Photo of
February 16, 2016

The 5pm Dining blog recently swung by the new Tutto Matto pizza restaurant in Edinburgh.

It’s on Nicolson Street, just opposite Edinburgh Festival Theatre and a hop, skip and a jump from the George Square HQ of Edinburgh Uni.

It’s a fresh and funky kind of place with good time tunes and a neat line in contemporary rustic decor.

Think wood stacks as design features, up-cycled seating and walls lined with pizza paddles which spell out the various varieties of pizza on offer.

It’s deceptively spacious. From the outside, you only see the ground floor but beyond that is a sunken level where the chefs man the huge pizza ovens.

Grab a seat at Tutto Matto.
Grab a seat at Tutto Matto.

The stone bake floors of the ovens are heated to 500 degrees centigrade so the pizza cook fast and cook crispy.

There are 22 different pizza on offer and they range from simple classics like the Margherita to regional Italian specialities such as the Amalfi – topped with creamy white pizza sauce, scampi, squid, crab, Atlantic prawns and mozzarella.

Pizza goes global

As well as Italian pizza, there is a wide selection of pizza whose toppings have been inspired by cities around the world.

For example, the Berlin is topped with landjager sausage, Emmental cheese and strands of sauerkraut.

‘People are unsure of the more exotic choices to begin with, says Manager Billy, ‘but once they take the first bite they really get into it.’

Getting toasty in the Tutto Matto ovens.
Getting toasty in the Tutto Matto ovens.

As well as imported fior de latte mozzarella, the pizzas are topped with specific sauces. So the Peking has a hoi sin plum sauce while the California has a roasted garlic cream sauce.

While the chefs use the finest San Marzano region tomatoes, imported Italian yeast and special Italian double zero grade flour to make their pizza bases, the global flavours are just as important as the Italian heritage of pizza at Tutto Matto.

Cumin, cinnamon and haggis are just as likely to turn up on your pizza as Parmesan or Milano salami.

Pushing the pizza envelope

A purist Neapolitan pizza chef may raise an eyebrow but Tutto Matto doesn’t shy away from pushing the pizza boundaries.

The most experimental variety on offer is probably the Boston which features a 6 oz grilled beef burger topped with spicy tomato mustard sauce, red onions, mozzarella cheese. This is all wrapped inside your pizza and speared with dill pickles and tomatoes.

It’s like a calzone folded pizza but with an American twang.

Pan global pizza are the pick at Tutto Matto.
Pan global pizza are the pick at Tutto Matto.

Perhaps unusually for an Edinburgh restaurant, one of the most popular pizza is the Glasgow. It’s essentially a full cooked breakfast on a pizza with crumbled Simon Howie lorne sausage, Ayrshire smoked bacon and Stornoway black pudding all in the mix.

Big night out

According to Billy, it’s very popular with customers who are recovering from a big night out.

While pizza are at the heart of the menu, Tutto Matto also offers a considerable range of pastas, salads, nibbles, deli platters, sides and a full range of burgers.

We can recommend the voodoo chicken starter – six chicken tenders which are golden-fried in a very spicy crumb coating and served with a garlic aioli.

The mighty Santorini.
The mighty Santorini.

The Santorini pizza is a belter. The base is crispy and bubbly around the edges. Among the topping ingredients are sweet, soft roasted peppers; fresh cherry tomatoes, grassy olives and good, salty, barrel-aged feta.

If this sounds your kind of place then you can book Tutto Matto through 5pm. You may also want to take a look at this Big Deal on a three course meal for £10 at Tutto Matto.

Maciek Mlodzinski: pizza pro.
Maciek Mlodzinski: pizza pro.