Opening date revealed for Edinburgh restaurant and bar which features stunning historic ghost sign

The restaurant will offer Italian Scottish cuisine and have Paolozzi beer on tap.

Edinburgh Beer Factory and Nonna’s Kitchen Owner, Gino Stornaiuolo have partnered to open Paolozzi Restaurant & Bar on Forrest Road in the Capital.

The site, in a former Royal Bank of Scotland site, boasts a stunning ghost sign uncovered during work on the frontage.

The classic sign, which reads “surgical instrument makers”, will now remain as part of the frontage of the new venue.

Gino will run the operation

Named after the Edinburgh-born ‘Father of Pop Art’, Eduardo Paolozzi, the venture will combine beer, food and art to celebrate the Scot and wider Italian Scottish culture.

Edinburgh Beer Factory’s flagship beer brand, Paolozzi lager features Eduardo’s ‘Illumination and the Eye’ screenprint on its packaging.

For every beer sold, the brewery pays a charitable donation to the Paolozzi Foundation. Taps of fresh Paolozzi lager and other beers from the EBF range, brewed less than 5 miles from the Restaurant & Bar, will be available to wash down the delicious ‘Italian Scottish’ food offering.

The menu, developed by Gino, features ‘spuntini’ (Italian tapas-style sharing dishes served at the bar), antipasti, fresh salads, ‘build your own’ salumi and cheese plates, Naples style wood-fired pizza and some classic larger plates and will use ingredients from local producers alongside premium international imports.

Gino, who managed Nonna’s Kitchen restaurant in Edinburgh’s Churchill, will run the operation of the new venue.

He said: "This partnership evolved from two family businesses with shared values of independence, accessible quality and a love of Edinburgh’s international culture and creativity.

"We hope to enrich the city’s thriving independent food and drink scene while promoting one of its great unsung heroes.”

Eduardo Paolozzi artwork will adorn the walls and the interior design has a distinctly Paolozzi feel, with geometric shapes, contrasting textures and bright colour accents.

A sculptural bar will dominate the front area of the venue, with walk-in space and casual seating, while a cupola is being installed in the back of the space, bringing natural light to the dining tables and a touch of the outdoors to the former bank recesses.

The old bank deposit vaults are being transformed into colourful toilets, which will play audio clips of stories about Eduardo Paolozzi and some of his works.

Paolozzi Restaurant & Bar is due to open to the public for lunch, dinner, coffee and drinks from March 2020, and will take bookings via phone and www.paolozzirestaurantandbar.co.uk.