Patatino, Edinburgh – Restaurant Review

There are certainly much worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon in Edinburgh than being transported in spirit to Sorrento. Patatino, the Hoxton Edinburgh’s signature restaurant, has been serving its sunshine-soaked brand of Italian cooking to Edinburgh’s West End ever since it opened last year, and it’s now turned its attention to the weekend’s most coveted of traditions with the launch of its very own Brunch menu. The Luxury Editor recently visited, read on to find out more.

Located in the Hoxton Edinburgh, I have been meaning to visit since its opening in June last year, so it was a delight to finally see it in person. The hotel brand was born in Shoreditch in 2006 and has spent two decades exporting its “open house” philosophy to cities across Europe and America, and this is its first to open in Scotland. The Edinburgh hotel has 214 rooms, across 11 Georgian townhouses. Interiors are by AIME Studios, think ultra-cool, laid-back spaces with a sociable, coworking energy so ideal for getting your laptop out and doing some remote work.

Patatino’s interior styling, sits in complete contrast to the hotel’s design-forward lobby, occupying the ground floor and almost hidden away out of sight (though Andy, our server, did say that a wall of Patatino is coming down imminently, connecting the restaurant with the outside terrace and increasing the natural light into the space); it’s like discovering a speakeasy that swapped its bourbon for limoncello.

Inside, it’s full-throttle Italian maximalism; imagine a joyful celebration of an Amalfi dreamscape. Blush-pink panelled walls and pastel stripes sit beside shelves lined with hand-painted ceramic plates, the odd faux lemon tree for good measure, and a Baroque-style fountain that wasn’t on when we were there; Andy said it was causing plumbing problems, so a work in progress. But I can imagine it adding to the overall theatre of the space when it is back in full flow. As I was walking around the restaurant, I noticed a corner booth scrawled with “falling 4 you” across the wall, which is more or less how the room made me feel.

We were here to try the Brunchatino deal, which is part of the newly launched Brunch menu and includes one small plate, one large plate and two cocktails for a fixed price. While perusing the menu, we kicked things off with a cocktail. The list of signature cocktails is split into sections; the House Heroes include the classic Negroni on draught, courtesy of Edinburgh’s own Electric Spirit Co, and a Bellini billed as “peaches and bubbles, perfected”. The Spritz Season runs from a housemade Limoncello to a spirit-free Pentire; and the Made in Italia signatures riff happily on la dolce vita, think a Cannolo built on dairy-washed grappa and cacao, an Aeroplanino of Woodford Reserve and chamomile, a fig-laced Fi-Cosmopolitan and, inevitably, a Pata-Tini of Malfy lemon gin, St-Germain and basil-infused Italicus. They all sounded delightful, but my old habits die hard, and I ordered a classic margarita, with a shot of spice to lift it further.

The food menu is categorised into small plates and larger plates and a selection of sides; everything can be ordered to come at once, or it can be made into a starter / main formation. We decided to go for a starter, main, and dessert – sharing the starter and dessert. I had my eye on the fried spaghetti, which Andy explained is served as crisp squares of pasta with marinara sauce and spicy basil pesto, or the Burrata with pappa al pomodoro and basil pesto, but I opted for the Brisket arancini, which is served as two arancini balls and is dusted with an extremely generous serving of pecorino.

For mains I had my eye firmly set on The Steak and fries, a flat iron steak which was cooked blushing pink, sliced, and served with fries and a green peppercorn sauce in a side gravy boat which I generously poured over the steak. My friend had the Seafood skewer, which is Scottish salmon and cod char-skinned medallions on a skewer over roasted vegetables, herbs scattered. Other menu items range from the reassuringly classic, Eggs royale, Avocado toast on sourdough with poached eggs, to a Mortadella flatbread with pistachio pesto and stracciatella, or Eggs and ‘nduja on sourdough with aubergine caviar and salsa verde.

We managed to negotiate a drinks swap and paired the main up with a glass of white wine. As the wine took effect, I really started admiring the crockery, feeling that it would be an excellent idea to turn them over once I finished eating to see who produced them. Sense kicked in as I would probably have ended up breaking one, and I instead asked Andy, who said they were handmade and limited in numbers, so definitely handle with care!

The menu doesn’t have a dessert section per se – but I did spot Waffles tiramisù in the small plates section, and it’s exactly as it sounds, a stack of waffles standing in for savoiardi biscuits, mascarpone cream beneath, and a coffee-caramel sauce poured over at the table from a blue-and-white china jug. It’s actually too big for one person, so ideal for sharing, which is what we ended up doing.

The Tiramisù was a feast to end a verifiable feast in a restaurant that brings a splash of Amalfi sunshine to my hometown that deals more often in bad weather than good. I have no doubt Patatino will very quickly become one of Edinburgh’s best brunch venues. Brunch runs every Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm – 4 pm