Zucca, Old Town Edinburgh

Zucca sits adjoining the Lyceum Theatre. This is both fortunate and unfortunate for them: it would be easy to pass off average food and still remain busy simply because of the location. However, perhaps because of the expectation of their clientele on a special evening out, they might be wary of slipping to the standard of other ‘pre-theatre’ offers.

When I arrived at 6.15pm I was obviously one of the first. There is a café on the ground floor which one enters into, reminiscent of a late-night Italian bar – sadly, Edinburgh locals have not yet adopted an all day dining/drinking tradition so there was a lack of smoking cronies in the dark corners. Luckily I spotted some fantastic looking cheeses at the deli counter that remedied the discouraging entry.

The menu is not too large but still varied, with a fair amount of vegetarian dishes that certainly did not look boring: beetroot and Dolcelatte risotto would have been my choice if I were not such a meat lover. My braised pork and vegetable terrine mixed Italian and English tastes with the addition of a pear and apple chutney. The grilled polenta with sautéed mushrooms, leeks and rocket, was lacking in strong flavour but did feel comforting and home-made.

We had to try Zucca’s signature dish: potato gnocchi cooked with duck confit and pistachios. It looked plain but tasted rustic – I imagined it to be very authentic. Warm, countryside flavours were spruced up by plenty of truffle oil. Our other main, braised shoulder of lamb with mushrooms and pancetta was also delicious. Perfectly cooked meat in a winey sauce over extremely smooth mashed potato: it seemed we’d chosen the best of Italian comfort food. Generous portions meant we were feeling stuffed when we came to order desserts, so settled for the ‘lighter options’ of grapefruit panna cotta and ice creams. These were disappointing after such a great meal. The ice creams were slightly melted when they arrived and the four flavours of blackcurrant, chocolate, vanilla and lemon sorbet did not mix at all well.

Zucca serves delicious Italian food, but the atmosphere and space felt too much like a chain for me to want to make it a regular haunt. This sort of food merits more than to be served in an average airy space adorned with theatre posters.

Read a slightly altered, intensely complimentary version of this review in the Edinburgh Student newspaper