SETTING Not content with running the busy Il Castello on Castle Terrace, Giuseppe Votta is now the proud owner of yet another neighbourhood restaurant, Il Positano in Newington on the eastside of Edinburgh. It’s bright and full of good humour as well as good food. The enthusiasm and passion of the staff is infectious, creating a typical Italian atmosphere along with a well-priced menu.

FOOD It’s the sort of to come for lunch or dinner with the whole family from grandparents to toddlers, as the food will suit everyone. Kids can have pizza or pasta while the adults can dine on excellent steaks, chicken, veal and fish fresh from Eddie’s – one of the best fishmongers in Edinburgh. There’s also a daily specials board that deserves a careful look - I decided on the Melanzane alla Parmigiana.

Aubergines cooked to a melting mass, the purple skin helps retain the vegetable’s shape and the tomato sauce bubbles up though the stringy mozzarella topping like lava. It is superb. The husband has the skewered gamberoni, giant prawns griddled to pale pinkness, a squeeze of lemon and a grinding of black pepper is all that is needed; oh and maybe some of Il Positano’s homemade bread to mop up the juices. Pasta is cooked with a bite, which can be served as a starter as well as a main. The spaghetti carbonara is a proper representation of this classic – sauce clinging to the strands of spaghetti entangling plenty of bacon. The mains arrive swiftly and we tuck into steak and fish.

Bride-white lemon sole fillets offer no resistance under the fork, the flesh is milky sweet and delicate. My Aberdeen Angus fillet is dauntingly large, rare and tasty; its partner of gorgonzola sauce is saltily piquant. Our white wine, Pecorino (like the cheese) Terre di Chieti, is robust enough to compete with the meat and soft enough not to overpower the sole. Vegetables are well handled and plentiful. With full bellies, we struggle with dessert and I settle for the homemade tiramisu, which is extremely light and a tad alcoholic. What I like about Giuseppe’s place is he makes it fun!