Spotlight
Dish Cult Dines: Seasonality
06 Dec 2024
06 Dec 2024
Exclusive review of Antonietta
After its owners said goodbye to the 17-year-old La Favorita Restaurant, a fiercely extravagant Italian dining experience was born. While it’s as creative and explosive as a fever dream, it’s easy on the wallet – laid back, and certainly vibrant. A much-needed injection of fun for tricky times.
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Ciao belli
Antonietta’s bright pink neon sign lights up Edinburgh’s dark nights, a bold statement on the unfinished Leith Walk’s eerily deserted streets – oddly quiet for a Friday night. Three guesses as to why.
Yet, like a determined late-night reveller, Jamelia’s banger Superstar leaks out of its doors, promising a unique Italian dining experience like no other.
Walking in from the streets, with blinking eyes, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d been transported to another world – one with a toastier clime. Its crowd was surprisingly varied in age, gender and style – giving the spot a healthy, bustling glow against the empty streets. Filling up plushy booths and mismatched seats under retro fans and exposed bulbs.
First impressions are fierce. Audacious. It’s like no Italian we’ve ever experienced – and perhaps more like a flea market. Old monochrome holiday posters of Mediterranean paradises, as if straight from the ‘70s, adorn one wall – and the rest is bright coral. Trinkets and nik-naks adorn every nook and cranny, being a feast for the eyes. Part of the fun is spotting something new at every turn – aubergine decorations, pickled olive jars, retro memorabilia, busts, leafy plants… It’s wild – managing to be unique, yet traditional and utterly flamboyant at the same time.
We discovered that it was designed by Edinburgh-based, and women-led, design firm Studio So – and there’s not enough words, or time, to be able to aptly describe it.
Its staff were as wonderful as its interior, too. Friendly, passionate, young – fulfilling our water requests with a grin, steady eye contact and some chalked-up recommendations on the blackboard.
A brush with bruschetta
We couldn’t help but notice that its draught beer selection was limited – which was surprising as the bar staff had a local brewery’s t-shirt on, but it more than made up for it with its extensive wine, cocktail and Italian beer list. We like our red wine – but can find choosing the best glass daunting. Helpfully, the list described each wine with words like ‘juicy’, ‘warming’ and ‘textural’ – helping us choose a gorgeous Syrah – while our husband went for a fresh, chilled Beavertown.
Our starters arrived promptly, chosen from a vast – but thankfully not overwhelming – a la carte menu, with fantastic options for both the plant-powered and meat lovers. We were smitten with not only our food and fantastic service, but the cutlery and plates, too. It’s bright, colourful and straight out of a traditional Mediterranean pottery shop where you hunt down holiday souvenirs.
Our sourdough bruschetta (which the menu said was vegetarian, but detailed prosciutto in its ingredients – which we asked to be removed) was bright and super refreshing – adorned with juicy cara cara orange, silky smooth burrata, soft kale, crunchy bites of sweet pomegranate seeds and herb oil. We added a crack of black pepper, and loved the unique citrus addition to an otherwise traditional dish.
Our husband opted for the squash arancini, which came as a hefty bunch of three, and it melted in the mouth. It was light, not greasy in the slightest, and paired with cerise pink aioli – beetroot, as we discovered. Both were very easy on the eye, substantial and a tremendously pretty way to start. So far, so good.
Pizza paradise
Our mains included the pizza of dreams – with a twist. After our sumptuous starters, we opted for the Sorpresa Viola pizza – adorned with cream of purple potatoes, provola, fior di latte, fried aubergines, pesto and whipped ricotta. It was creamy from the incredible purple potatoes, which we’d never seen before – and as beautiful and as vibrant as the spot itself. Its tearable crust was fluffy, soft and chewy, and we paired it with the house chilli oil – which definitely had a zing, to say the least. Gluten free bases were available, too.
We noticed a pasta dish was specially named after the restaurant itself, so we thought we’d give it a shot – though it sounded plain. We couldn’t have been more wrong. The Gnocchi Antonietta was packed with spinach and kale pesto cream, with pecorino, basil and complete with fried chillies. It was divine – with the chewy, super creamy gnocchi and crispy, crunchy chillies offering a perfect balance. A crack of black pepper and basil as fresh as the day it was picked completed it.
Dessert time
While we picked out dessert, we took delight in the extensive cocktail menu – choosing a very good Italian espresso martini – think chocolatey, coffee goodness – and a tart, pink-lemonade-like Limoncello, pink gin and raspberry Slushtail. The freeze-dried raspberries were a nice touch.
Our passionate waiting staff recommended two desserts, which we happily agreed on – unusually, one wasn’t the tiramisu, meaning we’ll have to be back. The Nutella Gnocchi was warm, with mouthfuls of homemade, slightly salty cakey gnocchi bites – piped to the brim with gooey chocolate spread. The vanilla gelato served alongside it was incredible, to say the least. Lastly, the Strawberry Crostata, a tart served with tart lemon curd-like cream, strawberry gelato, mint, fresh strawberries and meringue was delightful – though not something we’d usually pick. It was really refreshing, and super sweet – with crisp bites of meringue and buttery tart having a slow dance in your mouth.
In a monopoly of Italian dining experiences in Edinburgh, Antonietta promises one like no other. It’s unapologetically unafraid, unique and refreshingly daring – while not straying too far from its roots. You won’t find it – or taste it – anywhere else.
