Sotto, a new wine bar and restaurant, will open in the Edinburgh neighbourhood of Stockbridge on Friday, October 4th. The name “Sotto,” meaning “under” in Italian, references the wine cellar situated beneath their Deanhaugh Street location, housing an extensive collection of over 200 wines from every region of Italy.
Sotto spans two floors: an upstairs Enoteca (wine bar) and a downstairs Trattoria (restaurant). The Enoteca seats 25 and offers an extensive wine list with many options by the glass, as well as coffee, aperitivi, cocktails, and light snacks. Guests can also purchase wines to take away, along with homemade pickles, chutneys under the label Sott’Olio, and a selection of Italian pantry goods. Every other Thursday evening, the bar will host complimentary tastings, featuring a specific producer, region, or grape variety, allowing guests to sample and purchase the featured wines.
James Clark and Francesco Ascrizzi © Tina Leahy
The Trattoria seats 36 guests and includes an intimate private dining room for up to eight. The interior combines marble tables, deep green banquettes, wooden paneling, and a cork ceiling to create a warm and relaxed ambiance.
The kitchen is helmed by Calabrian head chef Francesco Ascrizzi, who brings experience from some of Edinburgh’s most notable Italian restaurants, including Divino Enoteca, Mono, and Tipo. The menu at Sotto will celebrate the best of Italian culinary traditions and seasonal ingredients. It will regularly change to highlight regional diversity and the finest produce.
Diners can enjoy a wide range of dishes starting with chef Ascrizzi’s unique interpretations of classic Italian snacks and antipasti, such as ‘Gnocco fritto’ with Culatello, ‘Olives Ascolana’ (fried olives stuffed with pork), and Aberdeen Angus carpaccio with radicchio, beetroot, and gorgonzola. The main courses feature homemade pasta dishes, including Tagliatelle with porcini and Mezze maniche with venison ragù, alongside secondi like Lamb shoulder with artichokes and lentils, and Sole with caper butter and salsa verde. Desserts range from Marsala-poached pear with sweet ricotta and cannoli to ‘Zuppa Inglese’ with Alchermes liqueur and crema pasticciera. For a communal dining experience, guests can opt for the ‘Fai Tu’ menu, offering a four-course chef’s selection of shareable dishes.
Sotto opens at 10 am, functioning as an espresso bar on weekday mornings. On weekends, it offers a brunch menu featuring Italian-inspired dishes like Truffle polenta with wild mushrooms and fontina cheese, ‘Frittata di pasta’ with Tropea onions, potato, and Scamorza, and Brioche with gelato.
This venture is led by James Clark, an Edinburgh-born sommelier with a rich background in hospitality. Clark has honed his craft at some of the city’s finest establishments, such as Divino Enoteca and The Palmerston, and internationally at East End Cellars and Poppelvej winery in Adelaide, South Australia.
James expressed his excitement about the imminent opening, saying: “I am incredibly excited to have arrived at this point and be ready to open the doors, and have so many people to thank for helping me get here. From all the fantastic local tradespeople I’ve used, to my friends and family tolerating me talking about nothing else for the past 6 months, I’ve been so lucky to have the support of so many great people.
I’ve fallen in love with Italian food, wine and culture over the last decade, and Sotto will hopefully be an expression of the warmth and hospitable nature I associate with the country. There’s such variety in the food, wines and landscapes, and we can’t wait to share our interpretation of that with the people of Edinburgh.
It’s so exciting to be opening in Stockbridge, the neighbourhood where I’ve lived for the last 10 years. It has such a vibrant food and drink scene and is a part of the city people love coming to for a day out, and we’re delighted to now be part of that.”
Sotto opens on Friday, October 4th, with reservations available at sottoedinburgh.com.
28-32 Deanhaugh Street, EH4 1LY
