Two months after opening in Edinburgh‘s West End, The Hoxton hotel has finally launched its house restaurant. Patatino — ‘little potato’ to the delight of Scottish starch lovers — is delightfully maximalist in its embrace of riotous Mediterranean patterns and zesty colour. Inspired by long, lazy meals on the Amalfi coast, and citrus kicks from Sorrento’s lemon groves, the trattoria seems rather serious about entertaining. The menu offers fresh, pickable bits, coal-fired delicacies (the pinnacle being the whole grilled lobster), pastas and pizzas for every tribe. Drinks stay true to the vibe, leaning heavily on spritzes and bitter Italian spirits. Clearly nobody here wants summer to end.
Photography courtesy The Hoxton.
Photography: Eve Jarvis
Photography: Eve Jarvis
Photography: Nathan Hinze.
Photography: Eve Jarvis
The dedicated entrance on the edge of Haymarket is a grand, floral gesture beneath an unmissable striped scalloped awning. Interiors — by the Hoxton’s in-house designers Aime Studios — start as they mean to go on, with shots of hot pink and dramatic down-lights against dusky pink walls. Banquettes upholstered in rich mid-blue velvet with bold striped flourishes lounge around a Baroque stone fountain at the centre of the room. They’re built for large parties, along with the booths that orbit the room, upholstered in forest green corduroy and a contrast floral print. The decoration does not hold back: trellised columns burst with blooms and criss-cross shelving around the booths showcases a covetable collection of Maiolica ceramics. If you want an intimate moment, there’s a brass-edged wood bar with a scalloped motif where you can perch with a view to the action.
Photography courtesy The Hoxton.
Photography courtesy The Hoxton.
Photography: Eve Jarvis
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