Mono - South Bridge, Edinburgh
When you look at the website for Mono, it reads, ‘Progressive
Italian Dining’ and that’s exactly what you’re served. Inside, the restaurant
is very minimalistic, with a nod to Scandi style interiors featuring a quaint fireplace,
wood floors, tables and chairs, and modern lighting.
After missing Mono’s bloggers banquet a few weeks before, I
was kindly invited to try out their Apertivi menu on a date that suited. When
we arrived, my friend Tessa and I were greeted with a warm welcome from staff
before being shown to our table.
So, what’s their Appretivi menu I hear you ask. Essentially,
it’s their early evening menu that runs from 5-6.30pm and offers a pre-starter with
a house spritz followed by three courses from a selective menu.
We started off our meal with a selection of delicious breads
with oil and a few bite-sized canapes, otherwise known as ‘stuzzichini. In all honesty
I didn’t know what to expect and these snazzy little pre-starters put the bar
high for the rest of the meal.
Following our bread and stuzzichini, we were served our
first (or Primi) course. Both Tessa and I went for the baked ricotta with pine
nuts, peppers, aubergine, olives and tomato. Again, what was served took me by
surprise but in the best possible way. After the first curious mouthful we
scoffed down the rest.
Course two, I went for the Dry Aged Beef Ox Cheek with kohlrabi,
cauliflower, hazelnut and sea truffle and Tessa tried the Octopus Alla Piastra
with courgette, spring onion and curried butter. Again, we both really enjoyed our
choices and each were cooked to perfection.
We finished off with dessert - I went for the cherry and
chocolate and if I’m honest, regretted my choice. I think I realised I’m not really
a fan of cherry however I’m sure the desert would be enjoyed by anyone that
does. Tessa rated her Caramelised Peach, (almond milk, peach sorbet with Amaretti
biscuits) as the best course out of the lot and I was envious to say the least!
Overall, we really enjoyed trying something completely different.
Each course was presented beautifully and at the end of the meal we felt
satisfied but not over-full (as I often find I do). I’d really recommend giving
Mono a try if you’re in Edinburgh. The restaurant also offers a regular A La
Carte menu, Lunch Menu and rather exciting Tasting Menu which looks ideal for a
special occasion. You can view all of the menus on their website here.
Mozza – Renfield Street, Glasgow
Sticking with Italian cuisine, another new try for me this
month was Mozza in Glasgow. Last week, the girls and I headed here to celebrate
the exciting news of Rachel’s engagement (eek!). Side note – check out her
beautiful ring here.
Now back to Mozza - the restaurant is conveniently located a
few minutes-walk from Glasgow Central station…the ideal spot for some Friday
night grub, pre-cocktails.
Inside, you’ll find a nice big space with the name Mozza in
lights on the wall. From the menu you can choose one of 13 different styles of
neopolitan pizza. I went for number five which was a spicy tomato-based
pizza with mozzarella, spicy salami, ricotta cheese, black pepper, basil and
oil. It was super tasty and actually really reminded me of Peasano's pizza (which I'm guessing are also Neopolitan?).
The prices
are extremely reasonable too with pizzas starting from just £5 with the
priciest at £9 – bargain! I didn’t try any of the sides or desserts so can’t
comment on them, but I did try some of their white wine which went perfectly
with my pizza.
I’ll definitely be heading back to Mozza and would highly
recommend for all of you pizza lovers out there.
Until next time.
XoXo
