Martone

We only had some takeout wraps and grilled sandwiches and ended up tossing out half each. Ice-​cream wasn’t that good either, my favourite flavour was a disappointment.

After the gym I needed a pick me up so I went here for a smoothie. The review is pretty much just for the smoothie since that’s the only thing I had, but will certainly come back and try their Italian food next time.
The smoothie was made fresh and was a mix of pineapple, mango and other fruits. It’s kind of weird getting a smoothie from an Italian place but it’s a café as well so I figured it’s fine… Ha! The smoothie was tangy, not to sweet and not too thick. Sometimes there’s too much pulp or too thick but this was a bit more on the liquidy side. I’d come back here for another smoothie!

First, the staff here are very friendly and provide good service. I had a light lunch of minestrone soup and a side salad. The soup was good with nice chunks of vegetables. The broth was quite weak to my taste, however. The salad was also just okay. Lettuce was a bit limp. The balsamic vinegar was quite watered down — so much so that I wasn’t positive it was balsamic or what it might be. If you are interested in a quick, serviceable but not great lunch with great staff in a homey, casual environment it works. If you are looking for more than that, I think not.

Trotz der italienischen Mitarbeiter: Lasagne und Pasta haben wir leider schon besser gegessen. Es fehlten sämtliche Gewürze. Das Service ist freundlich.

Randomly came upon this place as we were walking up and down Princes St and ended up returning here twice more (in total, twice for gelato, once for dinner). Their ice cream was DELICIOUS. In particular, I liked that I could have somewhere to sit after getting gelato, as we were exhausted from a day of traveling. Dinner was a great value and extremely filling — I had a burger (a little dry for my taste) and my mom had a hot sandwich. If I could do it all over again, I would have tried a pasta dish, as it is an Italian restaurant.
Service was friendly and though the food took some time to come out, it was a packed restaurant so that seemed understandable.

Who would have thought that the best Tiramisu I have ever had would be in Edinburgh. We walked in on our way back to our hotel. To our surprise we found that the restaurant is owned by Italians. Pizzas were as good if not better than ones we had in Italy. Proper cappuccinos and gelatos as well. Highly recommend.

I came because I liked Zendra’s review, and I even ordered the haagis ravioli as she did. I agree with her that the food and desserts are exquisite. Highly reccommendable!

Stumbled upon this place after a little shopping trip at St James Center and we were pleasantly surprised. The service was lovely and the restaurant had a vey cosy atmosphere.
Took a leap of faith and ordered the Haggis Ravioli (exotic to me at the time) and it was absolutely delicious! The traditional whiskey & cream sauce really tied the dish together too.
The pizza & pasta was amazing as well, but what really blew our minds was the dessert. The Torta di Mele, Panna Cota, and Tiramisu were scrumptious and has completely ruined other desserts for me. I won’t rest until I find something that’s able to match the superb taste & textures I found at Martone!

2-​Geschossiges italienisches Restaurant am Waterloo Place. Die Pizzen empfinde ich als sehr mittelmäßig, insbesondere die Calzone. Die Nudelgerichte lohnen ebenfalls keinen Umweg hierhin. Gut — und bereits preisgekrönt ist allerdings das Eis hier.
Der Inhaber ist nett, sowie das ganze übrige Personal. Wlan Fehlanzeige.
Witziger Gag: Weinflaschenkühlung mithilfe durchsichtiger Eistüten.

Nomnomnomnom!
Being in the area for Bonfire Night, my partner and crime and I decided we needed some fuel before heading up Calton Hill to watch the fireworks being set off. We literally walked through three different pubs, two of which were too crowded, one of which just felt «odd,» before we happened to pass by Martone and spot some empty seats – surprising considering the amount of foot traffic.
We ordered a veggie pizza with goat’s cheese to split between the two of us as well as some coffee, and were not only greeted promptly but also served our food in a very timely fashion (lovely, considering our trek up the hill still to come). The pizza was excellent, the goat cheese was properly smelly, and the coffees were lovely.
Not a bad meal, and a good price too! Next I’ll have to return to sample some of the sweet treats.

Oh my sweet goodness, I got served some happy today!
After missing the express bus by seconds, I decided to wait for the next one with a quick snack. Martone was right across the street so in I went.
The service is terrific, and the staff seem to enjoy themselves which really contributes to the relaxing atmosphere.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I had the best damn chocolate cake I’ve had in a year: a generous slab of soft, fresh, nearly-​black cake that was warmed just enough to make the icing ooze and pool onto the dinner plate. It was accompanied by a scoop of their famous ice cream, fresh berries, and an extra drizzle of chocolate sauce… because more chocolate, very yes.
When you’re sitting in a café on a Sunday afternoon, and they’re playing hilarious AM radio hits from 1981 and the staff are chatting in Italian with customers and sharing handfuls of fresh mint, while you work your way through a slab of warm chocolate goo on your fork, you’re as close to heaven as you can get.

Food… not the greatest.
Dessert…right up near the top!
Coffee…near perfection!
Service…gold star!
Our risotto was under done, the sandwich was ‘meh’, the other two items ordered… not good or bad enough to even remember.
We ordered 4 different ice cream desserts and ALL of them were heavenly — not only in taste but the presentation made our eyes widen like small children. I even got my 70 year old parents to make crazy fun faces for the camera! (While I would love to post them to Unilocal… I don’t think they would be too pleased with the publicity)

I had heard good things about their ice-​cream, so when a group of Unilocalers gathered to watch the end-​of-​Festival fireworks on Calton Hill, and we had an hour to spare, it seemed that Martone would be the perfect place to get some of the sweet stuff before we watched the sparkly things go boom in the sky.
Martone sits on the corner of a really busy junction: where the end of Princes Street meets North Bridge, right before the Leith Walk /​Broughton St roundabout. Ok, I’m not giving traffic directions here, but the location in particular turns me off. Despite this, they’ve got a nice wee laid back café restaurant inside. As Marj C says, not pretentious but still nicely put together.
And so there lay the ice cream counter, with flavours like banoffee pie, toffee popcorn and mojito sorbet. I didn’t actually get any, opting for a Tia Maria decaf coffee instead. The coffee was ok, a little weak (yea, I know, I got decaf) but the cream on top was overly sweet. All and all, just a standard ok coffee. I did get to try Graeme F’s banoffee pie ice cream though and it was pretty tasty. Susan M’s and David J’s ice cream disappeared pretty quickly too, not a morsel left.
I had a wee peek at the pizzas, as I was considering to get one to take away, and was imprssed by the prices. £7 for a pizza in the centre of town? This place could fall into the trap of charging just slightly too much due to their central location, but they don’t and I like that.
I don’t know if I’d come here for an evening meal. Lunchtime or takeaway pizza maybe, and when I saw the seafood one it looked like it had mussells on it. The staff were friendly too (always a huge plus for me).
So for a pre-​CMYE Fireworks pitstop, Martone hit the spot perfectly. And their ice cream probably is worth going back for.

Really convenient to our hotel (Apex). I got the lasagna which was so overcooked in the middle that I couldn’t cut it with a knife (not good when you’re eating lasagna). It was good though. I think it was probably microwaved too many times. I was so hungry that I didn’t complain. I practically hurt my fingers trying to cut the center portion of the lasagna though.
The service was pretty so-​so.

We came here for dinner. I had a pizza and my husband had pasta. The pasta portion was too small for him, but the pizza was big enough for me. The prices are pretty affordable considering its downtown but the food was just ok.
Service was polite and prompt. They gave us free tap water when we asked and came around several times to check on us. The ambiance had a very busy feel that I feel suits a lunch place better. I would come back for lunch, but probably go somewhere else for an italian dinner.
What I would come back for in the evening is the desserts! The have a coffee bar with gelato and all manner of delicious baked goods. My recommendation is go for an italian dinner somewhere else and hit up Martone’s for dessert!

Martone was our first café stop in Edinburgh, after climbing all over Calton Hill. It was just the place for morning tea for this tired family with girls weary from climbing and hankering for a hot chocolate. I loved my ‘Scottish breakfast tea’ and scone, and the croissants were great. The service was prompt and friendly. Recommended!

Nice fry, half the price of the hotel (apex) fry. Can’t beat that.

A long few days of traveling brought me from the USA here for work. Needed something quick so I wouldn’t fall asleep at the table. My pasta carbonara rocked!

Straddling the fine line between café and restaurant, I was quick to dismiss Martone as quite frankly, it looked like it was probably shit. Yet given that I only had 15 minutes left to get back to work and I desperately need an ice cream, I gave them a try. I made the right choice.
Admittedly I did find the atmosphere a bit too close to dentist’s waiting room, but I’m not sure if that was down to the place or the two tables of diners eating in utter silence, but this all became insignificant as I scoffed down my ice cream. It was fantastic, exceptionally rich and creamy, and a huge step up from the dross you’ll find standing in for ice cream in some of the city’s more touristy dumps. Some of that cheap shite would go uneaten at a 3 year old’s birthday party birthday party.
Given I’m mainly down this end of town only on my lunch break and it looks someplace just that bit too awkward to sit alone, god knows when I’ll try the proper food, but I’ll look forward to it.

This wee Italian café is just the ticket for a quick bite before catching the train home, or a hot coffee on a rainy afternoon.
I love places like this because they always feel so much more authentic than big, showy restaurants and bistros. This place is nice, simple and serves delicious food for not a lot of pennies. It kind of reminds me of Dinos in Glasgow which is one of my favourite places to eat.
They do a cracking coffee which I had the pleasure of sampling. I had an amaretto layered liquer coffee which was absolutely gorgeous. The tables around me were all tucking into big bowls of olives, breads and hummus which looked yummy, and pizza which was very authentic Italian thin crust. We had eaten earlier but I was definitely tempted!
I noticed on the way out that they had glass fronted freezers with Italian ice creams, including a Gin and Tonic sorbet! Safe to say, I’ll be back.

Martone’s modest décor doesn’t give away any secrets about how good the food is. Which is great because, like the other girls who have been here, I believe there’s nothing worse than a trendy eating place. I hate ostentiatious, showy restaurants whose managers would prefer to cultivate an image, when they should be concentrating on the food!
So yes, the food in here is mervellous. Big plates of pasta served up in rich, tasty sauces and more traditionally Italian than some other chains in Edinburgh. They’ve got a decent selection of booze but it’s also handy to come in here for a lip lickingly good coffee, especially since most of the coffee chains on Princes St shut at pitiful times in the early evening!
The staff in here are friendly and welcoming, the menu is substantial and good; the food in here is served up in plentiful portions. My mum always says that Italians really care that you get a good feed and although that’s a stereotype, I must admit I felt looked after the few times I’ve been in Martone’s. You can always tell a good restaurant by how attentive the staff are, and how they go out of their way to make sure that you enjoy your meal. It’s a good indication that the food will be great, and it is in Martone’s. A place to bring the family for a big birthday meal, but also a place to come for a wee glass of wine and some penne pasta.

Martone is a centrally located Italian restaurant/​café.
My boyfriend and I usually end up in here when we’re waiting for a bus or train, as it’s very handy for both Waverley station and St Andrew’s Square.
The food is standard Italian fayre — pizzas, pastas and paninis. It’s not a particularly adventurous menu, but they know how to do the classics well. The pizzas have lovely thin crisp bases and are very reasonably priced at around £7. Being Italian, they take their coffee seriously and you can be guaranteed a decent espresso here. The homemade ice cream is worth getting excited about, it comes in a variety of flavours (including prosecco and pannacotta) and is served in tall glasses with long spoons.
Service is quick and efficient, which is very important when you’ve got a train to catch. There’s also a student discount. If you’re looking for a quick bite to eat when you’re in the middle of town, this is a great place to go.