Nonna's Kitchen Review - Edinburgh

Nonna's Kitchen is an Italian restaurant in Morningside, Edinburgh. Until this visit I'd never been but I'd heard good things about it from a few people. It's smaller than I expected inside, but with modern decor and bright flowers on the tables, still with an Italian feel. I'd booked at the last minute and got an early table for a couple of hours, but on arrival the place was packed with a mixture of friends, families and couples. It was cosy and convivial, with a small army of waiters watched over by the matriarch who seemed to be in charge.

The Arancini

In addition to the main menu I was extremely impressed by the waiter who reeled off from memory a long line of specials, exquisitely detailed and with great knowledge of each dish. A lot of these included fresh seafood dishes for both starters and mains. From the specials we chose the Arancini for a starter, one of my absolute favourites. Risotto rice shaped into balls, filled with cheese, breaded and deep fried, they were served with a tomato sauce. This was both rich and fresh in flavour and the Arancini were perfect. The crumb was crispy, the rice hot with a creamy but not claggy texture. Inside the cheese oozed out and everything was set off nicely by the slight fragrance of a touch of basil.

For mains we chose one of the specials and one dish from the a la carte menu. The special Pumpkin Ravioli was served in a cream sauce with hazelnuts, very rich but delicious. The pasta was cooked well and filled with slightly sweet pumpkin flesh. The hazelnuts added a good bit of contrast and texture to the smooth pasta, filling and sauce. We also had the Pizza Quattro Formaggi. The base was a good one, thin and not too much crust. The cheeses were a mix of mozzarella, gorgonzola, taleggio and pecorino. The gorgonzola gave it a strong, gutsy taste but was not too overpowering and you could taste all of the cheeses individually. It was one of the best four cheese pizzas I've had for a while.

Pumpkin Ravioli

We didn't order any extras, desserts or coffee but we did have a decent bottle of the house white, and a complimentary small plate of fresh bread with butter, oil and vinegar was served after ordering. Service was excellent. As well as our waiter with the incredible memory, the wine was brought to us unopened to ensure it was the right one. It's little touches like this which impress and rounded the whole thing off to a most enjoyable evening. The dishes and ingredients were authentic and you can tell that a lot of care, effort and time has gone into making the place a cut above your average Italian. Two courses for two plus one bottle of wine and service came to £55 but we thought it was worth it for the excellent food and service. They also offer a short but decent lunch and pre-theatre menu.

Pizza Quattro Formaggi

 More details Nonna's Kitchen 45 Morningside Rd Edinburgh EH10 4AZ

The Links Hotel, Bar & Kitchen - Edinburgh

This month I have been out not once, but twice, to watch something pretty unlikely for me, the football competition known as 'The Capital One Cup'. As I don't have a TV, let alone Sky Sports One HD, we had to find somewhere local to watch two semi-finals (the same teams play each other at home and away). It was a short walk in the wintry evenings to the Links Hotel, located over the far side of the Bruntsfield Links. It's a smart, medium sized hotel housed in traditional stone Victorian buildings with a public bar and restaurant and a great view over the Links.

The bar's a 'sports' type one, with lots of wood, pool table and pictures of golfers and people I've never heard of. Both times I went in it was quiet to start with (good for a table right in front of the massive tv...) but got busier with what looked like a mix of residents and visitors; it was a pretty relaxed atmosphere. They serve food both in the bar and restaurant, the restaurant I have yet to visit but it has a tasty looking menu, if a bit safe. In the bar there's decent pub grub, an interesting tapas menu and daily specials. I also heard the waitress telling hotel guests all their deserts are home made. As the football was on at dinner time we had to eat! Tuesdays and Wednesdays the burgers are on offer, two for £12 (£8-10 full price) so we tried those. We ordered at the bar but they take orders at the tables too. Service was friendly, quick and both times a member of staff came back to check our meals were okay.

Cheeseburger and trimmings

The burgers come presented on a board with a bowl of really tasty chips, house coleslaw and a few onion rings. Sometimes it's a gamble choosing a burger but other times it's exactly what you were craving for. These burgers were really impressive, rich and meaty, cooked through but not dry with loads of burgery juices. They were tall enough to struggle taking a bite out of and the buns were substantial enough to hold everything together, not disintegrating at the sight of mayonnaise. The chips were hot and crispy, perfect covered in a bit of salt for dipping in sauces and coleslaw. The sauces are the usual bottled brands and none the worse for it, but the coleslaw is made on the premises and really tasty. The onion rings were only a few but a nice touch and well cooked.

We had the cheeseburger and the salsa burger, on return the blue cheese and bacon, all include lettuce and slices of tomato. The meat was the best part, minced steak with great flavour, from both the steak and the cooking. The cheeseburger was the best of the three, but the others were good too. It's just the blue cheese escaped more easily and though I like salsa, I think a burger needs cheese. Also the burgers are big enough that the bacon was a bit surplus to requirements, I'm not sure it added anything extra.

The Bacon & Blue Cheese Behemoth

We drank a bottle of the Spanish house white, £13.50, again good value, especially if there's two of you and you know you're going to be there for a couple of nail biting hours. For two people it was £25.50 for a bottle of wine, burgers and burger trimmings, more than great for the price. We'll be checking out the menu again as there is now a final to go and see...both nights we were celebrating more than the burgers! Next time I'll have another look at the wine list too, fingers crossed we will be ordering something more than the house wine!


Details here:The Links Hotel, 4 Alvanley Terrace, Edinburgh EH9 1DU

Illegal Jack's South West Grill - Edinburgh

I have walked back home up Lothian Road lots of times since I moved to Edinburgh, usually lugging food shopping or another purchase all the way back from the city centre, getting tired and cold by this point and more than a bit hungry (admittedly this is still nearer town than my home to my shame). Many a time I have fancied going into the Burrito/South West place that it Illegal Jack's South West Grill on Lothian Road and this weekend I eventually went in for a tasty dinner.

Conveniently situated just up from the Usher Hall and Lyceum Theatre (I was heading there after) they offer a medium sized menu of tortilla dishes, burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, plus chilli bowls and nachos and all the SW trimmings. The burritos are made up to order,  filled with a combination of rice, chicken, pork, steak, veggie, pinto beans, fresh salsas, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream and guacamole. I love this sort of food and there's a good selection to choose from, not so long it takes forever to decide and order, not too short that you couldn't go back a few times and try different things.

It is both takeaway and sitting in, the decor inside is relaxed and basic, pretty cheap and cheerful but that fits in about right for the menu and style of the food. On arrival you get a paper place mat-sized menu, decide, go up to order and they make up the burritos there and then using an ingenious tortillas press that heats them in a second. You get drinks and pay at the end so it's pretty quick, then take the food back to the table instead of waitress service.  For the drinks they have a few wines, Mexican beers, artisan cider and margaritas which I would try next time. Other dishes such as chilli are ordered and brought to your table later by the staff. There's cutlery, napkins and hot sauce on the side and you help yourself.

For two people we both had identical burritos; rice, roast pork, pinto beans, hot salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and jalapenos. The burritos were huge and the meat and combination of flavours were really good, smoky, oniony and hot enough for me, though I still added chilli sauce to the occasional bite. The burritos are wrapped up snug in foil, then you unpeel and eat them as you go. The food looks and tastes fresh and full of flavour, instead of the usual bland salsas and sauces you often find in american/tex mex places so that is a major plus. I'm quite picky about guacamole and hate any of the ready made stuff you usually get but this was far superior. The ingredients they use such as Scottish beef seem up to scratch.

The only thing was the basic price is listed, then extra for meat fillings, plus extra for each of guacamole, sour cream and jalapenos. Who doesn't like all three of those in tortillas anyway? I imagine this pricing structure works well for them, but for me I'd rather just pay one price for everything rather than seeing a lower price to start with that then creeps up and up. On the other hand it's great to find somewhere quick and casual that serves fresh, flavoursome food instead of charging the same or more for the usual bland dishes, using poor quality ingredients or ready made sauces bought in.

For 2 people for 2 burritos plus a very great bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc (£14.50) it was £32.50 so pretty decent for some tasty, fresh food that was served quickly, ideal when you are heading out afterwards to the theatre/cinema/etc or have limited time. Maybe not the place for a long, lingering feast although I could graze over this sort of food all night. It is however perfect for breaking up the (not very) long, cold walk home, some much-welcomed heat and colour after traipsing round a damp and grey city centre!

Half munched burrito, foil scraps, wine, hot sauce

Full menu here: Illegal Jack's South West Grill, 113-117 Lothian Rd Edinburgh EH3 9AN

Ballymaloe Day 35, 24th February - Girl vs Monkfish

 Last day of Week 7 but plenty to be getting on with in the morning. I had to make more pastry for the base of the Apple Pie, this time a sweet shortcrust pastry. Then once rolled and chilled this is combined with the apples, sugar and a lid of flaky pastry before going in the oven. The top was a bit fiddly with the scalloped edges and pastry leaves for decoration. The pie is cooked on a Pyrex plate, which I had never seen before but Pyrex plates are very popular here and used for lots of recipes. The pie took much longer than you’d think to get it all together and in the oven. Next was the cream and red pepper sauce for the monkfish, a bit bland in my opinion but apparently it is very popular on the menu at Ballymaloe House. Although I wasn’t using crab I got the chance to extract the meat from the cooked crustacean so that was another technique practiced and I was happy.

Lastly was preparing and poaching the monkfish. The ugly beast and I were never going to get on but he was easily the slimiest fish we’ve had to deal with. I don’t really mind all the gross stuff we’ve done so far but this was grim. The skin was supposed to be kind of pulled off but it was so slimy it seemed to take me forever getting it off and trimming off all the membraney bits. You only really use the monkfish tail, that’s where the meat is; the other half of him goes in the stock pot. I poached the collops of fish in simmering water and served it with the pepper sauce and chervil. The pie was great, and I made custard flecked with vanilla seeds to go with it. Another carry on, the custard started to split, I had to rescue it with a blender…

Monkfish before...

And after!

My Apple Pie

After all those adventures I was ready for a snooze but the afternoon’s demonstration was good, vegetable curries, risotto and a fabulous chocolate tart. Then in the evening the housemates and I went into Midleton to a shop and restaurant called Farmgate. It’s a nice place with quirky décor and full of ladies who lunch types. As ever, they’re all about seasonal local produce. I had the mussels and the roast chicken which was delicious and full of flavour and a bit of crème brulee. The housemates All the mains came with a generous portion of roast and green veg. It was all tasty but expensive!

Farmgate feast