Locanda De Gusti launched on the other side of Edinburgh some years ago, moved to up-and-coming Dalry Road in 2014 – less than five minutes’ walk from Haymarket Station – and now enjoys an enviable reputation for its food and service standards.
Chef Rosario Sartore is from Naples, so the cooking has a pronounced Southern Italian style, with lots of great seafood, while the décor puts diners in mind of a bright, polite farmhouse kitchen. Bring an appetite, because on the menu you might find starters like sautéed seafood feast starring assorted crustacea, shellfish and squid with olive oil, garlic, parsley, chilli and crostini; or a rich egg frittata with courgette flowers, onion, provolone and smoked mozzarella. Then there are pasta dishes and mains that could offer linguine with lobster, white wine, cherry tomatoes and chilli; maybe pork belly with sweet peppers; or charcoal-grilled rib-eye steak from Orkney with olive oil, rock salt and rosemary.
The restaurant does a pretty deft line in artisan pizza while dessert choices run beyond tiramisu and pannacotta to a traditional Neapolitan tart and cannolo Siciliano. There is a separate tasting menu too, but only for parties of eight or more due to tthe restaurant's small size.