Divino Enoteca

5 Merchant St

Edinburgh EH1 2QD 

BY NEAL MARTIN | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

The Food: 

Burrata with heritage tomatoes, basil and croutons

Pork and beef meatballs with tomato sauce, parsley and Parmesan

Spaghetti carbonara with guanciale

Carnaroli risotto with Scottish mushrooms

Ravioli

Parmigiana di melanzane

Frittura mista

Tiramisù classico

Caprese alle nocciole 

The Wines: 

Burrata with heritage tomatoes, basil and croutons

While on vacation in Edinburgh I wanted to check out a restaurant focused on wine, so I booked a table at Divino Enoteca, located around the corner from the café where a young single mother wrote a children’s book about a wizard. (You can find it easily – just look for the café with “Birthplace of Harry Potter” in the window.) Divino Enoteca is housed in a roomy basement, though a visit to the restroom on an upper level revealed that it is conjoined with a casual sister restaurant; I would never have known it was there otherwise. On this Saturday evening, both were thronged with weekend diners. Though billed as one of the city’s most romantic places to eat, Divino Enoteca was too lively and noisy for a soppy candlelit dinner for two. We had a table in a private room, surrounded by shelves of wine bottles, the table a little too wide for my liking and the music too loud. The waiter turned it down – I’d had enough of Rihanna blaring in my ear.

Pork and beef meatballs with tomato sauce, parsley and Parmesan

The menu here is pretty straightforward Italian fare – exactly what I was looking for – with starters, pasta and main course selections.

Spaghetti carbonara with guanciale

Starters of burrata and pork and beef meatballs were satisfactory, but no medals were awarded. The burrata needed a little more creaminess, and the dish was a bit stingy in terms of basil. (Come on, sprinkle on a few more leaves!) Likewise, I would have liked more tomato sauce with the meatballs, which felt a little plain without it.  

Carnaroli risotto with Scottish mushrooms

The three pasta dishes included a decent spaghetti carbonara that could have used a more generous helping of guanciale; it was nothing even this inept cook couldn’t rustle up at home. But the Carnaroli risotto with Scottish mushrooms was delicious, offering a wonderful consistency and seasoned to perfection. It was the first dish that merited a round of applause. Likewise, the ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese had a delicacy of flavor that was missing in previous dishes, perhaps because the ravioli were made from scratch, unlike the pasta.

Parmigiana di melanzane

We shared two mains. The parmigiana di melanzane was excellent, the violet aubergine perfectly cooked and seasoned and matched with tomato sauce, basil and Parmesan. The frittura mista – fresh prawns, cod fillets and courgettes deep-fried in semolina – was fine and well cooked; although, it would have benefited from more seasoning and maybe fresher fish.

Tiramisù classico

Finally, the caprese alle nocciole, the warm dark chocolate and hazelnut tart, was superb – crisp and light and devilishly more-ish. The tiramisù was generous in size, and though I am not normally a fan of this dessert, finding it a little too sweet, it was quite delicious.

I really wanted to check out the wine list, and I found a comprehensive, though not dazzling, selection of whites and reds from almost all of Italy’s regions. There were a smattering of Super-Tuscans and a couple of Rinaldis, though it was difficult to find top-end producers. Keeping within a sensible budget, I chose a 2019 Ribolla Gialla from Forchir that punches well above its weight and price point. Fragrant white flowers mingle with a touch of chai on the nose. The palate is simple but fresh, with surprising salinity and bite on the finish. I found this a texturally satisfying wine that, oddly, had something Chablis-like in terms of its neutrality. For the red, the 2015 Gattinara from Nervi-Conterno did the trick. Again, this surpassed my expectations. The aromatics are fulsome and generous, with red cherries, strawberry and a splash of soy. The palate is more malleable than I thought, fleshy on the midpalate with an almost Pinot-like finish. Does it need longer in bottle? Not judging by the showing on this evening. 

I enjoyed Divino Enoteca, but I felt that the dishes lacked a bit of flair. For me, Italy is all about quality of ingredients, and there was nothing on the menu that stood out. That said, a couple of dishes, like the ravioli and the aubergine, were a step in the right direction. The wine list is excellent, and both wines on this evening really hit the spot, at reasonable prices given the location. I have no regrets about dining at Divino Enoteca, but with more research, I could have found a smaller and more artisan Italian place with more soulful cooking. Next time.