Giovanni Petitto and Mara Allevi are the founders of radiCibus – a modern Italian restaurant that celebrates fine Italian cuisine. A five or seven-course tasting menu is available along with a tempting a la carte menu. Located in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge, this really is a hidden gem – one not to be missed! Read on to discover more.
Please tell us a little bit about yourselves and how radiCibus came to fruition.
Mara studied Literature, but she had always had a passion for cooking. While Giovanni studied wine at a school and Philosophy at University. When we arrived in Edinburgh, we started working in restaurants, but mostly we learned the language and everything about food and wine. Giovanni was awarded the WSET level 3 and is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master of Sommeliers. Mara studied, and traditionally trained as a chef, passing with distinction at the award-winning New Town Cookery School in Queen Street. When we found out that the premises, where Radicibus is now, was for sale (it was a traditional Spanish restaurant previously), we couldn’t believe it, we had celebrated our anniversary there during our first year in Edinburgh – so we took this as a sign to go ahead and we took over the restaurant immediately.
radiCibus means food from the roots. Please tell us more about the idea behind the name.
We chose our restaurant name by playing with the words RADICI (roots) and CIBUS (food). We wanted to convey a strong attachment to our history and our memories of what we experienced in Italy during our childhood, playing with fresh pasta hidden beneath our grandmothers’ tables!
You are not only partners in business but also in life, how do you find working together?
We got married in 2019, but we had been together for fourteen years! We met on a school bus when we were eighteen. We have always worked well together! Mara is in charge of coming up with food ideas and their realization, and Giovanni is in charge of service and the wine list.
And what do you love most about your job?
The best thing about our job is the creativity behind the dishes: we spend way too much time tasting our new ideas and pairing them with wines from wineries we have visited and love!
Many of your dishes are created using culinary techniques from the Marche region of Italy, please tell us more about these techniques and the results they create.
We have in our blood the way of cooking from Central Italy, which is based on lots of fresh vegetables, game, fresh pasta in rich sauces of aged pork charcuterie, such as Guanciale and aged Pecorino cheese. Simple, tasty, and rich ingredients! Fresh tomatoes (as soon as they are in season!) feature prominently on our menu, in every form (raw, pickled, in foam, in gel, slow cooked). We experiment with recipes from all over Italy, from Palermo to the Alps: you can expect Caponata alongside Fried Polenta, Gorgonzola, and Radicchio Trevigiano!
How do you continue to innovate with the dishes you present?
We always think of and start with traditional dishes to work creatively on, twisting textures, changing shapes, and adding extra ingredients. We also work a lot on stocks and reduced sauces to create depth in flavours. Anyway, there is only one rule: It must taste good! Presentation and the quirkiness of ingredients come after the taste.
Does sustainability play a part in your business ethos – if so how?
We buy our ingredients from organic farms like Phantassie in East Linton and Grierson in Perthshire, and we use a lot of game from the Borders and the Highlands. Additionally, our wine list is only made up of organic and biodynamic producers chosen by Giovanni. We also import our own organic extra-virgin olive oil from a small village called Offida, and we have a friend from our village, living in London (the company is called Brevevita), who helps us import the wines of the ten best organic wineries of the south of Le Marche.
Which three words would you use to best describe the restaurant?
Genuine – Romantic – Elegant
radiCibus is tucked away and those not in the know could easily pass you by, how do most of your diners discover you?
When we started, we didn’t have any social media! Through word of mouth, we became quite popular. We have lots of regulars who come back frequently and we cannot thank them enough. Though we now have a better social media presence, word of mouth is still the best way to attract new customers.
Where is your own Hidden gem in Edinburgh?
Our hidden gem is “Aurora” in Leith; it’s both casual and sophisticated! For fresh pasta, we go to “Viaemilia” in Portobello – their tortellini are to die for!
What is your top tip for a first-time visitor to Edinburgh? Other than dine at radiCibus, of course!!
Apart from dining at our restaurant (and always having a waterproof jacket ready!), we would suggest roaming around the old town and booking some Edinburgh Underground tours to discover old, sometimes scary, stories of our beautiful capital of Scotland!
Website: radicibus.co.uk
Address: 2 Deanhaugh St, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH4 1LY
