What does it take to open up a restaurant in Edinburgh today? What about opening a new restaurant in a spot that used to belong to a beloved, decades old institution? Well if you’re James Clark, the Edinburgh-native and restauranteur behind the Italian enoteca and trattoria Sotto in Stockbrige, the answer is: an entrepreneurial spirit, grit, respect for a venue’s roots, and a deep love of wine and pasta. James joins Kevin and Carlos on an entrepreneurial-themed episode of Eating and Waiting to Eat. Come for James’ (and Sotto’s) multi-faceted origin story (we think James might have been a spy), stay for the geeking out about wine and pasta. Did we mention we talk about wine and pasta?

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Sotto

James Clarke

General links from this episode:

Sotto

Splintr

Ping On’s Kenny Mac lunches in James Clark’s Sotto

Vittoria Restaurant Group

Lidl Champagne 

Trattoria Wikipedia Entry

Sotto’s Michelin Guide Entry

Erbaluci Wikipedia Entry

Restaurants and bars mentioned in this episode:

The Palmerston

Divino

The Kebab Mahal

LYLA

Cafe Gallo