Edinburgh restaurants: Beloved Italian restaurant with spectacular views of Edinburgh Castle announces closure

Owners believe the time is right to close after many years serving in city centre

One of Edinburgh’s best Italian restaurants will shut its doors for good this weekend.

Ilaria Torre and Fabrizio Babbucci, owners of Terra Marique on Castle Terrace, took to social media to make the sad announcement.

In an emotional post on the restaurant’s Facebook page, they wrote: ‘Terra Marique was in our dreams since we started working in hospitality many years ago. We put everything we had to make it happen. We tried our very best to build it and improve it every day.

Ilaria Torre and Fabrizio Babbucci, owners of Terra Marique, an Italian restaurant on Edinburgh's Castle Terrace, announced on Facebook the business is closing down.

‘Sometimes it has been like beating a dead horse, and sometimes it was just proper good fun!

‘Unfortunately, we are here to announce the closure of our place. We are deeply sorry about this decision but we got to the point that's the right thing to do for us. Our last day will be Sunday 27th August 2023.’

They added: ‘We would like to thank you for your continued support and loyalty, you truly are the best customers in the world.

‘The two of us and our incredible staff will remain in Edinburgh, We are sure you will hear from us again’.

Regulars at Terra Marique, which takes its name from the Latin and means “by land and sea”, expressed their sadness at the news of the closure.

One of the restaurant’s followers on Facebook said: ‘Really sorry to hear that. Enjoyed every meal we ever had at your place. Hope you make a comeback soon’.

Another wrote: ‘That's so sad. Such a lovely restaurant with beautiful food. Good luck in the future’.

Taking over the former site of Il Castello, Terra Marique opened in 2019 with the idea to introduce to Edinburgh diners to traditional Italian dishes other than pizza.