Taste of Italy

Taste of Italy is owned by the Vittoria group, which own the well regarded Vittoria restaurants and La Favorita pizzerias. While the Vittoria restaurants provides a formal dining setting, in contract Taste of Italy is the opposite end of the spectrum, supplying a quick cheap and cheerful pizza and pasta cafe.

Taste of Italy does not take any bookings so we tried to arrive early during our lunch break to secure a table. At 12:15 all the large tables at the back were already occupied, so we settled for some high seats in the front area of the cafe. By 12:30 the place was completely full and people were being turned away, so we thought the popularity was a promising sign for the food to come.

For our drinks order the Italian Morretti beer they have on draught was the popular option. The menu was quite extensive, with some of the main sections headed pizza, pasta and burger. The prices sounded very reasonable, with a plate of pasta going for around £6 and a 10" pizza going for £4.95. I opted for the Spaghetti Alla Norma, which consisted of fried aubergine in a tomato, basil and ricotta cheese sauce. I was presented with a large freshly cooked bowl of pasta which was simple and filling, however did not completely stuff me.

The staff all seemed enthusiastic and helpful, provided a cheerful atmosphere to this busy cafe. A quality bowl of pasta and pint of Italian lager for under £10 represents a great value lunch option.

Quality Food                     7.00

Quality Drinks                   6.67

Value                                 8.00

Service                              7.67

Ambience                          7.50

Overall                               7.33

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Bill (including tip)               £10

Comments:

- The spaghetti carbonara was tasty and not too heavy, and at £6 for a generous portion, pretty good value.

- I arrived with low expectations and pleasantly surprised by the quality of food. The place was buzzing as well.

- Great vibe in this little cafe, and enjoyed a fine tasting meal.

- Very generous portions for £5.50 with a quality beer (Moretti) on tap. I went for the Penne Picanti which was suitably spicy. Quick service. All in for less than a tenner. No complaints. Would happily go there again for lunch.

- Fresh plate of pasta with an Italy cheer - liked this place.

- Good value, tasty food and friendly service, better for a small group.

Conan Doyle

My attention was caught to a lunch deal when I was walking past, £6 for a meal with a drink thrown in. Selections included some pub classics including bangers and mash and fish and chips. I thought this sounded pretty cheap and was pleased this included a drink, as some places tempt you in with good lunch deal and then up the price for the drink. Thought this was worth a try!

On entering the Conan Doyle, you are presented with an old classic pub feel. Lots of dark wood and carpets, no music, just the background sound of busy chatter. Some attendees were of the opinion that the place had been refurbished fairly recently and the agreement was that they had done a pretty good job. We were seated on a large table in a large open window area, presenting a very nice view seeing the world go past.

Most people could not go past the excellent value lunch deal, with the sausage based options being the popular choices. A couple of people decided to veer off into the main menu, being tempted by the large sounding burger options. The house ale was the fine local Deuchers IPA, which is what most people opted for. The food sizings were pretty good for the money and was freshly cooked. The service was a little un-attentive, however we left with no real complaints.

Quality Food                     7.00

Quality Drinks                   7.11

Value                                 8.11

Service                             6.67

Ambience                          7.44

Overall                               7.33

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Price: £6.00

Comments:

- Great option for decent grub and a pint for 7 quid.

- Pleasantly surprised. Obviously been done up since I was last in. Very good value for money.

- Good value food for £7. No Frills. Pint of Deuchars IPA chucked in, but i've had a better pint. The decore and atmos on the pub is very nice. Its been done up and much better than before. Would definatly go back.

- Good value for what I paid for. Sausage sandwich with chips could have been a lot worse, and I washed this down with a fine pint of Deuchers IPA.

- Great value lunch deal. Nice comfy chairs and very pleasant view in the bay window area. Service was a bit slow and unattentive.

- Better than I expected, a decent pub lunch all in all

Cosmo Pan Asian and World Banquet Dining

Cosmo Pan Asian and World Banquet Dining, now that is certainly a mouthful! Recently opened in 2013 in the site of the old nightclub Mood, it is centrally located at the side of the Omni centre.

Looking at the menu online, this place offers a buffet of cuisines including Chinese, Singapore, Thailand, Sushi, Indian, Pizza, Caribbean, Mexican and British! A lot of adjacent teams in the office had visited and had been raving about this place, so it was decided that we needed to send in the professionals! Will it live up to the hype??

So we arrived and were handed a plate and told to go for it. Quickly scanning the drinks menu, I was pleasantly surprised to see a few draught beers on offer, all reasonably priced at around £3.00 each. No guest ales, however this really isn't really that kind of place. After perusing the food options, it was pretty easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of choice, so I came back with a chicken and corn soup to consider my strategy.

Plate 1: Indian. Lamb Rogan josh, mix veg curry, pilau rice. Decent start, curry sauce a bit watery but reasonable flavor. Could be a bit more spicy.
Plate 2: Thai. Thai fried rice, beef red curry. Beef was a bit rubbery and again a little watery. Not the best plate of food over lunch.
Plate 3. Chinese. Prawn cracker, spring roll, egg fried rice, mix veg, stir fried courgette, stir fry chicken. Better than your average Chinese buffet food. Think the turn over of the Chinese food is a bit better than other cuisines.
Plate 4. Pudding. Fresh grapes and melon, chocolate cake and carrot cake. Good variety of pudding on offer. Not too heavy however a bit bland.

The general consensus was the the value for money was unbelievable. There was also agreement that the food quality was definitely good compared to your average buffet as well. Definitely came away not hungry. 

Quality Food                     7.25

Quality Drinks                   7.71

Value                                9.75

Service                              7.38

Ambiance                          7.63

Overall                               7.75

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Comments:

- Probably one of the better buffets in town.

- Definitely the best buffet nosh I have ever had and very good value for money. Would definitely go again.

- AMAZING. Love the buzz in the restaurant and very nice design. Choice and Quality of food was top notch, unlimited for £7.99 whats not to like !!!!!!

- Food was good not great but value was off the chart.

- Very clean, modern restaurant with a nice relaxed atmosphere. Variety of food was amazing and the quality was good but not great. Fantastic value and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

- Brilliant selection of food, bottomless soft drinks and great value for money. Only marked down by having to wait 20 minutes to get an empty glass for my drink.

Guildford Arms

The Guildford Arms is hidden in the lanes behind Princes street and St Andrew's Square. It is very central, however has the feeling that you have to know it is there. It shares the block with the slightly posh Cafe Royal and fancy Voodoo rooms - I would suggest that it is the more down to earth of the three.

The interior is as you would expect from an old Georgian pub, lots of dark wood panelling adjoining the walls with a large central bar. The restaurant is tucked away at the top of the pub. It gives the diner a personal space with dedicated table service. It opens has a view down to the main bar area, allowing you to suck up the atmosphere of the busy pub below.

The Guildford caters very well for the beer drinker, with an excellent selection of local beers on tap. The popular choices being the IPA and slightly stouty Orkney Brewery Dark Island. While we were perusing the menu we were given some complimentary bread which was a good bonus. The menu was dominated by pub classics like burger, fish and chips and Steak Pie. These were all priced a the £9-10 mark. There was also a more pricey grill section where one could order a steak. Most people opted for the pie and it came in a deep dish, with large chunks of tender meat, drowned a in dark and full gravy. Rounding off the meal was some vegetables and your choice of chips or potatoes. The food was good quality, definitely better than your average pub, the price however was considered high by some. The waitress was also polite and helpful.

Quality Food                     7.29

Quality Drinks                   8.71

Value                                 6.14

Service                              7.57

Ambience                          7.86

Overall                              7.14

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Price per head including tip: £16

Comments:

- I chose badly. Lemon shouldn't feature in a sausage.

- Great place to come if you are after honest pub grub. Great selection of drinks. I had the burger - which seemed well cooked, with a good salad on the side.

- Outstanding drinks selection with good quality pub food!

- Lots of meat and gravy in the Steak Pie. A good pint and a good buzz to the pub. Downside Expensive.

- I think this was a more convincing pie than other venues. Girl serving the table was helpful and the choice of beers was excellent.

Leaderboard:

1. La P'tite Folie                8.50
2. Port of Siam                 8.29

3. Queens Arms               7.86

4. La Lanterna                  7.80

5. Chez Jules                   7.29

=6 Newsroom                   7.14

=6 Guildford Arms          7.14

Port Siam Newtown

Thai food in Edinburgh is a usually bit hit and miss. There are some good options however you normally have to pay for it. I don't think there is the competition that you get with other cuisines, notably Indian food. I found this place to be highly rated on Tripadvisor, so thought it would be worth a try. The lunch deal of two courses for £9.95 also sounded very tempting.

After nearly losing half the lunch party, on the zig zag short cut through the back streets of the New Town, we arrived and ordered some drinks. Most people were tempted by the San Miguel lager on tap and seeing draught beer available is always a nice touch for a restaurant. I decided to go for the more authentic Singha beer in the bottle.

We ordered some prawn crackers and scanned the menu. The lunch menu is quite compact while still providing a variety of options. For a starter the popular options were the satay chicken sticks and the tom yum soup. The soup definitely had a very good and fragrant flavour to it. Due to the nature of Thai food, the curries were the favourite for people's main course. The options being massamam curry (peanut coconut) and the quite interesting basa red curry with the slightly unusual catfish fillets. The ingredients were fresh and the portions were a good size, especially for the price we were paying, The spice factor was quite reasonable and not overpowering. Would definitely recommend to anyone in Edinburgh who is looking for a decent Thai lunch.

Quality Food                     8.43

Quality Drinks                   7.57

Value                                 8.14

Service                              8.29

Ambience                           7.86

Overall                                8.29

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Comments

- Excellent value for money. Once of the best Thai meals I've had.

- Very good food, only criticism is that the presentation of the main course could have been slightly better.

- Very nice food, good atmosphere, and value.

- Very enjoyable couple of dishes: a soup followed by noodles. Great flavours, with fresh ingredients.

- Can't fault really. Best Thai I've been in. Even the chocolates that came with the bill were good.

- For me OK. Nice staff and restaurant. Good very good nothing special.