Restaurant review: Caffe e Cucina, Bruntsfield

THE exterior of the new Caffe e Cucina is the equivalent of a plain biscotto. That’s in comparison to this Morningside corner’s former incarnation – the luscious Loopy Lorna’s, which closed down four months ago and was a Battenburg cake of a cafe, with liquorice, vanilla and strawberry livery, plus a jolly giant teapot sign hanging above the doorway.

Not that I went in there much (nor, in fact, to their other branch at the Church Hill Theatre, still open), as I seem to remember that a cappuccino comes in at around the £2.65 mark (my upper limit is a begrudging £2.35).

This new Italian cafe and kitchen – owned by Ernesto and Lisa Crolla, formerly of now defunct Edinburgh eateries Massimo and Lazio – is low-key inside too, with map-print wallpaper, dark wood tables and staff in Daz white shirts tucked into black trousers.

It’s an all-day operation, open Monday to Saturday 9am until 10:30pm and Sundays from 10:15am until 10pm, with breakfasts, pastries, cakes, dinners and lunches galore. Our posse of four visited for the latter.

We decided to skip the Stuzzichini and Starter options, as they sounded tempting, but rather prosaic (for example, toasted Italian bread with chicken liver pate, £4.05; minestrone soup, £4; and a rather Seventies-style smoked salmon parcel with prawns in Marie Rose sauce, £7.10, amongst other options).

Pronto onto mains then, and, from the specials blackboard I chose the pollo ripieno (£13.95).

This was a hearty beast of a portion. Three soft cross sections of poultry breast were smothered with passata and stuffed with a pleasantly doughy and rustic mixture of breadcrumbs, chopped almonds, earthy Parmesan and raisins. This element was propped onto a bed of stocky green lentils, with, on the sidelines, a stack of slightly too al dente rosemary-spiked potato wedges. Thus, yet another accompaniment – cubes of assorted winter vegetable – seemed a little excessive.

Our other choices were a little hit or miss. The tagliatelle pollo e spinaci (£11.25) was vibrant-looking, with a tangled nest of pasta ribbons blended with a smooth mascarpone sauce, chopped leeks and plenty of piquant sundried tomatoes. Unfortunately, most of the shards of chargrilled chicken in this dish were as calcified as a mummified ibis’s toenails.

The linguine gamberi e chorizo (£11.95) was better, with toasted cherry tomatoes, stacks of garlic, shredded blanched spinach, chorizo tiddlywinks and a bandy net’s worth of skinny prawns. No complaints here.

The final dish – branzino in crema di fave (£9.95) – was from a separate Lunchtime-Sized Treats menu. Was it a treat? Well, not really. The flesh of the fish was soft and fresh, but its annoyingly uncrisped skin was like a wet slanket loosely draped round its piscine shoulders. Atop this fillet, was an eau-de-nil coloured broad bean and sage sauce, which had sounded tempting, but tasted about as thrilling as H20.

Still, blandness is a crime that can easily be solved by Inspector Salt, and there were other distracting offerings on the plate (more rosemary tatties and the aforementioned winter veg medley).

We shared two smashing and stylish-looking puddings between us – the dark chocolate ingot (£4.25) and a citron tart (£4.25). Our former choice was a moussey and milky block of froth, which was sandwiched between two gelatinous struts of mahogany-hued choco, with a fruity splash of raspberry compote on the side. The other was a dainty triangle of intensely lemony crispy-bottomed tart (perfect at 4pm with a cup of tea methinks).

The main courses are okay here, but I’d revisit for the sugary stuff. Mind you, I’d also like to try their imaginative sandwiches, with fillings such as Parma ham, Fontina cheese and artichokes, or poached salmon, avocado butter and Gorgonzola (both £6.95).

Oh, and a cappuccino, since it’s only £1.85 for a small one and £2.25 for a large cup at Caffe e Cucina. See, the fancy Battenburg doesn’t ALWAYS trump the simple biscotto.