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!
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
Quality Drinks
Value
Service
Ambience
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.
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