Crighton Place · off Leith Walk

GaiaItalian deli · Sicilian family

Pasta of the day in mustard-yellow bowls, panini, a strong Kimbo espresso, and a deli counter of Italian hams, cheeses, oils and biscuits. Three generations of the Dragotta family, seven days a week.

Today's pasta Call 0131 553 7333
Gaia's yellow shopfront on Crighton Place under a red awning, with benches and a red folding chair on the pavement and people sitting outside.
Photo: Kevin Xu via Google Maps

The deli

Three generations, one small shop.

Igeneration IIgeneration IIIgeneration

Run by the Dragotta family, originally from Sicily. Small, busy and usually full.

You come for lunch and leave with a bag. The counter carries imported hams and cured meats, Parma ham included, plus Italian cheeses and sausages. The shelves hold the store-cupboard things: pasta, tinned tomatoes, good olive oil, biscuits and coffee.

SalumiParma ham and imported cured meats
FormaggiItalian cheeses from the counter
DispensaPasta, tomatoes, olive oil, biscuits
CaffèKimbo beans, pulled strong

Pasta del giorno

In the yellow bowls.

The pasta changes every day, and it comes in these same speckled mustard bowls. These are from diners' photos.

Rigatoni in a rich tomato sauce, snowed with grated cheese, in a speckled mustard-yellow bowl.Photo: Pilar V C

Rigatoni

Tomato sauce, a snowfall of cheese.

Aubergine baked in tomato sauce with grated cheese and herbs in a yellow bowl, beside a toasted panino, on a painted table.Photo: Ati Ahmadi

Parmigiana

Aubergine, tomato and cheese, with a panino on the side.

Three yellow bowls on a wooden table: spaghetti with mussels, pasta in tomato with toasted crumbs, and aubergine in tomato sauce.Photo: Vignesh Ravi

A table of three

Spaghetti with mussels, pasta with crumbs, parmigiana.

Spaghetti with courgette and cheese in a grey bowl, a toasted panino with cured ham, and a baked pasta in a yellow dish.Photo: Laurette Yoga

Spaghetti & a panino

Courgette and cheese, and a toasted panino with ham.

A cappuccino heavily dusted with cocoa in a wide white cup and saucer.Photo: Yiwei Hong

Then a coffee

Kimbo beans. Regulars call it the best in town.

Ask at the counter for today's pasta. It changes daily.

Inside

Pallet shelves, painted plates.

Plates on the wall. Hand-painted ceramic plates, and a big, bright painted mural.

Tables from cable drums. Round wooden spool tables, plus a few painted ones, with red stools.

Deli and fridges. The deli counter at the back and drinks fridges down the side, a working shop as much as a café.

Inside Gaia: a spool table in front, wooden pallet shelving, red stools, a drinks fridge, painted ceramic plates on the wall and the deli counter at the back.
One of the painted tables, with a pear in yellow and green, under a bowl of parmigiana.

Photos: Taba Ord (the room) and Ati Ahmadi (the painted table), via Google Maps.

Word of mouth

4.8★

From 693 Google reviews, read on 14 September 2026. The themes below are paraphrased from Google, Tripadvisor, Euan's Guide and the Edinburgh Reporter. Nobody is quoted.

The panini

More than one reviewer reckons they're the best in the city.

The coffee

Rich, smooth and strong, and often called the best in town.

The welcome

Warm, family and communal. No frills, and fair prices.

Visit

32 Crighton Place, just off Leith Walk.

A few steps off Leith Walk: look for the yellow front and the red awning, with benches out on the pavement when it's dry.

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