El Cartel

Most Mexican restaurants have a colourful cheap and cheerful atmosphere to them, however, recently opened El Cartel takes a very different approach, presenting a high quality stylish take on the popular cuisine. Part of the growing empire that also owns the successful Bon Vivant just across the road, El Cartel borrows many ideas from its sister bar.

Not taking bookings El Cartel goes for a relaxed walk in feel to it. It is small and intimate, with seating for no more than c.20 people. Low comfortable sofas surround the tables with a darkened mood lighting. Built on the site of the old Tex Mex 2, this has a very different atmosphere to its predecessor. Once seated you also start to notice quirky features surrounding you, a cactus on the table and a super hero picture adjoining the wall. Everything feels very deliberate. The friendly waiter gave us an introduction to the menus and left us to peruse through them.

The drinks menu is quite extensive and looks like it has had a lot thought put into it. The beer selection goes well beyond the popular Pacifico and Negra Modelo options, also featuring a good range of Day of the Dead beers. There were also several pages of tequila, definitely one of the biggest ranges I have ever seen in a restaurant. There was a special drinks board with some interesting margaritas on offer.

The regularly changing food menu is split into two sections. The top section was described to us as similar to meze plates, including Mexican street corn and home made Guacamole. The bottom section was the main event - the soft shell tacos. These included carne asada (steak) and cochinita (pork shoulder) or for the more adventurous de lengua (ox tongue). The waiter suggested we could just order the food as and when rather than all in one go.

The tacos proved the popular option. The meat was very tender and they were cooked to perfection. The food was definitely of a high quality. We were also presented a interesting array of hot sauces to complement our tacos including El Cartel's own home made one. However, if you are hungry you can easily find yourself ordering several dishes which can push up your final bill. The serving sizes were a bit more akin to tapas as opposed to regular main dishes

El Cartel successfully implements a different take on a popular cuisine. Maybe not for everyone, our party today left divided between those who loved the high quality food and those who felt the value for money could have been better. The friendly staff helped to make it a good lunch option in the city centre!

Quality Food:         8.40
Quality Drinks:      7.20
Value:                     5.60
Service:                  8.00
Ambience:             7.20
Overall:                  7.00
Bill - 2 steak Tacos, Day of the Dead IPA + small tip:          £12

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Comments:
- Really tender meat on the tacos. Would have to order a lot to fill full however.
- I had two great tasting portions of tacos, but left hungry and poor.
- Portions were very small - would have been better with starter & tacos as the waiter suggested. The hip hop was bangin' though. Word.
- Had 2 lots of 2 tacos: pork shoulder and steak Very nice tacos, good fillings and flavours, and range of hot sauces for the side. A good range of Mexican beers. Service was quick and friendly. Quality over quantity and so not cheap.

Yes Sushi

Yes Sushi, not to mistaken with the national chain Yo Sushi, is a Japanese restaurant on the corner of Hanover Street and Thistle Street. In Far East style, the window menus try and tempt the passer by with colourful pictures of the food on offer. Once inside we were presented with a large informal space.

The menu was quite long and colourful, providing many pictures to tempt the prospective diner. There were all the usual suspects found on a Japanese menu, including many sushi options, katsu curry, tempura, miso soup, teriyaki and udon noodles. If you are there in the middle of the day, you should also consider the good value bento box options, all coming with a bonus miso soup. The beer selection included the trilogy of Asahi, Kirin and Soppora - all very popular lagers local to Japan. Other drink options included sake and a selection of Japanese teas.

First arrived the ubiquitous miso soup as a starter and it did well to wet ones appetite. Then the mains arrived, with the bento box being the popular option. The bento box was very sizeable for a lunch time serving, I selected option 'A' which included tonkatsu, sashimi, rice and salad. The food was just lacking a wee bit in flavour, the wasabi did not have the oomph that you expect and the salad ingredients looked slightly limp.

I have to point out that the service on our visit was particularly disorganised. Four of our dishes arrived for our party of five, with the last one taking close to ten minutes to arrive. We had to ask the waiter three times about the missing dish before it arrived. Not sure if waiter did not quite understand (something lost in translation? excuse the pun) or the kitchen just did not have all the dishes ready at the same time. This had happened on a previous visit,  to one of the members of our party, so it does not sound like an isolated incident. The restaurant was not really that busy and there were at least two people waiting the tables, so it all seemed slightly inexcusable.

The city centre does not have many sushi options,  so without the competition you could well consider this as an option if you are in the mood for this type of food. I would however suggest that if you are willing to walk a bit further, that there are other satellite options that provide a better experience.

Quality Food                      7.20    
Quality Drinks                   7.40
Value                                  6.80
Service                               4.20
Ambience                           5.40
Overall                               6.00

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Bill - Bento box, miso soup, sapporo and small tip:  £14

Comments:
- Had a tasty Katsu curry, prices were good, but service a bit disorganised.
- My hot beef noodle soup was tasty. However - place was a little cold, and waiter forgot to serve one of us.
- They forgot one of the dishes. Food a bit bland
- Good food - Bento Box D was very tasty with perfect rice, pork tonkatsu, king prawn and veg tempura and a salad with interesting pickles. Service wasn't as great with one of our party waiting 20 mins for their food.

Bar Soba

Bar Soba presents itself as a stylish bar that focuses on Pan Asian food and drink. After its success with two venues in Glasgow, it decided to extend its growing empire to Hanover Street, Edinburgh. We sat on some high stools and started perusing the menus.

Keeping within the Pan Asian theme, the beer menu was a selection of mainly lagers from Asia and USA. Kirin, Cobra and Blue Moon all making an appearance here. The beers were not cheap - all priced close to the £5 mark for a pint, however this is no surprise considering that they are all imported. There was also a large selection of cocktails on offer, however, we felt that this might be a bit much on a work lunch!

The food which was a mixture of Pan Asian street style food. The competitively priced lunch offer is two courses for £8.95, a starter and main included. Many countries made an appearance on the menu, there was Thai green curry,  Japanese tempura and Vietnamese chicken wings. I am often a bit skeptical how a restaurant can specialise in so many cuisines, so I decided to keep on the side of caution and ordered the spring rolls and green curry.

We went for the option to get both courses delivered at the same time - good to see that consideration is provided for the lunch time office worker! The food was well presented and arrived in good time. The spring rolls were the standout of my two courses, large, crisp with a nice accompanying chilli sauce. The green curry was middle of the road, the flavour of the sauce was decent enough however the chicken seemed a bit sparse in the sauce. The courses were definitely sizeable, especially considering the fact it was a part of a deal - the Pad thai ordered next to me looked particularly filling!

Bar Soba provides a good value option if you are in the area and fancy some Far Eastern food. If however you are looking for something more authentic, I would recommend that you visit a more personalised establishment.

Quality Food                     7.75
Quality Drinks                   7.75
Value                                 7.88
Service                               7.13
Ambience                           6.88
Overall                               7.50

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Bill - Vegetarian spring rolls, green chicken curry, pint Cobra, small tip:   £15

Comments:
- Very nice food and beer. Good value.
- I do like the food in this place and the service was quicker than last time we went.
- Excellent value for money. Food was very tasty. Bringing both courses together is a good idea for a work lunch.
- Nice that ribs, good pad thai, and good selection of beer. The lunch menu meant that orders were take quickly and it was all delivered to our table of 8 in good time. I liked the music
- The lunch deal menu has been narrowed to a smaller selection. I ordered pork belly and was served straight up pork, although the curry was tasty it was not what I ordered. Dreadful Ska music was pumped through out the bar. Its OK lunch venue but gone down hill since my last lunch trip.
- Good lunch deal with decent quantities.

The Dogs

Walking up some stairs from Hanover Street, The Dogs presents itself as a stylish bar and restaurant specialising in British cuisine. In line with the name there are several references to dogs in this venue, no surprise there is the dog in the logo, there are dog statues at the entrance and  there is a huge image of a dog behind the bar, its eyes piercing through you as you sit down.

Perusing the drinks menu, there is a well selected range of wines and beers. There is no beer on draught, however, this is made up for with its excellent selection of bottled beers. Williams - a reliable brewery has several entries on the list, including Joker IPA, Birds and Bees and a slow brewed larger called Ceilidh 90. Local brewery Barney's also had a couple of options on show, their IPA being a popular selection amongst the clientele today!

The Dogs has a very down to earth British inspired food menu. What is great about the food here, is that it is freshly prepared to a level that most pubs don't bother with these days. We are talking hand cut chips, cooked the old fashioned way in dripping. The burger is hand made down to the bread - there is no factory bun to be seen here! This is really the way that food should be. Most of the dishes are also keenly priced at the £7-8 mark. I had the chicken and tarragon pie, with big chunks of potato and mushrooms and a moistness that is not often seen in chicken breast. The only small warning I would make is there can be a bit of discrepancy in size between some of the dishes.  The burger and fish and chips are easily self sufficient, however the chicken pie and sausage hash dishes could benefit from having a side if you are hungry.

Everything about the dogs has had a high level of thought put into it. I have visited it on several occasions and I can say that it has always been able to deliver a reliable and efficient option for a great lunch.

Quality Food                    7.83

Quality Drinks                  8.33

Value                                7.83

Service                             8.17

Ambience                         7.67

Overall                              8.00

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Bill - Chicken Tarragon Pie, Barney's IPA, small tip: £12

Comments:

- Great pulled pork sandwich, washed down with local brew Barney's pale ale. Only grumble is I'm still hungry - should have gone for a pudding also.

- Good range of food with some original ideas. Nice choice of beer too.

- Haggis and Cumberland sausage hash with whisky sauce. V. tasty. Good value although you really need two courses to fill yourself up.

- Great quality food and nice vibe

Miros Cantina Mexicana

Miros Cantina Mexicana, tucked away at the Charlotte Square end of Rose Street, offers an authentic and intimate Mexican experience in the heart of Edinburgh. You step inside to a fresh and colourful interior, which even on the dreariest days, uplifts your mood and puts a smile on your face!

To start with, Miros has an excellent range of Mexican beers that goes well beyond the ubiquitous Corona. They have on their regular menu other options including Negra Modelo and Pacifico, all upgradable to either chelada, which adds salt and lemon to the glass or for the more adventurous michelada, which also adds chilli to the mix! On top of that they also have a beer specials board which has beers you probably never heard of including 'Ferry Porter' and 'Death rides a pale horse' IPA! Lastly, there is also a good looking cocktails which has a range of margaritas and other fun sounding cocktails.

Michela

The huge plate of nachos arrived for our starter to share. Now, I am normally don't get that excited about nachos, however, I do have to say that the nachos at Miros really impress me! They are definitely one of the star features. The plate was full of tortilla crisps, cheese, tomato salsa, guacamole, fresh herbs and we also got the upgrade of the beef chilli.  It was big and filling and is definitely the way nachos should be!

Miros also has a well priced selection of lunch time mains mostly around the £7-8 mark. You could select off the taco specials menu or the main menu containing a good mix of the familar including enchiladas and fajitas or the more unusual 'borrego con miel', which contained shredded lamb with honey and smoked chilli. The tacos proved popular, which had a wide selection of fillings and could come with either a flour or corn shell. The food tasted fresh, was a good size for lunch, used good quality ingredients and had a good amount of spice to it. This is definitely some of the better Mexican food to be had in town!

Miros Cantinia Mexicana delivers on all fronts and does not drop in its scores in any category. The place has been visited several times, by several members of multiple teams on my floor at work and consistently everyone raves about it! Would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area or if not you should consider making a special trip to be in the area!

Quality Food                     9.20
Quality Drinks                   9.00
Value                                 8.60
Service                              8.60
Ambience                          9.00
Overall                               9.20

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Bill - Large nacho plate with beef chilli (shared amongst 5), chicken enchiladas, Pacifico michelada and tip:        £14

Comments:
- This place is just fab and has best nachos in town!
- Best Nachos in town, and very good steak tacos. Enjoyed the Pay the Ferryman porter and Negra Modelo beer.
- One of the best Mexicans in Edinburgh.
- I love this place, it’s just like being in Mexico. The Nachos are to die for, the Steak in the fajita was perfect, the "Death rides a pale horse" IPA beautiful. The Music was also bangin. Best restaurant in Edinburgh.

Jeremiah's

Jeremiah's Taproom is a recently renovated pub in Elm Row, crossing the barrier of where the New Town starts to transform into Leith. Previously occupying the premises of the Elm Bar, Jeremiah's is now portraying a new image of craft beer and burgers, so we decided to head there for our Friday lunch!

Jeremiah's has a solid selection of beers on draught. Local tastes were well catered for with the ubiquitous Deuchers and Belhaven and the very local Leith Pilot- with a interesting cloudy looking beer described as a Vienna Pale. The rest of the selection includes a Scottish favourite Williams Caesar Augustus and the, further afield,  Brooklyn Lager from the USA.

The food menu provides a variety of non fussy food including fish and chips and some salad options. What dominates the menu, however, is the large selection of burgers. There is a large variety of toppings on offer including the, not for the calorie conscious, wolf pack, which includes haggis, egg and hash brown included with the patty. Most toppings include the option of either beef, chicken or veggie patties, with pulled pork, lamb burger and halloumi being custom options as well.

The food arrived promptly and was interestingly presented in a large wooden box. The size of the portions were decent and not pushing into the realms of gluttony. Chips were freshly cooked and crisp but did not have that hand cut edge to them. Burger was wholesome and definitely satisfying.

Jeremiah's delivers on all fronts to provide a good all round experience. The service was friendly and prompt, the surroundings clean and crisp, a decent selection of food and the strongest point was the excellent range of beers. Would recommend giving a go if you are in the area!

Quality Food                      7.50

Quality Drinks                   8.33

Value                                    7.00

Service                                 7.67

Ambience                           7.17

Overall                                 7.50

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Bill - Pulled pork burger, pint Pilot Vienna Pale, small tip:    £15

Comments:

- Great burger with fries and great pint.

- Can recommend the pulled pork burger. Nice presentation too.

- Good tasty burgers and great range of beers.

- Good pub offering good pub food with a broad selection of beers. Looking for a nice pub lunch at the top of Leith then this is to be recommended.

- Great selection of beer, excellent burger and fries, and service was pretty fast.

Siam Square

Occupying the space where 9 cellars used to be, Siam Square advertises a mix of Thai food, bar and karaoke. With wild splashes of colour the website portrays the image of a hip party location, so how does it stack up for Friday lunch?

The restaurant did not get off to good start, as it appeared to be closed on arrival. After confirming on the door the opening time was indeed 12:00 (by now it was 12:10) and knocking for a couple of minutes, an apologetic waiter came and opened up for us. We then descended several levels into a maze like basement (it was certainly as cold as one), we were then seated and ordered a round of Singha beers on draught.

We were handed the lunch menus which had a reasonable sounding lunch deal of two courses for £9.95. The menu was dominated with Thai classics including tom yum soup, green curry and pad thai. I decided to go on the safe side with a tom yum soup and green chicken curry.

We then had to wait an extraordinary long time for our two courses to arrive. The waiter was friendly however the entire operation seemed disorganised. When the food did arrive it was very average. The ingredients seemed a bit sparse with just a couple of slices of veg in both my soup and curry. The flavours were not very strong and the sauces were on the watery side.

The best thing one could say about Siam Square is they had Singha beer on draught which is a bit rare in a Thai restaurant. You could give the benefit of doubt that the they are still a bit new and finding their feet on the ground, however there would have to be a lot of improvements before I would consider a revisit.

Quality Food                      5.17       

Quality Drinks                    6.17

Value                                 6.67

Service                              3.17

Ambience                          4.17

Overall                               4.67

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Bill - Tom Yum soup, green chicken curry and pint Singha beer:   £14

Comments:

- Food was tasty - but ingredients were cheap, presentation was basic, room was cold, restaurant was locked when we arrived, service was slow and appologetic, restaurant

was a maze... but the beer was good

- There is way better Thai food in Edinburgh. Service was a total shambles.

- Not great, and very slow.

- Cold and slow dishing up poor quality food. Draft Singha was its only saving grace. Not recommended.

- Good value but the service was too slow for lunchtime. The food was good but not great.

Bellevue Bar

Tucked away at the bottom of Broughton Street and the corner of London Street is the recently renovated Bellevue bar. Broughton Street has quite a selection of rustic pubs and the Bellevue is aiming for a slightly smarter look. The beer selection is not extensive, however adequate having the local Deuchers and West options on draught. Drink in hand we started perusing the menu!

Monday to Friday, the Bellevue have a competitively sounding two courses for £10 lunch deal. On first inspection, it is wee bit confusing as to what this actually entails, however, you essentially pick something from the left of the menu (snacks and small things) and the right (mains except steak). The menu has a good mixture of pub classics and slightly more elaborate options, trying to cater for all tastes. The snacks and small things sounded particularly interesting including courgettes with Isle of Mull cheddar and houmous with warm rolls. I decided on the courgettes and sea bream as a main, the others mainly opted for the ubiquitous burger option.

The quality of the food was really good. It was all freshly prepared on premises and very well executed. The starters were particularly good and quite big considering they were part of a deal. The hand cup chips looked big and fat, just the way you want them! It was good to see them being cut on premises as I past the kitchen on the way to get a drink at the bar. This is definitely much better than your average pub fair and the value for money was just outstanding!

The service was friendly however a wee bit slow considering we were the only people there. I was surprised we were actually the only people there the entire time we were there. Maybe the place is just slightly out of striking distance for a lot of office workers. However if you are in the area during the week and are looking for an excellent value lunch I would definitely recommend giving the Bellevue Bar a go!

Quality Food                     8.25

Quality Drinks                   8.00

Value                                 9.25

Service                              7.25

Ambience                          7.50

Overall                               8.25

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Bill - Courgette with cheddar on toast, Pan fried crispy sea bream, pint Deuchers   - £14 

Comments:

- Really Nice new Gastro pub. The French Onion soup was excellent , nice big Cruton with cheese. Good fish with Batter and a good selection of beers. £10 what a deal. Staff very friendly and the bar was just been renovated and very cool.

- Cracking place for lunch, great quality food and 2 courses for £10! Highly recommended lunch spot.

- Excellent value for £10 and one of the nicest burgers I've had.

- Really nice freshly cooked food. Great value lunch deal. Service could have been a bit faster considering we were the only people there.

Ashoka

Ashoka have been steadily building an empire of Indian restaurants in and around Glasgow and have recently expanded out East. The first restaurant they have opened in Edinburgh is of the buffet variety and they offer a very competitive all you can eat lunch option for £6.95. With many oriental themed buffets close by how does it compete?

The drill was pretty simple, on arrival pickup up a plate, fill it with food, sit down and start eating. I decided to structure my plates on a course themed basis. The first plate consisted of mainly deep fried starters, plate two curry and rice and the third plate puddings. There were the usual suspects on offer, including pakoras, rice, naan, various meat curries and tarka daal. Also curiously there were some not very Indian sounding options including chow mein, potato wedges and prawn crackers. Pudding included ice cream, and the more authentic sweet gulab jamun.

The food to begin with is quite addictive and you feel the macho need to out eat your colleagues. After a while you start realise how salty the food and you should probably stop before you start to feel ill... There was also some complaints over the expensive 660ml cobra beers at nearly £6 a bottle, so be careful or you could easily spend more on drinks than food. I however had a mango lassi which was was a good accompaniment to the quite heavy meal.

Ashoka has polarised the members of our lunch club more so than any other option. The scores were all over the place, ranging from 2 to 10 with pretty much everything in between. Some people love stuffing their face with as much curry as they can stomach and others felt that spring rolls and chow mein at a Indian buffet is just wrong. One thing that we were all able to agree on is that it is hard to argue against the value of three plates of curry £6.95.

Quality Food                      5.88

Quality Drinks                    6.63

Value                                  8.63

Service                               6.13

Ambience                           5.75

Overall                                6.50

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Bill: Curry buffet, mango lassi, small tip:    £11

Comments:

- Enjoyed my 4 dishes but I'm totally stuffed

- Good tasty food on a budget.

- Everything pretty average. Can't think of anything more to say. Lost the advantage of the cheap buffet spending the same again on 1 beer !!!

- Watery curry slopped up with dried rice and greasy nan. Just another eat all you can hell hole for the east coasters...

Cafe Marlayne (Thistle Street)

The edge of the New Town has quite strong competition for French food, with four cafes all within two blocks of each other. Cafe Marlayne has an intimate feel to it, with only one waiter and seating for around twenty people. It has a nice rustic feel, with wooden tables and large bright windows looking out on to the lane.

The food menu is simple and compact, with a handful of options for both starters and mains. It is hand written on a piece of paper implying that it probably changes regularly. Starters included a soup, pate and salad all priced around the £4-5 mark. The mains ranged from fish, rib eye steak, pork belly and lamb meatballs all of which apart from the rib eye are priced reasonably under £10.  It was also comforting to get bread to start and a side of potato and beans with main included in the price.

The most popular option on this visit was definitely the Moroccan lamb meatballs. This came in its own casserole dish and contained freshly minced lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce, with shredded carrots all topped with a fried egg with a side of herbed bread. The other popular option was the pork belly with a pea puree and salsa verde. The quality of the food was really excellent, all well cooked with good quality fresh ingredients. The portion sizes were good for lunch, you did not leave stuffed however, still felt well fed. This was all washed down with a decent selection of French wines.

The only small downsize on this visit was slightly slow and inattentive service. There was only one waiter serving however the cafe was only about half full. The mains just took that little bit longer than you would expect and people were asking for more bread as we were starting to get quite hungry. The bill also took close to ten minutes to arrive after requesting it, probably not helped with the waitress being on the phone for a reasonably long period of time.

Cafe Marlayne distinguishes itself from the competition with its outstanding food and small intimate feel. Apart from the small hiccup with its slow service, I would definitely recommend it and look forward to revisiting myself!

Quality Food                                      8.29

Quality Drinks                                    7.14

Value                                                  7.29

Service                                               6.14

Ambience                                           7.00

Overall                                               7.57

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Bill - Moroccan meatballs, glass of house red + small tip:      £15

Comments:

- Thoroughly enjoyable lunch - a lovely slice of pork belly, accompanied by pea puree, salsa verde, pancetta, potatoes and green beans, washed down with a glass of house red. It didn't fill me, but then we skipped a starter.

- Service a bit on the slow side, but compensated for by the food.

- The food is the star attraction here, good french cooking! I would have liked a larger beer menu, service was OK. Would recommend for lunch.

- Really good food. Service could have been a wee bit more switched on.

Chachalaca

Hanover Street seems to becoming a mecca for lunch deals and new kid on the block is the Mexican restaurant Chachalaca! Their deal is two courses for £7.50 and you can throw in a beer (Corona) or glass or of wine for an extra £2.50 - obviously trying to tempt the diner with an all inclusive lunch for £10. So how does this compete with the already stiff competition?

The food menu had the usual array of Mexican classics. The starters featured Nachos, Quesadillas and the mains included Fajitas, Burrito, Chilli Con Carne and Spicy chilli burger. The service did not get off to a good start as unfortunately, the waiter was loud and quite rude. After being shouted at that we could not order the pork or beef burrito today we all managed to get our order in.

For a starter I ordered the quesadillas. They tasted a little bit soggy and not overly spicy and took a wee while to arrive. For a main I went for the chicken burrito, again could have been a wee bit more spicy. The meals were a pretty decent size considering the price, we left feeling full but not stuffed. You get the feeling food was not really that authentic and maybe a bit too westernised, but for £7.50 are you really going to complain?

If you wanted to go off piste away from the lunch menu there was a menu that had more extensive options on it. Also the drinks menu did have some more interesting Mexican beers present if you were willing to spend a few extra pounds. The decor was reasonably forgettable and lacked much of the way of any Mexican feel.

By far the strongest point of Chachalaca is the value of the lunch deal. The view of the diners on this visit was divided. Some thought the food was great and marked it highly, others thought the food was a bit average and marked it down. At the end of the day regardless of any minor qualms, two courses and a beer for £10 is really hard to argue against.

Quality Food                      7.33
Quality Drinks                   6.67
Value                                  8.89
Service                                6.33
Ambience                           6.78
Overall                                7.33

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Bill - Quesadillas, chicken burrito, Corona + tip:            £11

Comments:
- Had the mini nachos and mini steak fahjitas, very tasty and pretty filling. Good value for lunchtime.
- Two courses and a beer for a tenner is always a winner. I wasn't so impressed with the nachos or the chilli con carne - enjoyable but didn't blow me away.
- As ever a "mexican" restaurant serving food that is nothing like what you get in mexico, natch amigo! Chili con napalm is a british mutation of bolognaise and nothing to do with mexico what so ever. However putting that aside it was good value lunch though I scored drinks down as Im not a fan of watery mexican beer. The waiter was a wierdo.
- Great values for money starter + main + beer £10 Doroda starter and lunch BUrrito (Beef) were very tasty. Funky restaruant.
- No complaints about two courses of decent food for £7.50. Service not so good as the previous visit though
- Can't argue about the price

Voodoo Rooms

Tucked away upstairs on West Register street, the Voodoo Rooms are very central, however you have to be 'in the know' to be able to find it. Once you climb the stairs, you are presented with a swish looking bar, with ornate antique ceilings and comfortable leather-like seating. The Voodoo Rooms are a popular place to be drinking cocktails on a Saturday night, but how does it fair for a lunch time spot?

The friendly staff showed us to our seats and then asked if we wanted a drink. They had a fairly limited selection of draught lagers including Tennents and Staropramen, the latter being the more popular choice. Was I in the wrong mindset and should have I been thinking of drinking a lunch time cocktail instead?

The lunch time menu sounded a little more interesting and varied than your usual pub. This included a spiced Lamb burger with feta and cucumber and a chicken, bacon and tarragon pie. I  thought the stuffed chicken with sun dried tomatoes on the specials board sounded interesting, so decided to order that. Unfortunately the mains sounded better than their execution. The ingredients in my chicken dish were fine however the dish was just a bit bland. There was also nothing really in the way of veg and no option to order it as a side. The burger eaters did not seem overly excited with their choices either.

We left the Voodoo Rooms feeling like there was more style than substance. It is much easier to recommend it as a Friday drinks venue than a lunch time eating, which probably explains why it is often busy at night and was nearly empty during our visit.

Quality Food                      5.50
Quality Drinks                    6.00
Value                                  5.00
Service                               6.50
Ambience                           5.75
Overall                               5.50

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Bill - Stuffed chicken with sun dried tomato,  pint Staropramen, small tip:        £15

Comments:
- menu gone down hill and place lacks ambience
- I had the lamb burger which was tasty but the feta cheese and cucumber toppings did not hit the spot for me. Very pleasant surroundings to have lunch but quite quiet with not too many customers about.
- Food a bit bland. Would be better to have a better range of beer.
- Feta + cucumber + burger = wrong / urine aroma = hmmm

Burger Meats Bun

After their success in Glasgow, Burger Meats Bun has decided to try their luck in Edinburgh and open up a new restaurant just off Broughton Street. On arrival, the impression is of an upmarket diner, providing a nice relaxed atmosphere. As the name implies, the simple menu is entirely dominated by burgers and the common sides that would accompany this type of meal. There are two to three options for beef and chicken burgers and the ubiquitous veggie mushroom burger. They also had a specials board with a interesting sounding pork belly burger with beetroot and pickled cabbage. This can all be washed down with a decent selection of drinks, including a rotating west coast beer on draught and a cocktail special!

The burgers did not arrive on a plate however came wrapped up in paper, like a fast food joint. Once unwrapped, one was presented with a very sizeable looking gourmet burger. The ingredients were good quality all wrapped up in a very tasty brioche bun. The sides were also all well executed, no surprises that the chips were the popular option! I would also recommend upgrading the chips to the cheese or thai chilli cheese as the extra pound looked definitely worth it! However, having the sides as an extra does increase the cost!

On leaving, the opinion of the table was divided into two camps. The first camp thought the quality of the burgers and chips was great, going back to the office in a very cheery mood. The second camp felt that £15 was quite expensive for what was essentially a burger, chips and a pint of beer. Burger Meats Bun can offer you one of the best burgers on town, however you have to be careful to not allow the sides and drinks to creep up the bill.

Quality Food                      8.11

Quality Drinks                    7.89

Value                                 6.33

Service                              7.78

Ambience                          7.67

Overall                               7.56

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Bill - Hot chic burger, chips and pint beer plus small tip:        £16

Comments:

- Good quality burger - a bit expensive

- Fiery Burger had a lovely sauce and a great bun. Fries were lovely. Great selection of quality bottled ales/lagers. I like the Diner style ambiance, simple yet classy.

- Best burger so far! The draught beer was great and service was quick and friendly. Maybe a bit expensive for a Friday lunch but overall very very good.

- I had the pork belly burger. V. nice and great chips too. Hard to fault the place and looking forward to going back.

- One of the tastiest burgers I've had - pork belly in a bun. This, together with a pint, chips and a few chicken wings has left me completely stuffed, but content.

- pork belly bun was great, very tasty chips with cheese and bacon.

- Tasty burger and nice place, would of liked a plate instead of a bit of paper. The Cambridge still delivers the better burger....