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.