The Jolly Ristorante

3 Reviews on “The Jolly Ristorante”

• Sonyanemec

  Best authentic pizza in Edinburgh. If youre looking for the best pizza outside of Italy avoid the pizza house chains (that includes Jamies ersatz Italian) and the inflated egos and creaking sense of service in the Little Italy eateries that populate Lothian Road and Hanover Street (think of macho-Italian versions of Miss Haversham without the enthusiasm) do yourself a favour and get yourself along to The Jolly on Elm Row (top of Leith Walk). Forty-odd different types of pizza, plus the option to create your own from the basics, average price is around 7.50 for a medium size which is actually quite huge, all cooked in a wood-fired oven with that crucial Naples style base: puffy but crisp topped with a proper sugo and not some kind of Dolmio apology. There is also a huge selection of pizza alternatives: pasta etc. but as a veggie I tend to stick with what has made The Jolly famous. If you want a real bargain and need to seriously fill up mid-day you can get a three course lunch for 6.10 (huge choice including pizza) which has to be the best value in town. A decent bottle of wine is around 15 the house red/white served in carafes is considerably cheaper which, if youre not fussy, is okay.However food aside, the main attraction has to be the atmosphere. I dont actually trust anyone who is snobby about the The Jolly and these people do exist. Okay, okay the place is big, bright, bustling, filled with kitsch, and may seem ever so slightly chaotic dont be fooled, the place runs like a well-oiled machine. But that is why its so authentically Italian there are couples sitting alongside large parties in for The Playhouse, local single Leithers in for their tea, delighted tourists and the occasional inebriated local politician (it is rumoured that Alex Salmond gets his pizzas delivered from here but I havent actually seen the Pie Man on the premises!). Honestly, the only thing missing from the total Napoli experience is the priest sitting in the corner watching the football on the telly. A telly in The Jolly? OMG, that might just be too much!

  October 19, 2013, 5:32 pm

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• Laura Beth

  Half and Half. The Jolly is great, the food is good and fresh and you get your money’s worth. Its staff can be friendly if not a little rushed at times. Their downfall lies when they are busy. As they are near to the theatre and the cinema large crowds should be expected and so dealt with accordingly. Not the case, I went before a show at the theatre recently and had to wait 50 minutes before our meal was brought leaving us only half an hour to eat and pay. People who had arrived after us were fed first and by the end we all felt rather dissapointed. So by all means go, but not when it’s busy.

  April 3, 2013, 7:22 pm

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• Mustafa

  Best italian in town. Splendid 5.70 set menuoffering 25 different course choices.Wine is good ,slightly ltd. to largely Italian and the ala carte is reasonably priced. Everyone seems to know the jolly although i am new to dinburgh i have eaten there haklf a dozen times ,wood fired pizza is great.

  July 19, 2011, 2:53 pm

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