Vittoria's is the perfect restaurant to sample a real taste of Italy. Renowned for its high level of service and fresh Italian food, book online with Vittoria's on Leith Walk and experience over 40 years of history. You can now also book online at Vittoria's on the bridge and at La Favorita too.

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £16 (lunch)
   £16 (evening meal)
• House wine: £13.80 per bottle

• High point: Lively ambience
• Low point: Some dishes are a little predictable
• Food served: Mon–Sun noon–1am
• Open since: 1990
• Also offers: Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access, Takeaway

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008
– in the shops now or buy online.

Hidden behind a modest entrance with green neon signs and a rather retro ice-cream counter, the cavernous back room of this lively restaurant – a cheerful mix of tartan carpets and Italian holiday snap posters – comes as something of a surprise. At weekends it is typically heaving with theatre-goers headed for the Playhouse opposite and large, bouncy family groups, but, despite the crowds, the swift, unobtrusive service ensures you won't miss curtain up or be distracted from having a good time by worries about when the next course will arrive. The menu is almost as expansive as the restaurant itself, with choices ranging from classic pizza and pasta dishes – including a rich, tomatoey lasagna – to meat (particularly steak) and fish dishes. Pan-fried swordfish is served very simply in a zesty lemon-based dressing with capers and anchovies, and the long list of antipasti includes a substantial offering of crispy fried cuttlefish in a spicy chilli salsa. Desserts are old school crowd-pleasers: banana split arrives smothered in whipped cream and lashings of chocolate sauce, as does a pile of squishy profiteroles. The wine list is almost exclusively Italian and has some interesting bottles from the owner's home region of Marche.