I visited the Italian wine bar and restaurant that's opened in Edinburgh's coolest food neighbourhood

For a while, it was unchanging. Now, there’s a surge of youthful energy.

Sadly, it has coincided with the closure of some real well-loved old-timers, like restaurants Bell’s Diner and Ping On, who had about a century between them. 

Among others, the neighbourhood now boasts Lannan bakery, with its famed queues, as well as a new sandwich joint, Mootz, the Stockbridge Eating House - from Dale Mailley, the chef behind Gardener's Cottage - gelateria Joelato, the excellent Skua, and Harkness Pies.

There’s something for every yen, and the postcode feels as if it's in its foodie prime, a la Miss Jean Brodie.

The newest addition is Sotto, from sommelier James Clark and Calabrian head chef Francesco Ascrizzi, who has worked at Divino Enoteca, Mono and Tipo.

We visited on a wet Wednesday, after a pre-prandial cocktail at one of our favourite cocktail bars, The Last Word on St Stephen Street, and discovered that this new place, in the former premises of Chinese restaurant, Ping On, was unexpectedly heaving. 

Obviously, this must be something that the neighbourhood wanted, or needed.

I left my soggy brolly at the door upstairs, which opens into the wine bar area, where they offer over 200 or so Italian wines in a bright space that has graphic posters on the walls. For food, you head into the basement, which was latterly just a storage space. 

Now it’s packed with a chattering mix of tourists and locals.

I love that, on the way to the loo, the walls are decorated with old reviews of Ping On, and photographs of the space’s previous owners, the Mak family.

Anyway, there’s no more Cantonese sweet and sour. Now, the menu is classic trattoria-style, with a few cheffy twists.  

Clark delivers our antipasti - the gnocco fritto (£12) and tells us that it’s his favourite. I feel as smug as a competition winner, since it was my choice. There are three matchbox-sized nuggets of fried dough, a dollop of pale stracciatella on the side, a few folded sheets of pistachio-studded mortadella, and a pile of rocket. 

We also go for the bresaola (£12), with feathery leaves of Aberdeen Angus beef, slices of black garlic, a drizzle of EVOO, balsamic and a few crystallised crumbs of Parmesan. It also mentions pane carasau on the menu, but that bread doesn’t seem to have appeared. Not that we miss it, this is a lovely assemblage as it is, carbs or not.

I’m not doing a Primi pasta course, but Mr Avido is. He goes for the Sicilian rigatoni alla Norma (£14). It’s very simple, cosseting and wholesome, with a rich aubergine, tomato, basil and salted ricotta sauce and robust ribbed pasta tubes, like mini leg-warmers. It makes me feel like the chef loves us. He doesn’t, but it’s the sort of dish that could make you delusional.

I’ve gone for the lamb (£25) Secondi. The meat is salty, and drizzled in a jus that’s as intense as an Eighties cologne, with three decorative slices of leek on top. It comes with half a hispi cabbage, which has a blackened singe on the edges of its leaves. 

It’s great, but I feel like I want something else on the plate to lift the burly-ness. 

I am, however, easily consoled with some excellent potatoes (£5) on the side - crushed, with lemon and oodles of butter. 

While I work on this, my dining partner has the Secondi cauliflower gratin (£15), which is a refined take on the winter classic that is cauli cheese, except with a few shreds of piquant sundried tomato. Although this is a relatively light option, he’s not up for pudding. There’s no room at the gastric inn.

I didn’t have the pasta course, so feel justified in ordering two under the guise of sharing.

Anyway, the Amalfi lemon sorbet (£5) is just a slip of a thing. Wow, it was a hundred volts of citrus, administered directly through the salivary glands. Love it. I won’t need any more vitamin C for an entire year. 

The pera e canella (£8) was tasty, too. There are layers of biscuity pastry, which are sandwiching sweet ricotta and globules of mauve-coloured Marsala poached pear.

I’m glad that there’s a happy ending. 

After all, it is a bit sad that the old places in Stockbridge are closing down, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to enjoy this area while it’s entering its foodie prime.

And Sotto is one of the new creme de la creme. 

28 Deanhaugh Street, Edinburgh (0131-332 3621, www.sottoedinburgh.com)