National Trust for Scotland - Pollock House

Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè

(3)

11 Multrees Walk

Edinburgh, EH1 3DQ

Phone: 0131 557 0088

Email:

Website: www.vincaffe.co.uk

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Food served: Sun 11am–3:30pm; Mon/Tue 9am–9pm; Wed–Sat 9am–9:30pm. [Coffee bar: Mon–Sat 8am–9pm; Sun 11am–6pm]
Pre-theatre times: Mon–Fri 4–7pm
Number of wines sold by the glass: 52
Private dining: 8/20
Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least ¼ main courses), Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu, Outdoor tables, Free wi-fi
Music on stereo: Frank Sinatra, soul, jazz, swing, 60s
Capacity: 120
Largest group: 120
Open since: 2004

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Average price:
£21 (lunch)
£21 (evening meal)
Pre-theatre price: £15.95
House wine: £17 per bottle

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.

Valvona & Crolla’s Vincaffe is only a short distance but several years away from the densely packed cornucopia of the family-run business’s original branch on Elm Row. With a bright, contemporary décor, evenly spaced, white dressed tables and a bank of high windows facing out onto the upmarket monotone of Multrees Walk, this is the very definition of a modern Italian. While the venue could be accused of leaning towards the anonymous, the food really is anything but; within this modern exterior, there beats the warm heart of the Mediterranean. Open with the grilled sardines – served with a salsa verde, crisp, chewy bread and a dash of lemon, these are precisely pitched – light and fresh as a summer’s morning, the edges slightly caught and redolent of a balmy night’s barbecue. Mains range from a dark, unctuous lentil and sausage combination enlivened with a lightning fork of sweet, red horseradish jam to a mammoth vegetable frittata that almost, but not quite, dwarfs the rustic wooden board it’s served on. The dessert menu is contrastingly small but perfectly formed, much like the torta di cioccolato.

High point: Cooking with heart and soul
Low point: Vegetables with the main course count as an extra

The LIST Card F11

This restaurant offers the standard 2-for-1 LIST Card promotion for:

Lunch: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun

Dinner: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri

Exclusions: Valentine's Day and ticketed events (e.g. wine tastings, music shows, etc)

Remember: book by phone (0131 557 0088) and ask for a LIST Card booking.

Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè

The following information has been provided by the restaurant.

Launched in 2004 to celebrate Valvona & Crolla's 70th Anniversary, VinCaffè is a new concept wine bar, caffè and retail shop in Multrees Walk at the heart of quality shopping in Edinburgh city centre. The shop is packed with Italian food and wine, with takeaway hot drinks and snacks on the ground floor and a fully featured restaurant and wine bar on the 1st floor.

The LIST Card is a dining scheme that gives you promotional two-for-one offers at a range of restaurants in Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond. Find out more.

Ice cream days: growing up in an old school ice cream parlour

Mary Contini of Valvonna & Crolla describes her enviable upbringing

1 May 2009

It took two men, my father and Tommy Dougal, to lift up each milk churn and tip it into the stainless-steel vat. It could be four or five churns at a time – even more in July and August when the factory was working at full capacity. Once the 20-gallon…

Events at Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè (11 Multrees Walk, Edinburgh)

1 event at this location.

Sorted by event / date & time.

Dinner with Cole Porter
Location	Date	Tickets
	Philip Contini and his Be Happy Band. Philip Contini and his Be Happy Band return with their sell-out show of the music of iconic songwriter, Cole Porter. Enjoy a three-course dinner in critically acclaimed Valvona & Crolla VinCaffe, with three delicious dishes to choose from for each course (please inform us in advance of any dietary requirements). Live jazz will be played throughout the evening. Philip will join the band after dinner to perform your favourite songs from one of the… View full details and ticket info (Edinburgh Festival Guide)
Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè	12 Aug–26 Aug Sun 7–10.30pm	0131 226 0000

Reviews of Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè (11 Multrees Walk, Edinburgh)

3. portygal, edinburgh – 28 September 2009, 11:12pmValvona & Crolla VincaffèReport

Does saying you have a List card mean you get a poor table? Went here the other night with a friend to have a really good natter. The restaurant was nearly empty, but we got sat next to a table set for 6. The first person to arrive for that table was a baby in a stroller, which was placed right next to our table. The baby couldn't help it, but - unsurprisingly as it was now after 8pm - he started getting noisy. We asked to be moved and got taken to the other side of the still empty restaurant to a gloomy table right by the wall.

I wouldn't go back here. The food was okay - nothing great, but their skill at reading what their customers might want was really poor.

2. EdinburghLady, Edinburgh – 17 June 2009, 10:10amValvona & Crolla VincaffèReport

Having always been impressed with VinCaffe in the past, I took my new List Card out for a spin there last Wednesday (10 June) and I have never left a restaurant feeling more disappointed.

Despite the restaurant being almost empty when we arrived, trying to get the waiting staff's attention was rather difficult and we had to ask twice for simple a drinks order (my wine turned up but my partner's Coca Cola was apparently beneath them). The starters were pleasant and filling but uninspiring, which is a relief as neither of us could finish our main courses. My partner was not displeased with his pasta dish, but commented that it tasted like it had been carved from a block of cheese; however, I found my chicken saltimbocca almost inedible. The chicken had been cooked to the texture of boot leather and had a slightly bitter taste and the cabbage that came with it was so drenched in grease that there was a pool half an inch deep covering the bottom of the bowl.

When this was brought to the attention of the waiter (when we finally got his attention), he did offer me a replacement or to take it off the bill. I opted for the latter, as we'd had the dishes for a good ten to fifteen minutes already and what I had eaten had turned my stomach somewhat.

For once, we didn't have dessert (which considering my other half is a sugar junkie, is very surprising).

I'll be thinking twice before going back, despite all my wonderfully postive previous experiences.

1. Shawn, Valvona & Crolla VinCaffè, Edinburgh – 21 November 2008, 5:38pmValvona & Crolla VincaffèReport: A lovely, light and airy space for lunch. I enjoyed the nod to Christmas with 'What a wonderful life' being projected on to a wall. The food was well presented, and the wild mushrooms in my handmade savoury pancakes were particularly good. The waiting staff were a little too efficient though, to the point of us feeling a little rushed. Taking my plate away when my friend was still eating seemed almost rude. Otherwise the staff were very pleasant, and the overall meal was good.