Centotre

Having been here before and really enjoyed the food i took some friends from Australia to dinner here and i was really disappointed by the service. Firstly after ordering some water for the table we had four different waiters come to the table each carrying a single glass. I am unsure as to why a single waiter could not carry 4 glasses, again after one waiter taking our order we had another serve us, a different one again to take another drinks order, then a different one again for the dessert order. Also one waiter cleared half the table whilst a diner was still eating. The service i would have to say really inconsistent with the standards this restaurant tries to portray. A real focus on training would be a real help. Other than that the food was good and the wine was lovely.

We had a lovely meal at Centotre last week, spoiled by poor service. Waited ages between courses and had to work pretty hard to attract the attention of the waiting staff. I had to go up to the bar to ask for the bill (barman very helpful), even tho the restaurant was quiet by that point. When 15 minutes later it had not yet arrived we got up and put our coats on and could easily have left without paying (the £180 bill) (perhaps we should have!). As it was we had to go to the bar on the way out to ask again for the bill and when I mentioned the concern to the unsmiling lady who provided it, she simply blanked me. Such a pity because the food was so good - including the best affogato ever - and we had been in good spirits. But I won't be going back.

Having tried Centrotre a couple of times in the morning for coffee and scones and been impressed by the excellent service and attractive interior, I thought I'd take my partner for dinner. It was a huge disappointment. The service was once again excellent, but the quality of the food was extremely disappointing. My partner had antipasti - she said it was OK, though it's hard to get something like that wrong. My pizza looked far better than it tasted - the tempting-looking charred dough turned out to be chewy and tasteless, with the toppings bland, predictable and soul-less. It felt a bit like chewing through a bike tyre until I just gave up. To add to the disappointment, prices are very high - up to nearly £16 for a pizza and unremarkable wine at £7 a glass upwards is utterly unacceptable for an experience of this dubious quality. Sorry, Centotre. Next time I'll go to Pizza Express - the offering is markedly better, with prices a good notch down from these.

One of my favourite places to eat in Edinburgh. Yes the service can be "relaxed " at times however the food is always wonderful, as is the atmosphere, the surroundings, the wine and the cup cakes. In my mind its worth every penny!

Visted Centotre on 21st March to celebrate my daughters 19th birthday with a group of family and friends. Centotre is my absolute favourite - beautiful inside, fantastic food and atmosphere. Imagine my disappointment therefore, having raved about this place to my dining companions, when the service was absolutely appalling. It started well - we were seated promptly and drinks and starters appeared quickly, but it all went downhill from there. The service was so slow. We had to ask to have our main course plates cleared, and then ask again to order dessert. One of our group had spilled a drink and the table wasn't even wiped. I spoke to the guy who seemed to be in charge ( no name sorry, but was of antipodean origin), and the excuse was that there was a large private function celebrating downstairs. Upstairs was like the Marie Celeste! No apology , just an excuse- never actually heard the word 'sorry'. I explained that we were also celebrating as it was my daughters birthday. After that we were brought complimentarty limoncellos and staff brought a small birthday cake and sang to my daughter , but by then thngs had been spoiled. Victor appeared as we were leaving and as usual spoke to customers (which I always think is a really nice thing to do). However,I did say the service had not been good. I'm sorry Victor, I think I'll be giving Centotre a miss for a wee while.

I cannot fault the breakfasts I had had here for work, or the wine early evening. The food can be hit and miss, but is very expensive for what it is. Service can also be both good and bad, never consistently either. Zanzero is my preference over here and have yet to try the Scottish Cafe, but it also seems very pricey when Edinburgh has far more eateries to choose from at recession value prices.

I visited Centotre at the weekend with my mum, as I've previously been to both Zanzero & the Scottish Cafe at the gallery and loved them both.

It really is a beautiful restaurant and the food was amazing, but it was quite expensive for what it was. I wouldn't hesitate to go back for a special occasion (or mid-week with the List card! that's definitely a plus), but for a spontaneous lunch it's a bit more than I'd expect to spend.

I would just like to thank Centotre for an absolutely wonderful meal on Saturday, my husband an I were in Edinburgh to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, and our meal at the restaurant really made our trip memorable. I felt it was as close to eating in Italy as you could get. Once we understood the menu, which has all italian names, we both had the air dried beef to start, which was lovely, I then had pasta with a delicious cream sauce with porcini mushrooms and slices of sausage which I have never had before was sooo moreish!, my husband had a picante pizza which was also gorgeous. I would say the prices are quite high to what we are used to, but as is was a special occassion we didn't mind and bearing in mind it's in a city centre the prices are not that bad, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone and will certainly be visiting again. Thanks again for a lovely evening.

I visited Centotre recently for a wine tasting evening and can thoroughly recommend this. The host Victor made the evening one to remember. The food was amazing in particular the violet aubergine ravioli and the chocolate tiramisu. Cant wait to go back in August. Table already booked to make sure we can get in during the festival.

Full entry on my edinburghlove.com blog with pictures.

We were warmly welcomed, but because the menu is pretty lengthy, we required more than a millisecond as to what we wanted. We asked for another few minutes, but in that time, another waitress came to ask if we were ready.

We placed our drinks order, a nice glass of red wine at £4.75 for 125ml and took in the nice surroundings of the restaurant including the soothing jazz coming through the speakers. I was a little disappointed in the thin paper table cloths which kind of ruined the whole ‘upmarket dining’ theme.

Our starters were served by another different member of staff.

For starter, my dining partner had the Calamari E Finnocchio (£7.95) which was pan fried fresh quid with chilli and garlic with garlic bruschetta. The verdict was that the calamari was delicious with the right amount of kick to it, the bruschetta was burnt and not of the best quality in taste.

I had the Polpettini at £5.95 which was meatballs with sultanas and pine kernels in tomato sugo. The meatballs were good, but nothing spectacular.

As our plates were finished and on the table, yet another different member of staff came over and asked us if we wanted to see the dessert menu ! The inconsistency in the service was very off putting. I explained that we had yet to have our mains and he apologised.

I also had to ask 3 times for a refill for my water which was such a small glass anyway, why they don’t provide I jug with a meal I don’t know.

My dining partner had the Cozze as a main at £10.95 which was a large pot of Shetland mussels, with garlic, parsley, white wine and chilli, again served with garlic bruschetta. This time the bread wasn’t burnt.

My dining partner had the Cozze as a main at £10.95 which was a large pot of Shetland mussels, with garlic, parsley, white wine and chilli, again served with garlic bruschetta. This time the bread wasn’t burnt. It was a generous portion of mussels and the verdict was good, but was ‘not a patch on The Mussel Inn’s or La Petit Folie’s mussels’. I am allergic to shellfish so couldn’t try them.

I had the Miale Al Forno at £13.95 which was roasted borders pork served with a fresh beetroot and new potato salad. It was flavoursome, but not so tender that my knife glided through it. The salad was tossed in a lovely dressing and a very generous portion.

Desserts were good, no complaints there, but for the prices of this restaurant, I would rather eat elsewhere to get excellent food with excellent service.

My wife and I have dined royally at Centotre since it opened five years ago. We have taken friends and family on various occasions and have always left feeling we had been warmly welcomed and well cared for.

For example. my wife and I dined there last evening (18/4/09) and enjoyed superb food and wine, with my wife vowing to add new delights to her culinary repertoire at home. Just as important, the kindness of long-standing staff members, not to forget the excellent host and owner, Victor Contini, helps to make a memorable visit and leaves us looking forward eagerly to the next.

Try it; you'll love it!

My partner ordered a pizza with fresh rocket and cherry tomatoes and found a green caterpillar crawling on it, which put him off for the rest of the night. He asked for the same pizza to be remade without rocket and it came back with the rocket salad again (no worm the second time fortunately). We were surprised not to be offered a discount after that experience and will certainly not go back there again.