Had a wonderful Valentines meal last night in Papilio, fantastic food great service, lots of smiling people in the place. Was a fantastic starter of olives and bruschette then two simple pasta dishes and fantastic read and a lively bottle of Prossecco. Love the place, amazing value for money and I love being in a restaurant that you can clearly see people enjoying themselves in. Never get tired of coming here, you really must try it !!
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Papilio Restaurant – Edinburgh – 10/04/2014
It’s that time of the month again and the Food Club ventured into Bruntsfield for an Italian delight. The restaurant is quaint and well situated. We managed to park right outside and had a good seat in the middle of the restaurant. IT was busy and had a good atmosphere which is always positive. We ordered our customary beers to kick off the night. Peroni was an obvious choice but you can’t go wrong with it.
Very friendly Staff right from the start and made sure we were comfortable and waited for the remaining 2 from our group… who were in the pub.
We got some Focaccia Mozzarella for the table to kick things off and no one can argue that garlic bread is the 8th wonder of the world and adding melty, stringy hot bubbling cheese to it…. Outstanding.
For our appetisers 4 of us opted for Calamari with a choice of tartare sauce or a chilli dip. The calamari was crunchy, meaty and avoided that rubbery texture you get when it is over cooked. The tartare sauce was tangy and a great accompaniment, the chilli sauce was spicy and caused the sweats. Cornetto Di Salmone, beautiful smoked salmon stuffed with prawns and covered in marie rose sauce. Simple yet majestic. We also had Gamberoni Diavola- devilish prawns packed with flavour and spice. Funghi Formaggi- mushrooms stuffed with mixed cheese and oven baked with a golden breadcrumb finish and Parma Mozzarela – salty parma ham with soft mozzarella cheese served with rocket, All excellent dishes and set us right for the main courses.
They have a large menu and it took a while to come to final decision. I personally fancied a pizza as they looked amazing on other peoples tables but eventually settled on Scaloppina Romana. Tender Veal topped with parma ham and smothered in a sage and white wine sauce. All meat dishes are served mixed veg and potatoes. Pollo Milanese was ordered with a request for extra spice, The meal was very good but it could have been spicier. Taglia Marinara was a pasta with a seafood party and everyone was invited, mussels, Calamari & prawns danced with Tomato, garlic and chilli to create an after party of delight. Risotto Rucola is a creamy risotto with a selection of prawns, pesto & parmesan, strong flavours combining to make a filling dish. We had Polo Picante, a simple yet tasty chicken breast with onion & garlic served with a hefty portion of perfect broccoli. Cannelloni Ripieni was mixed meats stuffed into the cannelloni and blanketed with a béchamel sauce. Of Course Pizza was ordered…. One with Salami and the other the restaurants special with mozzarella, Green peppers, picante sausage and salami. Good thin and crunchy pizza with a good topping size.
This of course was all washed down with more beer and the usual good chat that comes with food club.
There seemed to few birthdays at the restaurant and with everyone joining in with Happy Birthday and watching the cakes arrive to their tables, it seemed like a good time for dessert.
Once again the dessert menu had a wide variety of choices and I think we all opted fore something different. Cassatta Siciliana – traditional dessert of the little island filled with cherries. Good old Banana Split… I really can’t review an old favourite like that and the same goes for profiteroles. We also Cioccolato – simple chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce. Tartufo which is delicious ice cream with nuts and chocolate. Good old Tirimisu and Copa Amaretto with a lovely shot of the almond liquor.
We finished the remaining beers and got the bill. We had a good night and It was enjoyed by all. The bill was very reasonable and we would like to thank all the staff at Papilio.
Next month we celebrate our first birthday and we all know it will be a magical day.
Edinburgh during the Fringe, it's busy, busy, busy so you may need to look a little further afield to find a table on a Friday Evening than just the Mile or down the Grassmarket. My buddy and I had just seen a show. Okay that's not strictly true we had seen Monsters University at Fountain Park, yeah not so cool now!
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Edinburgh during the Fringe, it's busy, busy, busy so you may need to look a little further afield to find a table on a Friday Evening than just the Mile or down the Grassmarket. My buddy and I had just seen a show...
Okay that's not strictly true we had seen Monsters University at Fountain Park, yeah not so cool now!
As we were already on the south-side of the city we thought we would head down to Bruntsfield and see where was able to squeeze us in. The first place we tried was Papilio, it was the brightly coloured exterior (it's the little things for me) that attracted me. That and the departing couple that signified a freshly vacated table. So doing our finest Usain Bolt impressions we made for the entrance.
Once inside the welcome was immediate. We were shown to a table that was already clean and reset and offered the menu. Space is tight inside, but not uncomfortably so. I am sure that a wheelchair would be squeezed in by the oh so accommodating staff, but squeezed it would be.
Drinks were offered immediately and there is a decent selection of Wines and soft drinks. The service was very polite and efficient and I am pleased to say super duper friendly. Its a compromise usually; sometimes you get served promptly and efficiently, but by someone with the personality of a grey Tuesday in Mordor. Alternatively the staff are so friendly and chat so much, that service is slower than a particularly unenthusiastic sloth. At Papilio there seems to exist a rare breed that are capable of personality, panache and pace.
After consuming my bodyweight in sweet popcorn at the cinema I decided against a starter and went straight to the Pizza section of the menu. You are spoilt for choice and I now know that they will happily do a half and half of two toppings on one base, or pretty much let you choose what you want. After consuming most of my drink whilst deliberating between choices we settled on a Pizza Campagnola and a Pizza Rucola. Within seconds of placing down our menus a waiter appeared as if by magic at our table to take our order and once completed woosh he was gone...
What seemed like moments later two dinner plate sized pizzas arrived at our tables, the bases were thin and crispy, the toppings were applied with a benevolent hand and if you could taste with your eyes it was delicious.
The Pizza Campagnola is good, old fashioned chicken and mushroom. Abundant slices of chicken breast cuddled up with fresh mushrooms, all on a fruity tomato sauce bed and quilted in mozzarella. I couldn't fault it if I tried.
The Pizza Rucola has the same tomato and mozzarella as the Campagnola, but then lashings of Parma Ham are laid out, basking under lashings of shaved Parmesan. This was then topped with a quantity of Rocket that left the Pizza looking like a scene from Day of the Triffids. This was just as excellent as the other pizza. The salt in the Parma Ham and Parmesan gave me a thirst, but again the attentive staff were quickly in to check all was well and refill my glass.
Whilst I ploughed through my two halves of pizza with relish my friends less capacious belly struggled to cope. Again the friendly staff were on hand to offer to box up the left-overs rather than let it go to waste, another small but welcome piece of great service.
Despite being unable to eat any more pizza, that special bit of stomach reserved only for puddings meant that my dining buddy was able to order the Tartufo Ice cream. I decided against it, but when it arrived on the table I instantly regretted my decision. I was therefore deeply indebted to my companion who allowed me to try a little spoonful. The white and dark chocolate ice-cream was coated in cocoa and liberally sprinkled with nut pieces. Think frozen Nutella! It was delightful, the bitterness of the cocoa more than offset by the sweetness of the ice cream. A perfect finish to dinner.
The wide selection of liqueurs and coffee had to be passed over, regrettably. But I have no doubt they would have been as tasty as the rest of the meal and served just as charismatically.
Two pizzas, ice cream and a couple of soft drinks came in just over £30. Okay so Pizza Hut at Fountain Park would do something similar (Parma Ham would be pushing it...) for £24. But if you're willing to travel a bit further, or are down at the Kings Theatre, or even Queens Hall then go check out Papilio. The food is excellent, the environment cosy and comfy rather than glossy and contemporary and the service, well it's very very good.
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Very nice busy little place with a warm and relaxed atmosphere. We went there for a dinner with my family, the staff was really helpful and friendly, even though it was quite a busy in the evening, they were attentive but still calm and relaxed. They were well informed and able to recommend the right food for us, which is great, if you do not know much about Italian cuisine. We had Agnolotti Fico, filled pasta with ricotta cheese and cooked in a cream and fig sauce with coconut and almonds. It was a lovely fresh and interesting dish, sweet but filling, ideal for vegetarians, delicious from the first mouthful to the last. I was undecided between king prawns or other kind of fish, so the chef recommended me the special dish of the week comprising of 4 different kinds of fish: king prawns, squid, pieces of cod and another kind of fish (I can´t remember the name of). The prawns were absolutely amazing, really tasty and fresh and it gave me a great opportunity to try different sorts of fish. Generally it was an amazing evening with beautiful food and excellent service.
We used to come here quite a lot,but hadn't been in ages and can say it hadn't changed a bit.Its still a cosy wee place.The staff were lovely and friendly and the food was great.
Highly recommend this restaurant. We came here after a long day and it was just perfect. The cosy relaxed atmosphere and lovely service made it such an enjoyable evening and the food was delicious! We just wish we lived closer and will be definitely revisiting when back in Scotland! Thank You Papilio <3
The food is genuinely heart warming! Homelike little authentic Italian restaurant
Mussels are incredible!
Delicious food and great service!
To guarantee a seat in this small gem, call ahead. I called on a busy Saturday night and was told to come right for 5pm as they were fully booked. Others walked in, but were not so lucky.
Eggplant dish was delightful and sauce was so fresh! I could hear the kitchen pounding my veal, which was so tender and flavorful in the mushroom cream sauce.
One of the better Italian experiences outside of Italy!
The food is very good. Spagetti is freshly made in house. Mussel taste good. Quite popular, probably book a table if you come at rush hours.
Everything here was absolutely perfect. The servers were so friendly and responsive, which was made even better by the great atmosphere. We had dinner here and the food was incredible. I've never tasted such amazing salmon tagliatelle. The price is reasonable too, and overall just a great place to go.
We have been in Scotland for 2 weeks and ended our trip with most delicious dinners two nights in a row. Authentic Italian cuisine and genuine courtesy from everyone in the restaurant.
We have been several times and like the restaurant very much.
Last night the mixed fish special was delicious and the veal with ginger and spinach really tasty.
Service was superb as always and worth saying that we each had three courses and an after dinner liqueur and shared a bottle of wine - the bill was under £100.
First visit tonight when myself and some colleagues were in Edinburgh for work. Great food, warm friendly service, and a cosy and intimate atmosphere. Definitely recommend it.
Small Italian cozy restaurant, the food that we order it was nice and tasty. The service was excellent.
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