La Favorita

Nach Empfehlung unseres Vermieters war das La Favorita ‘der Laden’ für italienisches Essen in Edinburgh. Eine Reservierung sei unbedingt notwendig (elektronisch möglich) und so war es dann auch. Vom Ambiente her eher der rustikale ‘Italiener’, das Personal sehr zugewandt und das Essen war sehr ordentlich. Schon am Eingang wird der Blick auf den Rotations-​Pizzaofen freigegeben, so dass Pizza hier natürlich besonders stark nachgefragt wird.
Ein Steak vom schottischen Rind war sehr gut, die gereichte Bernaise taugte dagegen nichts.
Schmunzeln musste ich über den Umstand, dass Staropramen Bier in der Karte als italienische Ale angepriesen wurde.

Deliciosa! This place sports a great atmosphere and friendly staff, and serves you up an amazingly good classic Italian style pizza. It was our final stop in Scotland before we headed out to the airport, and a place which, if I were living in Edinburgh, would definitely be one my «Favorita’s» for a good pizza. Altamente raccomandato!

Fantastic upscale Italian restaurant with great pizza and main dishes. I ordered the prawn stuffed sea bass and it was fantastic. Also, you can’t go wrong with the bruschetta with mushrooms and truffle oil.
Simply a great experience overall with great food and service.

Went here when my mom came for a visit.
Tasty pizza, big, thin crust. We both got the aubergine one.
It was good but not amazing, a little bit bland.
It was very busy and our table (all the way in the back) was quite wobbly and super close to the next table. There was no way to move out comfortably at all, especially with coats and bag.
Also I had no knife on my table, so took one from the table next to me. so then they had no knife :) Because of course the waitress was so busy, it was hard to flag her down. Super friendly though!
Liked the interior, bit too crowded for me, just everything too close together, made me enjoy my meal a bit less.
Wouldn’t mind trying it again but just can’t give more than three stars based on my visit.

Much better than I expected! Very family friendly and good service. Ordered pasta and some starters, and finished off with some grape ice cream that didn’t end up being top sweet. Was impressed by the customer service and had a large table to accommodate a group larger than 5 plus kids.

Went for lunch with 3 year old and a friend. I’ve had takeaway from here many times (hit and miss on pizza and pasta front but consistent serivce quality and they deliver wine too!) but not been for sit-​in in ages.
It’s 2 course for £10 and kids about £5 depending what they have. We LOVED our arancinI starter and accompanying spicy dip (MEGA SPICY, thankfully). Arancini can be so bland usually… Meaty ragu pasta needed a bit more seasoning but was very good and perfect for chilly day. The carbonara was totally authentic, a beautiful colour and a very satisfying eat. Looked much smaller portion than ragu dish but was v rich so was plenty. I normally hate bucatini coz it’s tricky to suck in, but this was just perfectly cooked and very enjoyable.
The wee one had essentially chicken strips, breaded. But not the horrible greasy type –they were very fresh, crunchy, moist, good quality chicken and nice wee portion of fries too. She ate it all up! She proclamained a desire for ice cream but changed her mind on looking at the ice cream counter. However, the server gave her a delicious cookie/​wafer which I was allowed to share and that kept us all happy!
In short, lunch was easy and effortless, with a toddler, excellent value, really delicious, and we were looked after very well well without feeling inrtuded upon. It has reminded me how good they are at what they do on site. We will all be back!

They did a wonderful job welcoming our large group into their restaurant and the service was very good and attentive. We came here via a friends recommendation and most people really enjoyed it. The pizza is supposed to be their thing and although it was good it didn’t knock my socks off. But what did see is everyone enjoying ourselves and the wine kept flowing. I would go back and try some of their other options.

I love this pizza. It is best fresh and eaten at the restaurant! Delivery is offered and it is good, but because it is just so so much better fresh, I’d recommend just going there and eating. If you’re getting take-​away, it’s just not going to be as hot and the ingredients that are meant to be fresh (rocket/​arugula, prosciutto) are going to be included in separate baggies for you to place on top when the pizza arrives. This is appreciated rather than having the prosciutto baked with the pizza, but it does mean that the presentation and «fresh out of the oven» factor will be lost when ordering this for delivery. But it is fantastic pizza! Go!

Definitely good pizza, and a variety of other Italian foods. However, the pizza came out a bit undercooked (dough was mushy in the centre and toppings were constantly sliding off). The atmosphere is great, and the staff were kind and very helpful. My opinion: ask for the pizza «well-​done». Also, pasta is good, but a little too oily.

The best gluten-​free pizza and pasta I have ever had. Their customer service is amazing too, and they are very knowledgeable about cross-​contamination. I’ve never had a gluten reaction from them (I have coeliac), and am assured each time I order delivery, because they put a special sticker on anything that is gluten-​free.
Their delivery is also amazing, having never been even 2 minutes late! Seriously, can’t say enough good things.

Love love love. Authentic homely Italian food. Extremely friendly and lovely staff and they made the the whole experience so much better. The food was just fantastic and we wiped every plate clean.
We were really hungry so we skipped the starters and went straight for the mains. Ordered the risotto, chicken Milanese and asparagus and ricotta tortellini. Every single dish was delicious and would definitely go back here.
For dessert order the tiramisu and the gnocchi chocolate. Yum!

Hold up, another review for La Favorita’s delivery service (and a good one at that). Now, they warn you that if you’re booking at a busy time (Friday/​Saturday evening, for example) that your order could take up to 90 minutes, so pre-​booking is advised. I’ve fallen prey to this mistake before (the mistake of not ordering in advance) but I can’t say I wasn’t warned. Last night, however, our pizza was delivered very quickly, so 6pm on Sundays mustn’t be peak times!
Anyway. We like to order a pizza and a pasta to share, and the best day of the week to do this is on a Tuesday as like every other pizza chain and its dog, they do a deal on a Tuesday. But just to be different, it’s not a 2 for 1, instead it’s order a full price pizza and get a pasta for £1, which given the pizzas are several pounds cheaper than Dominos et al, is definitely a good deal.
But do you know what’s a better deal? The desserts. You can order two for £6.50, and if you’ve got a sweet tooth you should definitely avail yourself of this. But don’t just order any pudding, order the profiteroles. Why? Because there are two sizes of profiteroles (7 and 10) and both are included in the deal. Which is insane, as ordering 10 profiteroles by themselves costs £7.95. And yet you can get 20 for £6.50. I’ve now got lots of profiteroles in my fridge. Did I mention they’re salted caramel ones too… I’m drooling on my keyboard!
Oh yeah. and the pizzas are great! Proper, authentically Italian tasting pizzas, with gluten free bases available. I’m normally a pepperoni girl, but La Favorita inspires me to try something different, and I’ve yet to go wrong. The pastas are decent, I did really like the vegetable lasagna but that is no longer on the delivery menu, so last night it was normal meat ragu lasagna, which was tasty. Not the best I’ve ever had, but decent.
I’ve actually only eaten in once, a while ago, but from what I remember service was friendly and prompt, and we had a great time drinking wine and eating pizzas in the sun.
Like any takeaway, if you’re ordering lots then it’ll be pricey, but if you’re savvy and you get deal happy, you’ll come away with a tasty meal and won’t feel like you’ve broken the bank.

The food is good overall.
So I had La Favorita takeaway this evening and I have to say that overall I am pleased with the experience. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, which were very large (four of them in total) and they came with a healthy portion of pasta with cheese. However, the tomato sauce was not given liberally, so the pasta was a bit drier than I am used to. But that’s fine by me, it was still good overall.
I also ordered a side of garlic cheese bread. That was also good as it came with generous amounts of cheese added on top of it. The bread was baked well and crispy, but still soft on the inside. Overall, I enjoyed the bread as much as the spaghetti. Delivery time was a bit long though –taking over an hour –and the prices were not that great. But, I would consider eating at La Favorita again at some point in the future.
In the end, this is a good takeaway place that is slightly pricey, but not lacking in quality. Due to the price and delivery time I can’t go for four stars, but maybe if I get to eat in sometime I will upgrade the review if the atmosphere is good.

Used to LOVE this place. Please don’t bother now all dishes have changed (even when menu says they are the same) soggy pizza salty pasta.

I’m giving 3 stars because of the fantastic service and delicious gin moitito!
The food however disappointed. My all time favourite of a seafood pizza was soggy, slightly uncooked and simply not the same. Like I said this pizza was my favourite, sadly not anymore.
I’ll need to look elsewhere now.

Whenever I see ‘wood-​fired’ or ‘log-​fired’ to describe a pizza I get a bit worried that it’s going to come out like a crispy tortilla wrap with toppings. I know it’s probably horrendously untraditional and sacrilege of me, but I like a bit of stodge to my pizzas. Our pizza here was a little crisped at the edge but the thin base was very soft and melt-​in-​the-​mouth. We opted for the Vegetariana, replacing the mozzarella with dairyfree Italian rice cheese and omitting the mushrooms (my husband & I don’t like mushrooms). As an aside, I’ve just looked at the website menu again which lists the Vegetariana as having asparagus, aubergine, sautéed carrots, and sliced potatoes. Our menu had mushrooms, aubergine, and peppers. It was 14″ as standard so we split a pizza and a side of wedges. We asked for wedges with no parmesan (usually not vegetarian, as well as obviously not vegan) and they were nice. Not as fluffy as I prefer my chips to be, but they were a tasty accompaniment.
Service was fantastic, and I felt the food arrived quite quickly. I look forward to their Glasgow branch opening soon!

I’m going to have to add another shining review to La Favorita’s already gleaming Unilocal page. But, man, those pizzas!
Fresh, seasoned to perfection, generous in toppings; delicious, delicious, delicious. I really don’t think I’ve had a pizza that’s bowled me over like La Favorita’s. This, my pizza-​loving friends, is the pizza of dreams. And the fuss, it’s all well-​deserved.
La Favorita is a flashy affair. As you walk into the restaurant, you’ll pass the swish open kitchen. Efficient and fast; churning out pizza after pizza. There’s a genuine camaraderie between staff, and we received an enviably warm welcome. It’s all go. And the smell of classic Italian flavours looms in the air. Just catching sight of the dishes making their way from kitchen to table had me drooling. I couldn’t wait to have myself one of La Favorita’s acclaimed pizzas. The Nduja (mozzarella, italian sausage, spinach, nduja & red onion) and the Ventricina (mozzarella, premium spicy salami Ventricina, chicken breast, peppers, red & green chillies) did not disappoint. Not one bit.
Service, for the most part, is smooth. — Waiters are animated and energetic, adorning braces and friendly grins. Other than some trouble in catching our waiter for the bill, we were definitely well attended to.
La Favorita’s just perfect for a special occasion. — During our visit for dinner, the lights were turned right down as the tune of ‘happy birthday’ rang out. This, of course, didn’t bother us, but I imagine that on a night of several birthdays, it might be a little distracting considering just how dark it got. Nonetheless, nothing could distract from just how good the pizzas were.
Italian in Edinburgh? La Favorita is foolproof!

Stimmig eingerichtetes italienisches Restaurant mit gutem, sehr freundlichen Service und guter Weinauswahl. Die Pizza ist handgemacht und kommt aus dem Holzofen. Geschmacklich spielt die Pizza in der absoluten Oberliga, es gibt nicht viele, die da mithalten können. Mit 14 inch Durchmesser stillt sie auch den richtig großen Hunger. Klare Empfehlung

Their lunch special (before 5) offers a main and drink, a main& starter and drink, a main& starter& dessert and drink, all for slightly increasing prices. The selection has a bit of everything Italian, all their famed pastas and pizzas, at cheaper prices. We went at 4pm for a very late lunch, late enough that people were crossing the street hearing our bellies grumble– I don’t know if they were worried we would turn cannibal, or if the rumbling sound was offsetting their deep vacant thoughts. At last, we got a seat and the food was not long in arriving. The Italian server added pepper and cheese, and we dove in.
I had pizza, which was thin and crispy, with fresh veggies, and so large I didn’t even eat half. Luckily my companions were more willing to stuff themselves, even after also comsuming an

This is definitely my favourite pizza place in Scotland! I miss it so much since moving to Glasgow but visited again recently went through in Edinburgh seeing friends. It’s still as good as I remember — I had the 5 cheese pizza (but with added chicken, my favourite pizza topping) and LOVED it — such a good combo of cheeses, tasty blue, salty pecorino, stringy mozzarella… I can’t remember the others now but it was delish! I used to always get the Zia Rosa (chicken and peppers with cherry tomatoes but am glad I tried another — they’re both fab!)
The wedges were nice too but would have been better if crispy and with a bit more parmesan, I liked the truffle oil though.
I like the décor and the staff are always very friendly and efficient. They even used to deliver to me in Slateford when I lived there, despite it being completely the other side of town! :)

Yum! Perhaps not the best pizza out there, but one hell of a fine option if you’re in Leith.
The lunch specials are where La Favorita shines on quality and price. £8.95 nets you a main and drink, or £11.95 with a dessert. The pizzas are large enough to satiate a full appetite, or even to be split if you only have the munchies.
The mushrooms on their pizzas are the perfect kind; small and flavorful and a perfect compliment to the pepperoni. With some chili oil you’ve got proper flavor in abundance!

So I have to say this is based purely on delivery from their Mornignside branch.
Pizza’s have in the main been great, there does seem to be an issue with these thin bases — the pizzas almost every time have arrived cold or luke warm. With pizza I always have high expectations of hot umptious cheesy goodness.
Just hasnt hit the mark often enough for me. Side dishes have varied from ok to a disaster. Sent for delivery in boxes not fit for purpose. Not great!

When we were in Edinburgh for one week in February, one of my friends recommended us La Favorita. Since our hotel wasn’t that far away, we had only about 10 minutes to walk there.
Unfortunately, we forgot to place a reservation there BUT! Luckily we were just two persons, so the waiter was able to give us a table for two right next to the window. The staff generally welcomed us very warmly and we just felt as if we were in Italy (only differences: the language spoken around us was English and we didn’t have to pay coperto ;D)
Anyway, I strongly agree with the user Badgerface: I’m also a vegetarian and I didn’t have any problems to find a pizza for me. I enjoyed a Pizza Cinque Formaggi and I loved it!
The prices are quite reasonable and the staff absolutely friendly.
I know, as soon as I come back to Edinburgh, I will also come back to La Favorita!