Great Places to Eat in Scotland
- La Stazione, Haymarket, Edinburgh
The Location
La Stazione Italian restaurant is on the first floor of Ryrie's Bar which in turn is close by to Haymarket Station in Edinburgh. Ryrie's Bar is an old Scottish pub that has been in operation since the 1860s, in a building that dates back to 1749. The station itself opened in 1842 as the original terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, before the line was extended in 1846 through the Haymarket tunnels and Princes Street Gardens (below Edinburgh Castle) to what is now Waverley station. The station is now listed amongst the most congested on the Scottish railway network, with passenger numbers growing from just over a million in 2002/03 to 1.8 million in 2008/09. A few years ago there were plans to modernise the station which would have involved demolition of both the A-listed station and Ryrie's Bar. Fortunately, there was a public outcry at the idea of the sort of cultural vandalism which was inflicted on parts of the Capital in the 1950s and 60s, and the plan was dropped. Much needed but less destructive upgrading is going ahead and the installation of passenger lifts is scheduled to be completed by December 2010; all platforms will then become fully accessible to those with reduced mobility.
During my years commuting from Glasgow to Edinburgh I climbed those steps from the platform many hundreds of times and I once more raced up the steps, two at a time as usual, heading for lunch at La Stazione.
The Restaurant
With the restaurant on the first floor, you pass through Ryrie's Bar to get there. Ryrie's is a very traditional public house, still with its stained glass windows, a brass footrest at the bar and row of hand pumps dispensing a large variety of beers and ales. La Stazione follows the same theme, with simple decor reminiscent of an Italian trattoria, with a wooden floor and full length curtains pulled back at the windows. The cooking area is visible to the customers - always a reassuring sign. I was greeted by Nino, the general manager who has not lost his Italian accent despite many years' experience of restaurants in Edinburgh, including Cosmo on Castle Street, said at one time to be Sean Connery's favourite restaurant in Edinburgh.On this occasion I was having lunch with Tam O'Ranter a contributor to Rampant Scotland who knows a thing or two about fine dining!
The Food
Nino, the General Manager, emphasised that freshness of ingredients was a major factor in creating the menu. This wasn't just due to the benefits of freshness but came about in part due to the small size of the kitchen area which meant that storage was at a premium. So there was a great advantage in bringing in smaller quantities of the various ingredients on a daily basis. He recommended the Lasagna and the Cannelloni which had been freshly prepared that morning and Tam and I followed that advice for our main course. Of course, there was still a wide choice on the menu, including the usual Italian dishes of spaghetti (Bolognese and Carbonara), penne Arrabiata (with tomato garlic and chilli), Penne alla Norma (with aubergines, garlic and chilli), tagliatelle Salmone (salmon with Aurora sauce), various veal and chicken dishes, and sirloin steak.
Tam had prawn cocktail as a starter which, as you can see from the above illustration, had large succulent prawns and really crisp, fresh lettuce. It was good to see La Stazione providing decent sized prawns. Some restaurants serve instead what should really be called shrimp cocktail, if it was to pass the Trades Description Act! The bed of lettuce was also really fresh and crisp.
My Parma Ham and melon was equally generous - perhaps looking at the picture you may wonder if there was any melon there, but there was plenty underneath all that ham. That slice of orange also provided a good element of sharpness to the dish.
The illustration of my Lasagna should really have been a video rather than a still photo, so that the juices bubbling in the dish when it arrived could have been illustrated. Tam's Cannelloni was equally hot but we were soon tucking in to our classic pasta dishes with gusto. There were certainly plenty of strong flavours there too, though I did feel that the pasta sheets (made on the premises, I understand) in my lasagna wasn't as thin as I personally prefer, but of course that meant they were more filling!
Due to the limited storage space in the kitchen, La Stazione does not have an extensive dessert menu but we were nevertheless able to have a Tiramisu, one of the most popular types of Italian cakes. It is made of savoiardi (otherwise known as lady finger biscuits) layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, and sugar, and topped with cocoa. This proved to be delightfully moist and sweet and was an excellent coda to our meal.
The Bill
There is a set price 2 course menu for £7.95 and three courses for £9.95. The à la carte menu prices are - Starters: £2.95 (soup of the day) but mainly £6.40 to 7.40 smoked salmon. Pasta: £6.50 to £8.50. Steak, veal, fish: £13.95 to £14.95. Chicken: £10.50. Wine (French as well as Italian) is available by the glass from around £3.50 and by the bottle from around £12.Further Information
La Stazione is located beside Haymarket railway station at 1 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5EY. The restaurant doesn't have its own Web site but for reservations, phone 0131 337 76582.
Conclusion With so many people using the nearby Haymarket station, La Stazione is a popular eating place for commuters, locals and tourists. It is an unpretentious Italian trattoria offering good size portions of freshly prepare and well flavoured dishes in the traditional manner. The atmosphere is homely and friendly with plenty of personal attention from Nino the general manager - which can mean that the chef sometimes pops out into the dining area from the kitchen to ensure that his dishes are served immediately!
Scottie
May 2010
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