Al Fresco

The 2017 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

There’s something of a Giuliano’s theme to this stretch of Union Place, with the original restaurant, the takeaway next door and this incarnation just a few doors down. Don't be too alarmed by the name: Edinburgh's brisk easterly wind is kept at bay by full-length windows and there's always plenty of warmth from up-beat staff. Regarded as the 'rustic' version of the original Giuliano's, Al Fresco is also the venue more frequently utilised for group bookings. A good value pre-theatre menu plays to the Playhouse crowd, although this can mean that it gets a bit quiet when the doors open over the road. The menu tends towards comfort rather than adventure, with cold and warm antipasti, a dozen pasta options, generous mains of steak, veal, stuffed chicken breast and lamb, plus a line-up of crowd pleasing desserts from gelato to hot chocolate fudge cake. [See also entry for Giuliano's below.]