Firm’s first venture offers up heritage at Edinburgh’s Quartermile site
ITALIAN heritage in contemporary surroundings is what’s on the menu at Edinburgh bar and restaurant Enzo.
The new venue, which opened at the capital’s ongoing Quartermile development last month, is the first project from new firm P1 Edinburgh.
Michele Civiera, who, together with Barrie Brown and Robert Reid is a director of the firm, told SLTN that Enzo was conceived “first and foremost” as a bar, and that the aim was to create a destination venue offering quality beers and wines.
Staying true to the original vision, Enzo offers premium Italian lagers Peroni and Birra Moretti alongside Belhaven craft beer Twisted Thistle IPA and a 4% ABV ‘Enzo craft lager’ all on draught.
When it comes to wine, the team at Enzo worked with supplier Matthew Clark to create a wine list, which offers 28 wines by the glass. Measures start at 125ml, a move Civiera said allows customers to embark on a “wine journey”.
However Civiera’s family heritage wouldn’t allow for a purely wet sales venture.
“I’m Italian and no good bar is complete without an eating opportunity,” said Civiera.
Trading from 8am until 1am, Enzo offers bar snacks throughout the day; the restaurant also offers a breakfast, lunch and dinner service with a full Italian menu of antipasti, salads, pasta dishes and pizzas.
And the Italian connection doesn’t stop at the menu.
Heading up the kitchen at Enzo is chef Cristian Picco who arrived in Scotland from Alba, a town in the Piedmont region of northern Italy.
Chef Picco is the right man for the job, according to Civiera.
“He’s passionate about food, produce; he’s Italian, he’s young and he gets the concept,” he said.
That concept is a ‘back to basics’ focus on quality produce.
Italian food “doesn’t need square plates”, according to Civiera, but it does require “authentic produce”, which is why everything at Enzo down to the pasta is made on site.
To meet the challenges of such a long food service, Enzo has to “staff cleverly”, according to Civiera.
A team of 30, split between front of house and kitchen and day and evening shifts, was assembled from recruitment evenings, the first of which is said to have attracted 300 applicants.
Civiera said the effort of everyone involved in launching Enzo has been “outstanding”.
“All the experience, expertise and professionalism involved in the background, it’s been genuinely exciting watching it evolve,” he said.
