I took my family to this 10-year-old Edinburgh pizza restaurant and they were totally charmed

While the eldest niece and her mum have a look at the university she’ll be attending later this year, we’re tasked with entertaining the six-year-old and the 14-year-old.

First, the National Museum of Scotland. An unoriginal choice, but a classic.

It’s the youngest niece’s first visit and she says “awesome” to the giant deer, and the beached whale skull that they named Moby. Alas, poor Yorick, he knew the plankton well.

Even though it’s scary at first, as it strikes 11am and the creatures start to stir, she loves The Millenium Clock, especially the skeleton that perches on its pendulum, like Miley Cyrus on her wrecking ball.

Then, it’s pizza o’clock. Again, an unoriginal choice, but a classic. I have decided that it’s time to introduce them to Pizza Geeks.

This independent business has been in the city for 10 years, with the original outpost on Dalry Road, another at the Shore and a new street food van on Little King Street outside St James Quarter. They’ve celebrated their decade’s anniversary by donating even more of their wares to the Pizza For the People charity initiative, which donates food to those in need, and with the launch of a few new menu inventions.

We plan to try a couple of these at the second youngest of their bricks and mortar restaurants - the two-year-old Easter Road branch.

It’s the only one I haven’t visited yet. Thankfully, it turns out that this is an ideal place for when you’re with the ankle biters.

They enjoy the Minecraft, Star Wars, Back to the Future and Mario references in the interior and, in the room out back, they get free use of their arcade games. After we’ve ordered, the youngish thrashes us all at Mortal Kombat, as a table full of ponytailed Dungeons and Dragons players looks on.

She’s worked up an appetite for her simple Mario pizza (£11.50) - a grown-up vinyl-album-sized version, as there’s no kids menu here at the moment. It’s essentially a Margarita, and topped with tomato sugo and a pillowy layer of fior di latte, though we’ve asked them to hold the fresh basil, to save us time removing every little leaf. Junior is very happy with her cheesy choice.

The teen also likes the Super Mario (£14), even if she did want it sans mushrooms and basil. It features the same as the Mario, except with added pepperoni, and they’ve been generous, as I count 13 tiddlywinks of this meat. Lucky for some.

I’m feeling quite smug, when it comes to my vegetarian BA Burrata (£16), which is one of their new pizza inventions. Apparently, I’m the only customer who has got The A Team reference, and has pronounced it properly. Most have been asking for the “bah burrata”. Suckas! This option has piperade vibes, with a tomatoey topping, capers and sweet and sour red peppers, for a tangy flavour that works with a creamy golf-ball-sized burrata in the middle. Also, I do enjoy their signature tortoiseshell blistered and chewy Neapolitan crust.

However, my usual order here is The Wildling (£14) which features a garlic rosemary oil base, spinach, goat’s cheese, butternut squash and sweet chilli jam, and it remains my number one.

My other half has gone for The White Walker (£15). I haven’t watched any Game of Thrones, but, apparently, this is named after some of the creepy characters that appear in this series as well as the George RR Martin books A Song of Fire and Ice on which the programme is based. It’s topped by a thick springy drift of fior di latte mozzarella, islands of spicy nduja, green pickled chillies and a grating or Parmesan. He’s totally converted to the heat and piquant pops that cut through the rich cheese blanket.

We all share a huge portion of hummingly garlicky and Parmesan fries (£5.50), and some of their new creamy pesto (£3) and a garlic (£3) dip.

Since it’s vaguely sunny, I also have a Limoncello spritz (£9.50) from their cocktail list of classics that are divided into Margaritas, negronis and signatures.

There are enough leftovers to do us for dinner, and we decant them into a doggy box.

The kids are happy, so I am too.

Even if I did get thrashed at Mortal Kombat, there are worse places to be humbled than at Pizza Geeks.

Pizza Geeks, 126 Easter Road, Edinburgh (0131-202 9306, www.pizzageeks.co.uk)

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