looking annoyed with a glass of wine and loudly said something unintelligible. I was shocked and simply said we haven’t ordered anything . She didn’t explain and flounced off to speak to another waitress as it appeared to be for another table. Whilst I was looking across in surprise she scowled at me . She then strutted aggressively past our table a couple of times .

Ultimately at the time of the bill being paid our main waitress had said that a discretionary 10% tip was optional . Usually in restaurants there is an option on the card reader to say yes or no to that . Instead your policy seems to be to ask quite loudly in front of everyone in the restaurant whether or not you will be tipping . As it was this was a special meal for our friend we didn’t want to end out evening out on a low note with hassle so we begrudgingly said yes rather than seem rude.

I’ve never left a bad review anywhere before but your team spoilt...

We ordered drinks. We had ordered two mocktails. We only realised we'd been bought one mocktail and one cocktail when the bill came. We pointed out the error (the drinks had similar names) and the waiter went to get the manager who came and told us it was our fault, that we should have tasted the alcohol in the drink and not drunk it because he could have "had it back".

He questioned that we hadn't tasted the alcohol in the drink as if we were lying to get a cheaper drink which was very insulting. He did this in front of other customers, ending with "you didn't taste it, sure. Well thanks!" And then storming off!

He then went and very obviously complained about us to the rest of the staff while throwing us dirty looks. There is so much wrong with this! The mistake itself doesn't bother me though they should be more careful when differentiating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks because people might have a good reason for not wanting to drink. It was the rude reaction which shocked and bothered me and means we won't ever come here again.

He should have apologised for the mistake in the order, which he took himself and if I remember correctly, even repeated back to us! For all he knew I was very upset at having accidentally had alcohol. What if I'd been pregnant or not drinking for other reasons? It was his mistake, not ours and it is perfectly understandable that we didn't notice the alcohol in a very fruity cocktail For the sake of a few quid (which I get is frustrating) he's lost himself future customers and also implied that he would have reused a drink I had sipped - the only way of knowing he'd given me alcohol is if I'd tasted it and if he's reusing drinks people have had a sip of that's pretty gross...

Just so shocked at the reaction and won't be going back there, it's overpriced anyway but I just can't get over how rude and unprofessional the manager's reaction to his own...

Our party had a lovely experience at Vittoria on the Walk. We must have been lucky getting seating for 6 without a reservation (but this may have been because we were dining later than the normal rush). Our server was so friendly and interactive. He made great wine recommendations and treated us very well. This restaurant has a certain hustle and bustle of a busy Italian restaurant, but still captures the intimate feeling of closeness with their seating area.

We decided to start with Focaccia and it wasn't disappointing! It had a crisp exterior with a nice, fluffy interior. The Focaccia had just the right amount of oil and salt to make it the perfect starter.

Despite having a delicious line-up of pasta, I just had to go with the pizza. Once again, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The pizza had some of the most delicious sauce I've had in a while. The cheese was perfectly melted and the crust featured a similar structure to the Focaccia. What really set the pizza apart was the chili oil our waiter drizzled on top. I'm so glad I took him up on his offer because it added a pleasant spicy kick to the pizza. I was also able to sample my wife's vegan pizza. She also decided to go with the chili oil and her pizza was some of the best vegan pizza we've experienced together. It was packed with delicious vegetables and the mozzarella vegan cheese wasn't too heavily applied, nor did it give the extra gooey mouth feel that vegan cheese often has. Combined with the chili oil, it was a wonderful experience.

I'm so glad we made it out...