Last week, I asked you nice people for suggestions for food related places in Edinburgh. I got some great suggestions in terms of places to eat-out in and some interesting shops.
I went over with my better-half to visit some of her nearest and dearest and they brought us to two places I want to talk to you about.
The first was Holyrood 9A. This is a great spot for a few reasons. As you walk in there is an impressive array of interesting beers on draught at a very attractive bar. Crucially it had one of my favourites Blue Moon. Secondly the menu was interesting, with an array of quirky options. My (adventurous) Cheese burger was served with nice skinny fries and a side of slaw, and presented attractively. Also it was nice to be served a burger that you could actually eat with your hands rather than the towering skyscrapers most places serve. Approving noises were made all around. Others got the steak-sandwich, and the Shroom Italienne, with Piri Piri fries. Service was very friendly and prompt. Also worth noting- this place is child friendly- crucial as we had a little person in tow.
The other place we frequented was The Scottish Cafe. It is located in the National gallery in the Princess Street Gardens. It is an open and airy dining room and was humming on the Sunday afternoon we visited. It sources a huge amount of its produce from Scottish producers and the menu reads nicely.
I opted for the cheese sandwich with chips (god I ate mundane options this trip). In truth it was a posh cheese sandwich, with Isle of Mull Cheddar, nice red onion relish, and a barley and beetroot mix. The barley and beetroot mix was different, my only gripe was the cheddar was grated and made the sandwich a little dry. My better half had the rabbit terrine with some bread (more on this in a minute) and she enjoyed the dish. We finished with a rhubarb tart and a portion of set cream. The tart was tasty and different from the typical, it was almondy and moist and I ate every morsel. The better half and her sister shared a portion of set cream. I managed to sneak a taste or two- and it was one of the most delicious deserts I have tasted in a long time. The consistency was perfect and it had a rich vanilla taste- studded with an abundance of vanilla flecks.
While the food here was good- I am sorry to say the service was not at all in the same league. The side of bread mentioned earlier- ordered with our food, didn’t arrive. After reminding a waitress it still didn’t arrive- and on the third asking finally arrived at the table- quite some time after the dish it was due to accompany. I asked for a refill of water and it never arrived. There were a lot of staff walking around- but they seemed ambivalent, certainly towards our table.
I would like to thank everyone who tweeted, facebooked and left suggestions for this trip- I really appreciate it. Also I would like to thank the other half’s family for the weekend and for bringing us to these places. I’m looking forward to the next trip already.
Tags: barley, beers, beetroot, blue moon, bread, burger, cheese, cheese sandwich, Edinburgh, facebook, food, fries, onion relish, piri piri, poor service, rabbit terrine, restaurants, rhubarb tart, sandwich, Scotland, scottish producers, set cream, slaw, suggestions, the scottish cafe, travel, twitter, vacation, vanilla
thesilverchicken 