Gusto

Decor is lovely and we ate at a table tucked into the corner so it was not too noisy though wouldn't be so happy about eating at the long bar. A member of our party had a discount card which made the final bill very reasonable for what we had. We asked to swap spaghetti for penne pasta in one of the dishes and they were happy to do that. Food was tasty and the wine was good for the price.

What a fabulous evening we had at this restaurant. I'm usually sceptical about reviews by magazines but found the review on the List a true reflection of a stunningly good restaurant - what a treat

Gusto is a superb restaurant on George Street. It offers a fun, dynamic dining experience coupled with tasty food, friendly service and a stunning setting. I have been a number of times and sampled many of the dishes on the menu from pizza to pasta - steaks to seafood. I think the pizzas are beautifully crisp and authentic - not the usual stodge you can sometimes come across. Perhaps thin crispy bases with ample toppings are not to everyone's taste but I think their pizzas are, for want of a better word, "elegant".
The pastas and risottos have always been perfectly seasoned and cooked as has the seafood. One of the things that stands out most about this restaurant is that the staff seem to truly enjoy work - always smiling and more than happy to help with any enquiry. I would definitely recommend Gusto to anyone who is looking for more than just a meal!

This place is so noisy with clatter and chatter that it's almost like being in a nightclub. It's not my idea of an enjoyable meal to have to shout in the ear of the person next to me. Eating downstairs here is stressful and harassed, and feels more like an ordeal than an enjoyable experience. There are more intimate tables on the top level, which provided it's not too crowded, would be a much better place to eat.

As if the ambience wasn't bad enough, the food was lazy and skimped on ingredients, and was distinctly un-Italian in style and quality. The pizzas especially, were dire - hard to believe they can't even get pizzas right when they represent about a third of their menu. More akin to something you'd get in a motorway service station. If this place was in Italy it would go out of business straight away. I don't recommend it.

The appeal of this restaurant is skin deep. Two lovely tubbed olive trees welcome you as you enter this clattery but attractive restaurant. However, it all goes wrong when the food arrives, or at least it did for my party who endured the dry floury pizzas that couldn't even hold their own against Pizza Hut. Probably the worst pizza I've ever had the misfortune to eat that didn't come out of a freezer. My brother's steak was dry and accompanied by pre-cut bag chips. On a positive note, the wine was of good quality and so it should be at that price. There's plenty of crap Italian restaurants in Edinburgh but they're not usually this crap.