Santini Review

Best for: Romantic nights out; special occasions; Italian cuisine.
Great: Italian mains, pasta, pizza wine list.

I've never had pasta in a flying saucer before. I’ll explain. I wasn't actually in a flying saucer. Fortunately, I hadn’t been kidnapped for the purposes of radical and lurid experiments on me brain-box (apparently many believe that this may have already happened). Nor has this review got anything to do with the in-flight catering on Virgin Space.

No, this was very much an Earth-bound starter, a saucerous plate with a small concave centre in which sat tubular pasta smothered in herb sausage, fennel seed and walnut cream sauce, completed by a post-modern sprinkling of micro herbs. I hate to dredge the gutter for an adjective but it was 'cute'; delicious, but my abiding reaction was cute.

Damn! I finally used the ‘c’ word. So I guess that’s the last vestiges of my masculinity finally stripped away. And I was keeping them for a special occasion too.

Santini is well hidden. If I hadn’t been fortunate enough to run into a group of former colleagues enjoying Edinburgh’s street cafe culture – it was at least 9 degrees centigrade with only a light drizzle which borders on beachwear weather in the Lothians – I may never have found it tucked away in Conference Square, which is sandwiched between Festival Square (the one on Lothian Road across from the Usher Hall with the big telly) and the building site that is to be the extension to the conference centre.

Santini’s interior would please Coldplay – a lot of yellow – bright and breezy with huge windows which will probably give a pleasant view when Sir Robert McAlpine’s henchmen have completed their various nefarious tasks. The restaurant is split into two: one half a bar servicing the workers from the banks nearby - they’ve got to have somewhere to spend those bonuses; the second half is a proper Italian restaurant complete with lunch, dinner and a la carte menus.

I found the wine list fun. I know when wine lists aren’t fun, or at least a precedent to inebriation (fun and inebriation being synonyms in my Scots Thesaurus), but this was actually great to read and very informative. Instead of the basic red and white selection with perhaps a nod to nation or region, Santini’s list was split into categories such as ‘Juicy, Medium-Bodied, Fruit led Reds’ and ‘Spicy Peppery Warming Reds’ complete with grape types and locations. This was fantastic. It meant I didn’t even have to go through that whole charade of pretending that I knew what wine went with what and which grape will tickle which area of the palate. I could make a decision which wouldn’t involve a sommelier sniggering all the way back to their precious, musty cellar (I assume this is where sommelier’s lurk). If you brought a date here and made sure she didn’t see the list you could come across as a proper viniculturist (I’m assured that’s the polite term).

Having scoffed the starter, the pace moved on at a leisurely rate (always a good sign) to main which, for me, was Agnolloto Brasato (braised lamb shank with pancetta, pearl onions, wild mushrooms and carrots). I did choose a side order of roast potatoes but this proved a step too far as there was more than adequate on my plate including some mash that had been missed off the menu description. Main was a difficult choice with plenty to temp from. Sweet was more obvious; the dessert that has paved the path to hell for many an intrepid Master Chef: the chocolate fondant. It was gooey, chocolately, and gone far too quickly (a reflection on my greed not the portion size).

And so, after a coffee and biscotti I found myself once more out on the streets of Edinburgh eyes idly drawn upwards; you never know having spotted one flying saucer there was always the off chance of a second. And shouldn’t everybody have at least one UFO story?
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Santini Description

old and beautiful, Santini Restaurant is an altogether contemporary take on the best Italian cooking. Authentic flavours burst with vitality on a menu that takes inspiration from across the regions. From stunningly simple pasta to the freshest pesce e carne, Santini has a passion for food, for life.

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Italian
• Group: Sheraton