Contini

The location is beautiful but when you are dining it feels more like you are eating in a cafeteria as it seems more noisy. The food was okay but for the perfect touch we felt there was missing something. Therefore we loved the design of the plates.

Location and interior is fantastic. Food menu could have a little more variation. My fiancee struggled to pick something, although I had no problem.

A great restaurant set in a beautifully decorated room. We had pre-booked a special offer lunch and on arrival we were shown to our table where the appropriate menus for our deal had already been set out. Despite the competitive price we had a good choice of dishes to choose from. Service was generally prompt and polite. The food was delicious and hot. There was a slight delay in paying the bill but, that aside, it was a very pleasant experience. We will be going back.

Good food (loved the pasta), nice wine and friendly staff. The room is beautiful with high ceiling. You can get some Italian lesson in the bathroom as well!

I came here with a group as part of my sister's hen night. Service was slow and the white wine was served warm. When pointing this out to the waiter he commented "Oh, warm wine is the least of our worries tonight!" The solution presented was cubes of ice, rather than properly chilled wine. We were encouraged to order a starter and the pasta dish as a main course size, which was a massive amount of food, which sadly left a lot to waste.
Unfortunately the dinner was left on a sour note. When we recieved the bill, we noticed that 2 glasses of chardonnay had been charged at £20 each! One of our party had ordered the glasses (the wine list had already been removed from our table) thinking that they would be reasonably priced and we were alarmed that the waiter did not point out that particular wine is extremely expensive. On drawing attention to this, a member of staff initially thought that we had mistakenly been charged for two bottles rather than two glasses. They then went back on this, pointing out that they do indeed charge £20 per glass.
After a lengthy debate, thankfully all drinks were removed from our bill, however I left feeling that this restaurant is out to rip people off.
Read the menu carefully before you order, or you could be in for a VERY expensive night!

One of the best Italian cuisine I've ever had! The pasta were incredibly fresh, handmade and delicate. I started with a crab & watermelon salad, and my partner ordered the mushroom pasta. Both were good portions for starters and played beautifully!

For mains, we had the roasted chicken breast and a spring pasta with fresh basil and tomato. Both were delightful! We will definitely be back :)

Contini George Street is the original of three restaurants run by a Scottish-Italian family - the other two being the Cannonball Restaurant and Bar just outside Edinburgh Castle, and The Scottish Restaurant and Cafe at the Scottish National Gallery (I visited all three during my stay).

I visited Contini for my first breakfast in Edinburgh. It may seem odd coming to an Italian restaurant for breakfast, but they do a good Scottish breakfast. I was seated to the rear of the restaurant by the waitress and left for a few minutes to look over the menu. The plan for the day was to walk up to the Castle, and then do the Scottish Whiskey Experience with the tasting of four whiskies, so I needed something to set me up until lunchtime. I plumped for Nona's pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, and a black Americano.

The coffee arrived promptly, and was delicious as you would expect from an Italian restaurant. The pancakes and bacon arrived a short time later, with a good-sized jug of maple syrup. The bacon was perfectly good, though I usually like mine a little crispier. I think I pretty much drowned everything in the syrup (it's the law), and I still had some left over - exactly as it should be, as I can't stand it when you don't have enough syrup.

Service was prompt and efficient, and if I find myself in Edinburgh in need of breakfast, Contini will be near the top of my list.

Excellent food, not your standard Italian restaurant. The staff were really friendly and the food arrived within a reasonable time. The bill wasn't that expensive, but the portion sizes were slightly smaller than expected.