Tinelli's

My Dear Fellow,

I remember your telling me about this place long before I got to go there. You'd visited and had the agnello alla menta which you thoroughly recommended.

And when I moved to Abbeyhill, you took me down there along with Nuala and Sarah. And you were absolutely right - as you invariably are about food.

For some reason, my enthusiasm stuck in Sarah's mind and therefore Tinelli's was one of the titbits of information she fed Er Indoors about me, leading to that infamous email, wherein Er Indoors convinced me that I had met her (while drunk) invited her to Tinelli's (while drunk) and had subsequently blacked out and forgotten all about it. 

It was about a week before it was revealed to me that I'd never met Er Indoors drunk OR sober and certainly never asked her out. But - impressed by her sheer cheek - I then asked her out anyway. And here we are 18 years later.

I never tire of telling that story. It's a great how-we-met story, and it's important to me that you are an integral part of it. 

Naturally I subsequently took Er Indoors there, and we had the agnello alla menta and she loved it too. It was a big part of our life when we first got together. 

But it wasn't just the food. Do you remember that time we all went and Bokhara was there too? I seem to remember they let us stay and stay and stay. I believe there were brandies at about midnight. It was more like being in someone's front room, and nothing like a fussy restaurant where they whisk away plates and throw you out as soon as you've tackled the tiramisu.

Good times.

I've never been since it was "Al Dente". I took a look inside, and the set up is pretty much the same. It still looks like a front room in there. I was tempted. 

But perhaps memories - especially perfect ones - are best left as they are. Imagine if I went inside and it was rubbish? Perhaps it is best to let you introduce me to another restaurant. I shall tackle The Big Schnitzel and never look back.

Parsones