from ddcook (63%) on October 10th, 2007 (8 months ago)

Dolce e Salato, 101/102 Dalry Road, EH11 2AX, Edinburgh

The best Italian cafe this side of Rome, well having never been to Italy I can't personally vouch for this but anyone I know who has visited or lived in Italy says this.

Dolce and Salato is a fantastic Italian cafe opposite La Partenope - another fine example of Italian cuisine in Dalry. When Dolce first opened it was a bamboozling array of snacks and cakes that I had never heard or seen of on my life, no fairy cakes and custard slices here- it is (I believe) traditional Italian treats on offer. Of course there is the traditional slices of pizza and mini calzone, my personal favourite is Panino, which is sort of a halfway house between a pizza and calzone, very very tasty with a wide range of toppings (or should that be fillings) available every day - the ham and ricotta and the pepper and salami, all are good though.

Sandwiches, also excellent as are the calzone and other Italian treats, none of which I know the name of!

On the sweet front, donuts and croissants are good - the the croissants are more bread than pastry like in construction and are best in the chocolate croissant format rather than plain.

As for the cakes, it makes for a lame review but I don't know the name of any of them because it is not the sort of bakery treats we have grown up with, I know what I like by look rather than name, I can recommend the ones that look like pastry horns and are filled with ricotta cheese, or the things that look like a slice of swiss roll but 10 times tastier.

Liquid treats - well the coffee is great and self confessed coffee aficianados whom I frequent Dolce with assure me it is some of the best in Edinburgh, which is good enough for me. To top it all off Dolce represents excellent value for money, much more so than any of the chain coffee shops.

Downsides, well it is so small that it can often be a struggle to get seated, and despite advertising opening at 8am I have been past well after that looking for a morning coffee and they are still shut. BUT the food and service is so good I can look past that for a perfect 5.

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