{"id":4048,"date":"2011-06-07T09:12:59","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T08:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/?p=4048"},"modified":"2012-05-29T21:33:23","modified_gmt":"2012-05-29T20:33:23","slug":"la-bruschetta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/2011\/06\/la-bruschetta\/","title":{"rendered":"La Bruschetta."},"content":{"rendered":"

Seldom you hear the words \u2018Italian\u2019 and \u2018tiny\u2019 in the same sentence but those are the two words that instantly sum up La Bruschetta<\/a>. A hidden jewel in Edinburgh\u2019s Haymarket which, despite being splat in the middle of\u00a0 some of the worst of the tramworks & right opposite Haymarket station and especially despite the councils best attempts to scupper business in this part of town having\u00a0 in turn stopped traffic, started traffic, diverted traffic, allowed taxis, banned cars, occasionally had buses and left bemused humans shuffling about wondering if Armagedon has come. La Bruschetta thrives! Hoorah!<\/p>\n

Entering this understated wee gem expect the sort of warm greeting last experienced when going out for a special family event with my Mum and Dad when I was but a stripling. Sharply dressed, white shirted, black trousered, impeccably presented Italian men of a certain age look after you like you were Sophia Loren\u00a0 out for dinner with Mario Lanza. Our host for the night was Jock an old pal who loves this place and by goodness me knows his onions. He didn\u2019t look at the menu he ordered up ravioli and veal. End of.<\/p>\n

I plumped for one of the starters of the day-\u00a0 lobster linguine. So did Dave and mia madre (\u2013 my mum) plumped for avocado and\u00a0 prawn which sounds rather dull and you know what to expect but this was prepared and presented with flair and love and well I could go on but I think you are getting the jist.<\/p>\n

Jock asked the man who had our best interests at heart to choose a wine. It was sublime. I have no idea what it was. We were his guests so I\u00a0 was just gargling, eating, talking and indulging it would be rude to interrogate and peer and paw so I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Main courses. Scampi. No orange breaded in a basket mock scampi nonsense here. Though don\u2019t get me wrong there is place for that, namely on the couch Saturday night with a vat of tartare sauce. But these were fresh scampi. Fresh, fat, succulent, tender and cooked in a white wine and creamy reduction.<\/p>\n

SCAMPI CRISTINA<\/strong>
\nScampi saut\u00e9ed with butter, garlic, and white wine, served in a light cream sauce with chilli and lemon<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you God for creating the ingredients and thank you chef of La Bruschetta for cooking it so well. Creamed spinach and Italian potatoes accompanied our mains. David had a mixed grill of fish\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.oh yes.\u00a0 Fresh wild trout, gambas, halibut and mussels\u00a0 were the stars of a star studded show.<\/p>\n

Jock went for the veal<\/p>\n

SCALOPPINA AI PORCINI<\/strong>
\nPan-fried veal with wild mushrooms and Porcini in a white wine sauce with cream, nutmeg, white Truffle oil and rocket<\/em><\/p>\n

and so did Mia Madre. They were quiet. This if you knew either of them spoke volumes as to how much they were enjoying this. No. Loving this. Every morsel. We all were.<\/p>\n

La Bruschetta has been here for years. It has survived the highs and lows of economic doom and gloom. It doesn\u2019t blow it\u2019s own trumpet. It doesn\u2019t appear in lists and award ceremonies. It doesn\u2019t have a high flying PR agency to shout from the rooftops about it. No La Bruschetta\u00a0 nestles quietly in a not very fashionable part of Edinburgh. But at 6pm \u2013 yes 6pm on a Friday night it was packed. We were out by 8.30 \u2013 they were turning those tables.<\/p>\n

It is linen table clothes, impeccable service and wonderful food.<\/p>\n

When asked if they were busy. The proprietor and charming waiter answered \u2018 yes we are busy\u00a0 \u2013 not full tomorrow but we\u2019ll see\u2019 In the time we were there the number of\u00a0 people whose noses pressed up against the window caused hilarity. This frontage is easy to miss,so as passers glanced at the menu and got their dander up, they then peered in the welcoming room only to see a huddle of\u00a0 red cheeked, warm happy diners perusing their plates of fresh delicious food. If you stumble upon it \u2013 go in \u2013 if you don\u2019t – call and book a table. Take your friend, partner, lover or go alone. The food and this style charming service will never be unfashionable. Ever.<\/p>\n

Three cheers for La Bruschetta<\/a>. Forgive their website \u2013 it\u2019s not great. But who cares, take me word for it they are far too busy making delicious food to bother with such fripperies.<\/p>\n

La Bruschetta\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tel: 0131 467 7464<\/p>\n

Clifton Terrace,<\/p>\n

Edinburgh EH12 5DR<\/p>\n

(directly opposite Haymarket Station \u2013 so if you don\u2019t live in Edinburghlope off the train at this station, eat a wonderful meal and return home, happy, satisfied and wondering if it was all dream!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seldom you hear the words \u2018Italian\u2019 and \u2018tiny\u2019 in the same sentence but those are the two words that instantly sum up La Bruschetta. A…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25,24,104,83,1161,77],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alisonsdiary.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}