Dario’s – SADLY NOW CLOSED

I’ve had a couple of “false starts” with Dario’s, the popular late-night Italian restaurant on Lothian Road, so was delighted to finally get round to paying it a review visit. Our Cakequest pal Sarah will be delighted that this has finally come to pass. She’ll hopefully be tickled that we’ve chosen the day of the great post-Referendum hangover to post the review.

I’ve been a fairly frequent visitor, down the years, both as a takeaway and sit-in patron. Many of these visits have been very late at night, often when ardent spirits had been sampled. Customers of this type are the cornerstone of their business.

I do occasionally despair at the lack of better late night dining options in Edinburgh, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough demand to drive diverse supply.

On this visit, it was around 11 and followed an evening of bookish Hush Hour cocktails at Lucky Liquor. I was in relatively fine fettle but rather hungry. I opted to sit in.

Their menu is a typically broad Italian selection. I chose two of my staple takeaway choices: a half portion of their four cheese penne to start, then a pepperoni pizza to follow.

The friendly waiter took my order efficiently, brought beer and water, and was soon bringing over a simple plate of pasta to start. It proved as reliably satisfying as ever.

The main course pizza wasn’t quite so good. The combination of rather a lot of heavy cheese and a rather floppy base made the “fold and shove faceward” method initially untenable.

After careful consideration, by eating the pizza’s central core, I was able to achieve the preferred method of consumption in due time, though. Drunk logic to the rescue, once more. It was a decently tasty item.

So overall, Dario’s can be relied upon to be open late and deliver quick, decent Italian fare. I have no doubt that I’ll be back again at some stage and will order dishes rather similar to those I sampled, this evening.

Scores
Blythe scores Dario’s
3/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 13/20

I ate: four cheese penne; pepperoni pizza

I drank: water, lager, espresso

I wore: glazed look

Total bill: £18.65