Cucina is the restaurant of the Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh. For those more into food than fashion (which includes us), Missoni is a fashion brand that was founded in 1953 and according to Wiki is 'famous for its unique knitwear, made from a variety of fabrics in colourful patterns'. And while Missoni is by no means the first fashion house to open a hotel, Versace, Bulgari and Christian Lacroix all have one, it is Missoni's first. Expect them then to be trying very hard.
Given all that, we can reasonably expect three things from such a hotel: good service, high style and lots of colour. As it turns out, you do indeed get all three, more often than not, all at the same time. If you like men in kilts, you're sure to approve of the greeting you'll get on entering the hotel, with a trio of Missoni kilt clad young men to see you inside safely (and help you with a taxi on your exit). Indeed, staff are readily identifiable as the ones wearing Missoni knitwear uniforms.
The inside too is a riot of colour, or so it seems, but to call it a riot is misleading for a riot (as we Londoners can testify) implies a degree of chaos and disorder but every zig-zag purple streak here has been placed with considerable purpose. Despite the sheer quantity of colour therefore and the risk that entails, the overall effect is actually quite pleasing and serves to lift the spirits, which is always nice but rarely the case, having seen the inside of too many hotels that are drab or fading, or a combination of both.
The choice of restaurant therefore for such an establishment is an important one. In this respect, Missoni seem to have made a sensible choice by keeping it Italian, and once that decision was made, no doubt the question of patronage was next. There are few Italian chefs in the UK more famous than than Giorgio Locatelli who holds a Michelin star for his Italian eatery Locanda Locatelli in London. We liked the food at Locanda Locatelli when we went there, we just weren't keen on the prices, though fortunately, Cucina hurts the wallet somewhat less. We cannot say though exactly how much influence Giorgio Locatelli has had on the food here but Cucina seems happy to have its own identity and most diners would come and go we're sure without the Locatelli brand flitting across their consciousness. Head chef Mattia Camorani was however formerly employed at Reffetorio, another of Locatelli's London restaurants.
Finally before the food, the restaurant has similarly had the Missoni team touch and with a black and white theme a continuity of the house style, so picking up a 'best dressed restaurant award'. There's an outside smoking terrace too. Overall, the restaurant is pretty comfortable.
Given all that, we can reasonably expect three things from such a hotel: good service, high style and lots of colour. As it turns out, you do indeed get all three, more often than not, all at the same time. If you like men in kilts, you're sure to approve of the greeting you'll get on entering the hotel, with a trio of Missoni kilt clad young men to see you inside safely (and help you with a taxi on your exit). Indeed, staff are readily identifiable as the ones wearing Missoni knitwear uniforms.
The inside too is a riot of colour, or so it seems, but to call it a riot is misleading for a riot (as we Londoners can testify) implies a degree of chaos and disorder but every zig-zag purple streak here has been placed with considerable purpose. Despite the sheer quantity of colour therefore and the risk that entails, the overall effect is actually quite pleasing and serves to lift the spirits, which is always nice but rarely the case, having seen the inside of too many hotels that are drab or fading, or a combination of both.
The choice of restaurant therefore for such an establishment is an important one. In this respect, Missoni seem to have made a sensible choice by keeping it Italian, and once that decision was made, no doubt the question of patronage was next. There are few Italian chefs in the UK more famous than than Giorgio Locatelli who holds a Michelin star for his Italian eatery Locanda Locatelli in London. We liked the food at Locanda Locatelli when we went there, we just weren't keen on the prices, though fortunately, Cucina hurts the wallet somewhat less. We cannot say though exactly how much influence Giorgio Locatelli has had on the food here but Cucina seems happy to have its own identity and most diners would come and go we're sure without the Locatelli brand flitting across their consciousness. Head chef Mattia Camorani was however formerly employed at Reffetorio, another of Locatelli's London restaurants.
Finally before the food, the restaurant has similarly had the Missoni team touch and with a black and white theme a continuity of the house style, so picking up a 'best dressed restaurant award'. There's an outside smoking terrace too. Overall, the restaurant is pretty comfortable.
We start off with a basket of mixed breads brought to the table that was pretty decent, including two varieties of focaccia which was better than the mixed breads we recently had at Michelin starred Murano. For our antipasti, we chose Beef carpaccio with rocket salad and 24 month aged parmesan, and Pan fried scarmoza cheese with escarole (endive) and balsamic vinegar reduction.
The carpaccio was excellent, with the quality of ingredients high and the seasoning spot on. The scarmoza (or scamoza) is an Italian cow's milk cheese, though the star of the plate was the balsamic vinegar reduction. Portion sizes throughout were generous, though especially here with two substantial cuts of scarmoza.
The carpaccio was excellent, with the quality of ingredients high and the seasoning spot on. The scarmoza (or scamoza) is an Italian cow's milk cheese, though the star of the plate was the balsamic vinegar reduction. Portion sizes throughout were generous, though especially here with two substantial cuts of scarmoza.
Two pasta dishes next, Tagliatelle with traditional pork ragu, and Pappardelle with rabbit ragu. Always going to be a good test but both were excellent. And the reason for this is that the pastas are made on site in the kitchen: that's where being a Locatelli restaurant should really pay dividends and it does. Both ragus also kept us coming back to the bowl. Together, the strong flavours and good textures (to both the pasta and the ragu) made these dishes highly successful and we would have both been happy with these as pasta mains, for they didn't, like too many weaker pasta dishes elsewhere, grow insipid after a few mouthfuls.
Pappardelle with rabbit ragu
Tagliatelle with traditional pork ragu
Mains similarly offered a nice surprise. The pan fried lemon sole, on a bed of borlotti beans and green sauce looked every bit as good as my sole from Ondine just a few days earlier and tasted every bit as good. The grilled baby chicken came with courgettes in a light tomato sauce and roasted potatoes. The chicken had an appealing char to the outside but retained a succulence throughout. Only the roast potatoes let the side down a little arriving lukewarm on the plate. With so much food already, to much in fact for us to finally finish our plates, it mattered little and we let it slide.
pan fried lemon sole, on a bed of borlotti beans and green sauce
grilled baby chicken, courgettes in a light tomato sauce and roasted potatoes
The poached peach dessert with almond granita and amaretto jelly to share served in a low ball glass was not exactly what we were expecting but it did provide a nice refreshing contrast to earlier courses. The peach was nicely ripe and the jelly delicious though personally I'd have liked a little more of it as it seemed a little in scarce supply in the glass.
poached peach with almond granita and amaretto jelly
Restaurants in hotels can be difficult, restaurants in designer hotels layer up the potential pit falls. Here, they navigate it pretty well with a menu offering a range of firm favourites that delivered as well as a few less common items. Some are pre-destined to dislike it simply because of the concept but the opinion was likely formed before they had even stepped through the door (assuming that they even have). On a recent trip to Bologna, Italy, we delighted in enjoying a traditional tagliatelle with ragu in the local restaurants, and we enjoyed our pasta here equally. What more to ask for?
There are a small handful of Italian restaurants in the UK that are cooking at the top end of Italian cuisine, Locanda Locatelli itself, Semplice and Zafferano for example, and there seem an endless amount of mostly awful chains. Between the two, Cucino serves a useful purpose and a good meal. In our view, Cucino would be a great place to meet friends for food. And if you get bored with your friends, at the Missoni, even staring at the walls is quite fun.
Additional note. Our usual 'blogging' camera was damaged on route to Scotland necessitating a hastily bought temporary replacement for our trip. The result sadly is that the pictures are of a lower quality than those we would normally seek to publish. We will resume normal service in due course but apologise to our readers and even more so to the restaurants for not capturing the food as well as it deserves.
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Related links:
Hotel Missoni
Cucina website
There are a small handful of Italian restaurants in the UK that are cooking at the top end of Italian cuisine, Locanda Locatelli itself, Semplice and Zafferano for example, and there seem an endless amount of mostly awful chains. Between the two, Cucino serves a useful purpose and a good meal. In our view, Cucino would be a great place to meet friends for food. And if you get bored with your friends, at the Missoni, even staring at the walls is quite fun.
Additional note. Our usual 'blogging' camera was damaged on route to Scotland necessitating a hastily bought temporary replacement for our trip. The result sadly is that the pictures are of a lower quality than those we would normally seek to publish. We will resume normal service in due course but apologise to our readers and even more so to the restaurants for not capturing the food as well as it deserves.
Return to homepage
Related links:
Hotel Missoni
Cucina website
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