Review: Everything can be made better when you have pasta by Tipo (Hanover Street)

Birdy made it down to Hanover Street for her birthday meal at Tipo, with her partner, Murdo. It’d been a bit of a day (first day back at art college) so she was really looking forward to lovely food.

Having just been voted ‘Bib of the Month’ for July by the Michelin Guide, I’d just like to state that I’ve been a fan of Tipo since before it was cool. In fact, this was my second birthday at this locally-sourced, artisanal small plates specialist, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The atmosphere

I enjoy Tipo’s atmosphere. The place feels relaxed, friendly, light and spacious enough when you come in, and there are candles on the table which helps as the room starts to dim down for the evening. It starts to feel quite intimate and special in the evening, and we were only ever interrupted when more food arrived.

I also love the fact that it has a separate ‘pasta room’ which I’ve not yet been fortunate enough to dine in, but that’s by the by (I’m sure if we’d asked, the staff may have seated us in there).

But, the main thing I’m here for is the food.

The food

The main draw of Tipo is the delicious, well-prepared food that comes in small plates to share. It’s recommended that for two of you, you order 5 – 6 plates of food. Your server will explain the small plates, medium plates and large plates to you, and then it’d up to you to choose what you’d like.

We started by sharing some soft, fluffy focaccia with dipping oil that Murdo maintains is ‘the best he’s ever had’ – I’m not going to argue, as it was absolutely delicious. I was slightly worried about filling up on bread too soon, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Then, we shared marsh pig farm salumi plate, which was an impressive selection of three types of cold meats. This was more a Murdo thing than a me thing, so he ate more of it than I did, but I particularly enjoyed what I think may have been prosciutto.

Then it was onto the pasta; the only thing we ordered separately (not to share), as Murdo can’t eat fish, and ordered the strozzapreti and mangalitza pork, whilst I couldn’t resist the pull of the chilli crab pappardelle. 

It was to die for, and my favourite thing of the night – and I can see the Michelin Guide thought the same!

The crunchy bits really helped add an extra dimension to the texture, and I was sad I was unable to finish this amazing pasta dish.

Why was I unable to finish it? Because our milanese rose veal (veal chop) with romesco had also come out, and I was feeling dangerously full.

I will add that unfortunately we didn’t communicate our plans to eat the pastas separately to the staff, who no doubt would have ensured they’d come out at the same time – we’d made the mistake of just casually saying we’d eat each plate as they came out, and I think the considerate staff were trying to pace us whilst allowing for us to share each meal.

That meant Murdo’s pasta came out quite significantly earlier than mine, and despite trying to eat slowly, it was still pretty much all gone by the same my pasta dish came out. But, never mind! We weren’t in a rush, and were enjoying having a very chilled evening of amazing food.

The service

I can’t fault the Tipo staff at all, who are always lovely and welcoming and provide impeccable table service. I had mentioned it was my birthday to our server when they asked what kind of day we’d had, but I hadn’t been expecting that to result in us receiving free mini desserts!

I was already full to gunnels at this point, so requested a latte to help me wash down the chocolate macron and rich dark chocolate ganache cube. I enjoyed the little birthday message that came with the free treats, and have adapted it to use in the title of this blog post.

Tipo as a place to eat in the city centre

Tipo is conveniently very central; just a couple of minutes’ walk from busy Princes Street and George Street. St James Quarter and Waverley Station are also nearby.

If you’re planning on visiting Tipo, I recommend booking in advance – especially during busy periods like the Edinburgh Festivals, as we doubt you’ve any chance of a walk-in table at all. 

Tipo is a fantastic venue for celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday, anniversary or family gathering, and if you’re looking for more ways to have fun after, there’s the Omni Centre, complete with Vue Cinema nearby, the National Galleries, indies like Watson Gallery and loads of taxi ranks. 

Overall

We had such a lovely time at Tipo, and left feeling incredibly full but with absolutely no regrets. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Tipo to friends and family – or, well, anyone! Although it may not be the most affordable place to eat, everything we ordered tasted phenomenal – perfect for a special occasion.