Divino Enoteca has the reputation of being one of the finest wine bars and Italian restaurants that Edinburgh has.
But the accolades including ‘Best Italian Restaurant’, have not meant that owners the Crolla family, Tony, Alberto and Leandro, the powers behind the Vittoria Group, are resting on their laurels. Indeed this latest revamp of one of the city’s most popular restaurants was not because it really needed it.
Explains Alberto Crolla Jr, the grandson of the group’s founder, who was also called Alberto. “This wasn’t a 999 renovation because Divino was falling to bits. It was just that over Covid we had a rethink because it had been semi-shut for a year. For once we had time on our hands to think about our business differently.
He continues, “Divino had a lot of charm so we didn’t want to completely revolutionise what we were offering – instead, we wanted to make subtle changes, and make it a bit friendlier, lighter and less formal and a bit more commercial.
“Our initial brief to the designers was about the colours – we wanted to change the outside of the building to make it more welcoming. It is now green on the outside rather than black and we have removed the amount of wines on the shelves – it looks less pretentious and we have brought more colour in.”
However, the Enomatic wine system which Divino is famous for is still in situ, although over the years it has been updated. Says Alberto, “It is a cracking piece of kit – it is the Ferrari of wine systems.”
Michael Dunn of MD Hospitality was the design consultant and co-ordinator on the project. Says Alberto, “Michael has worked with us on every one of our venues. He is a great frontman and brings the people on board and looks after the procurement. He is directly in the frontline.”
Says Michael, “We originally designed and refurbished Divino 10 years ago – one of our first roles then was to ensure the 7-storey building was underpinned! We created a spectacular wine bar, and it has been very successful. Over the years Tony, Alberto’s father, reinvested in the business – for instance in the kitchen. The brief this time was to open the venue up to a wider market. It was a cool, sexy, quite dark place with more of a masculine feel. Now it is lighter and bouncier and we have done that by using lighting, various fabrics and colours.
The challenge is how do you design something while protecting everything good about it. We wanted to give it a hug and a kiss and create a more female-friendly environment.”



Alberto adds, “The project managers were McKenzie Owens Projects and they were great. Stephen McKenzie dealt with all the contractors. The timing was key especially because we did not close the restaurant. That was his first challenge and they rose to it. They were very efficient and very responsive and smooth. Steven allowed us to do what we do best which is hospitality while he dealt with the project. They are two very different industries.”
Steven agrees, “We had a few challenges not least the fact that we wanted to keep Divino open, and of course parking and access. But we were able to find a way. We think it looks stunning and we have enjoyed working on the project.”
The layout has remained the same but the patio area has been transformed Says Alberto, “To be honest we were not happy with our offering there. Over the years it had become tired. Now Love Awnings have helped us create a great outdoor/indoor area. We now have built a roof over the patio which is attached to the building and the original walls – it has the appearance of the inside of Divino but it is outside and the roof can retract.”
The new patio is now being utilised for private events such as weddings and special occasions. He continues, “Divino is the most authentic Italian restaurant in Edinburgh and that is down to the service, the ambience, and the food and it looks great from the outside and the inside. In fact, our customers old and new are loving it.”