Amore Dogs

No-one would argue with the need for The Dogs to spread its wings. The perpetually-packed Hanover Street eatery, where punters happily bump elbows on rickety chairs in exchange for top value, nose-to-tail style grub, has such a dedicated fanbase that (A)more Dogs is just what the vet ordered.

Rather than simply replicating the same tried-and-tested formula, next door’s little sister has decided to mark its own territory. So it's in with bright walls and an airy open-plan, spilt level space; functional furniture and Granny trinkets kept to a bare minimum and a kitchen churning out platefuls of Italian staples, not mod British. Think pizza and polenta, not pig trotter and pie.

Kicking things off, my dinner buddy's stuffed mushrooms with gorgonzola were a little ‘meh’, but my vitello tonnato perked up the tastebuds a treat, with chilled, thinly sliced veal perfectly mopping up salty tuna sauce.

A veggie main of ricotta and aubergine lasagne was a hearty, obviously homemade slab of lush cheese and slow cooked veggies just on the right side of rich, whilst my whole stuffed pigeon was a carnivore's wet dream, rare-roast and swimming on a sea of carrot and celery-braised lentils – a big, butch dish that meant business and for under a tenner, too.

Puddings saw the starter situation reversed, with my tiramisu a little ‘so what?’ but torrone semi freddo (Italian nougat) a real bobby dazzler; winningly described by the affably irreverent waiter as a ‘yummy frozen thing with lots of nice things stirred into it’, it was just that – chilly, creamy, chewy, choccy perfection.

Does Edinburgh really need another Italian restaurant? Some may lament that the new Dogs practices new tricks, but with food this tasty and pricing this keen (particularly for the location) we shouldn’t whine.