After a glorious early evening spent at Tea at 94, debating the finer points of Anna Karenina, I was in need of a little feed on the way home. I had a bit of a wander before settling upon a visit to Queensferry Street to sample a new Italian called Quattrozero. Nestled in between Bar Roma and Zizzi, I’ve been paying attention to it as its refit has been completed.

Salad

The place is part diner-style restaurant, part takeaway, with the usual range of Italian whatnots on offer. I was seated in a window seat, which gave me a good opportunity for people watching, although this evening proved quite quiet on that front.

Noteworthy items on the menu included “pizza by the metre” which sounded like a good idea for large party sharing. The rest of the menu had plenty of options, but didn’t run to thousands of dishes as Italians sometimes do, which was a good thing.

I was curiously attracted by one of their salad options, to start, so given the infrequency with which that idea strikes me, I decided to go with it. To follow I opted for their porcini ravioli, which was served with a creamy parmesan and tomato sauce.

Ravioli

Service was both friendly and lightning quick. My initial waiter left just after taking my order. He was given a warm farewell from practically the whole restaurant, staff and punters alike, so I imagine he’d been doing some entertainingly good work. The waitresses that looked after me were lovely, so it’s fair to say that I was impressed by the level of care and attention that was paid to creating a welcoming atmosphere.

My salad impulse was richly rewarded, as the lovely salad of goat’s cheese, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, rocket and lettuce was really good. It was a generous portion, too, and could have happily chased a midday hunger away, all on its own.

The ravioli that followed was similarly joyous. The sauce was packed with flavour, as was the filling of the nicely made ravioli. I asked for bread to mop up the sauce and a good olive focaccia was brought. It did the job very well.

Good espresso with a chunky biscotti rounded out what had been a really enjoyable restaurant experience.

Overall, Quattrozero is ploughing a fruitful furrow. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Taste of Italy, in that it provides excellent value, lots of flavour, and really smart dishes. I look forward to coming back, soon, and playing with their lengthy pizzas.

Scores
Blythe scores Quattro Zero
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: caprino e ruccola; porcini ravioli

I drank: Moretti

I wore: maroon shirt

Total bill: £18.20

40/41 Queensferry Street
Edinburgh