Graziano and Stefano serve the best of Italy at Al Dente

Published on Friday 31 October 2008 13:17

ITALIANS usually say the best food is what mamma or nonna cooks at home.

Every family has its own special recipes, perfected over generations, and lovingly made with plenty of piping hot pasta. Of course, there's a place for fine restaurants, with impressive menus and exotic dishes. But it can never quite match the taste of the food that's made a casa.

It's the kind of comfort food you long for as another cold Edinburgh winter begins to bite. And for homesick Italians, as well as natives wanting a taste of Mediterranean warmth and hospitality, Al Dente could be the next best thing to a flight to Naples.

This little trattoria has moved in to a rather unpreposs-essing spot on Easter Road. It's sandwiched between traditional pubs and a stone's throw from Hibs football stadium. It used to be occupied by Tinelli's, a city institution that had hardly changed in a quarter of a century. But when Signor Tinelli finally decided to hang up his apron, he handed over to a young chef and front-of-house manager, Stefano Di Caterina and Graziano Spano.

Apart from giving it a lick of bright pink paint, they aren't aiming to win any prizes in the style stakes. Inside it has a distinctly cosy feel, with only ten tables. The walls are decorated with a single abstract painting, plain tablecloths and slightly unimaginative decor.

But the intimacy of the venue and the warmth of the welcome made it seem all the more like being invited into an Italian home. We could see through to the small kitchen, where the chef glanced at the Juventus game on television in between waiting for orders.

The emphasis is definitely on the food, rather than the looks. Both Di Caterina and Spano have cooked up an impressive range of experience between them, working at Santini's, Cosmo and Giuliano's in the city. They are focusing on traditional Italian cooking, made with fresh seasonal ingredients, with some added flair and innovation.

Spano could not have been more welcoming. And of course, since it's a two-man band, he knew the menu intimately and could probably have told us where the salad leaves had been picked, or the farm the chicken came from.

His enthusiasm for the food, the recipes and the ingredients was infectious. He had not put spaghetti carbonara on the menu, because he didn't want to argue with customers who wanted it with cream, instead of his more authentic version. But they could cook us up a carbonara if that was what we wanted.

I've often felt overwhelmed by the huge choice in some Italian restaurants, with the pasta choices alone taking up several pages of the menu.

Al Dente's is a more manageable size, although still offering plenty of choice and some unusual sounding dishes among the old favourites. These included a seafood lasagne and octopus salad alongside the more familiar saltimbocca alla romana and spaghetti alla puttanesca, in a spicy tomato sauce.

We ordered a bottle of house wine, which was a rich fruity Nero d'Avola, and seemed good value at 14. We chose a selection of cured meats to share for a starter. This was a generous helping of parma ham, salami and prosciutto cotto, served with a garnish and chunks of crusty bread.

These tasted as if they had just been sliced and were difficult to fault, and were certainly a cut above the usual supermarket offerings.

We were torn between the pasta and secondi dishes for the main course so decided to share one of each. We were tempted by the freshly made orechiette, which came with an intriguing sounding parsnip leaf, garlic and anchovy sauce. This was a deliciously moreish dish, and perfect for an autumn night. The pasta was perfectly cooked, as you would expect given the restaurant's name. The sauce had just the right consistency, with a hint of anchovy to give a satisfying salty taste.

They resisted the temptation to overcomplicate the dish, and the simple ingredients were allowed to shine. We mopped up the last drops with the last of the crusty bread.

But the star of the show was the main dish of oven-cooked chicken stuffed with spinach and parma ham. It was simple and classic, and the chicken was cooked to perfection. It was deliciously tender and melted in the mouth. Its delicate flavour was perfectly complemented by the ham and spinach stuffing and the sauce. A light covering of gravy added another dimension to the dish without being overwhelming. It came with a selection of roasted autumn vegetables.

The dishes are all generously sized, but I still couldn't resist the homemade puddings. The pannacotta was a delightfully creamy mass with a light texture, and not overly sweet. It was decorated with slices of fruit and topped with a raspberry reduction, and it seemed almost a shame to spoil the arrangement.

We were the last to leave, but there was no sense of hurry, so we finished the last of the Nero d'Avola, before reluctantly saying arrivederci.

Al Dente could perhaps improve on the decoration, but the cooking was hard to fault. It's the kind of friendly neigh-bourhood restaurant I've always wanted to have round the corner, and I'll definitely be back.

Al Dente, 139 Easter Road, Edinburgh, 0131-652 1932, www.aldente-restaurant.com

The bill

Selection of cured meats 7.95

Orechiette alla barese 6.50

Chicken with parma ham and spinach 10.50

Pannacotta 3.90

Bottle house wine 13.50

TOTAL: 42.35

Quality *****

Menu choice ****

Surroundings ****

Service *****

Value *****