Papavero

Papavero advertises itself as 'Fine Italian and Scottish Restaurant in Edinburgh...'. Reading this I thought what does this actually mean? We sent in our crew to find out!

It is situated slightly in no mans land on Howe street in the New Town. Too far away to be considered Stockbridge, however not really close to the buzz of the New Town either. There has been a series of restaurants inhabiting the premises in the past - most recently 'A Room in the New Town' owned by Teuchters Bars. So how are they going to be able to succeed where others in the past have failed?

We were lured in by their good value sounding lunch deal - two courses for £9.95 plus coffee. Perusing the menu it was a bit all over the place. Spaghetti bolognese and pizza definitely came from the Italian side of he menu. There was also a burger option and fish and chips, which I am guessing was supposed to be from the Scottish side.  Drinks menu was standard affair for a Italian restaurant - reasonable selection of wines with Peroni and Moretti beers also thrown in. I settled for a small glass of the Chianti wine.

For a starter I ordered a salad caprese. Buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, olive oil basil - reasonably well executed so off to a good start. For a main I decided on the sea bass and sautéed potatoes. Fish was nicely cooked in some herbs and topped with some cherry tomatoes. I was a little unsure however about the potatoes, they just seemed like round cut potatoes thrown in a deep frier, not too dissimilar to chips. The food used decent ingredients and was freshly cooked, it was fine however, nothing overwhelming. The people ordering the Italian dishes also felt the authenticity was highly questionable as well!

I would not suggest the service was particularly quick on our visit. To be fair they were dealing with a large group of eleven.  Never though was there any feeling of efficiency on our visit.  The waiter took over ten minutes to take all our orders and still he managed to miss someones main meal order. The place was virtually empty and so I don't know how it would cope with a busy lunch time crowd. In the end we had to skip our coffee as we had simply run out of time and had to head back to office.

If you have the time and are hungry, Papavero provides a good value lunch option in the New Town. The meals are a bit stodgy and you leave feeling that the restaurant is adequate, however nothing really that special.


Quality Food                     6.60
Quality Drinks                   6.20
Value                                 7.60
Service                               5.60
Ambience                           5.50
Overall                               6.30
Bill: Salad caprese, Sea Bass, small glass Chianti, small tip:   £13

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Comments:
- Service was pretty slow. Restaurant was quite cold but that could have been because it was empty. We were supposed to get coffee as part of the lunch deal. Other than that, it was good.
- The tomato soup starter was excellent and the spaghetti bolognese main course was very good as well. The service could have been a bit quicker but overall it was great.
- No great shakes for lunch and about as Italian as a haggis supper.
- Tomato soup stater very good. FIsh and chips were good enough. Nothing amazing but good value 2 courses for £10
- Large portions for a great price. Better than expected quality of food. Shame they forgot one of the orders.
- A bit slow however hard to deal with a large group. Good value lunch deal.

Mathers

Mathers is a no fuss pub situated at the top of Broughton street. Numbers were a bit low this week as the massive train disruptions in the morning left many stranded in Glasgow and Fife. The four cyclists in the team manage to persevere and arrived at the pub hungry and thirsty!

They atmosphere of this pub has real ale written all over it and a perusal of the bar did not disappoint! They had a decent selection of local beers including the popular Williams Caesar Augustus, Deuchers and two from Stewart brewery including their seasonal Christmas beer. I chose a pint of Copper Cascade and headed over the comfortable booth like tables up the back.

The menu was dominated by burgers with a few pub classics thrown in including sausages and mash and fish and chips. I decided to go with the Mathers 25 beef burger which came with peppers, hot sauce and sour cream and skinny chips.

The burger looked quite sizeable on arrival, big enough to pick up however a bit much to eat with your hands which is not a bad thing. They claim to hand make the burgers from Perthshire beef and the patty had plenty of moisture and flavour. Definitely better than what you would get from a chain pub however I have had better. The chips were ok, maybe a little bit thin for my liking. In all in was quite filling and good value for £8.45.

Mathers is not trying to do anything special, however manages to provide a relaxed environment to sink down a pint and eat a filling lunch.

Quality Food                     6.00
Quality Drinks                  7.50
Value                                7.50
Service                              7.50
Ambience                          6.50
Overall                              6.75

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Bill - Mathers 25 beef burger, Pint Stewart Copper Cascade, small tip:  £12

Comments:
- Perfectly fine burger and pint venue, though chips a bit too thin for my liking
- Very good selections of burgers and nice pub atmosphere. Non alchoholic Budvar also !!!!!
- middle of the road burger and a pint joint. Enjoyable, though the place seemed quiet.
- Good range of local beers

2014 - End Of Year Review

It has been a busy year with 42 different restaurants visited by the team. I have crunched the numbers through the lunch review statistical engine and come up with the following results. First onto the category awards!

Quality Food:

1. Howies                                          9.50

2. Miros Cantina Mexicana               9.20

3. La P'tite Folie                                8.90

The food quality at Howies was to a very high standard. It was also one of the few places where we were able sample their puddings!  Comments included 'best salmon I have ever eaten' and one person challenged that  their burger was even better than the Cambridge! Everyone seems to love the nachos at Miros and their mains are also very good. La P'tite Folie served up great French food and threw in lots of bonus bread and salad.

Quality Drinks:

1, Cambridge                                  9.13

2. Miros Cantina                              9.00

3. Guildford Arms                            8.71

No surprise that this section is dominated by pubs that have a large selection of craft beers. The Cambridge just edged to the top it as it had the Barney's beer and the rotating IPA tap. Miros scored highly with their Mexican beer specials menu, their michelada upgrades and their margaritas.

Value:

1. Cosmo                                           9.75

2. Bellevue                                         9.25

3. La Lanterna                                   9.20

No surprise number one is an all you can eat buffet for £8.99. Not the cheapest buffet we went to (£6.95) however they also did not try and charge through the roof for the beers. Could not beat the absolute variety of food on offer. The other entries had very good lunch deals. Bellevue (now The Ox) had two courses £10.00, the quality of food left us stunned at this price! La Lanterna's three courses for £4.95 provided us with one of our cheapest bills of the year!

Service:

1. Miros Cantina Mexicana              8.60

2. La P'tite Folie                               8.40

3. Port Siam                                     8.29

All these places provided friendly and efficient service giving us plenty of time to get back to the office in our allocated lunch hour.

Atmosphere:

1. Cumberland                                   9.00

2. Miros Cantina Mexicana                9.00

3. Cambridge                                     8.63

It is hard to beat sitting outside in the Cumberland beer garden on a hot day in July! Miros provides an intimate and colourful environment with some rocking Mexican tunes in the background. The Cambridge sets a standard that all pubs should aspire to.

Overall:

1. Miros Cantina Mexicana             9.20

2. Howies                                        9.00

3. La P'tite Folie                              8.50

Miros Cantina is the winner for 2014! Coming in second in 2013 it has taken top spot this year with its sheer consistency. It is hard to criticise the place, it provides the perfect environment to relax with a couple of beers, amazing nachos and friendly staff. 

Runner up, Howies is a really solid restaurant provided no fuss Scottish cuisine. What really makes it shine is the amazing value of their lunch deal. 

In a similar fashion, our second runner up La P'tite Folie provided great quality French food, wrapped up in a very good value lunch deal, with bonus bread and salad included. Just a shame that the Frederick Street restaurant is now closed, as the sister restaurant in the West End is not as good. 

Bottom

40. Voodoo Rooms                                         5.50

41. St Andrews Square Garden                      5.14

42. Siam Square                                             4.66

It wouldn't be a review without listing the three worst places this year!

At the bottom, Siam Square was a disaster from start to finish. We turned up to find the place closed and had to knock on the door to be let in. We were then lead through some maze like corridors and seated in a very cold basement. The food was very slow and quite tasteless when it finally arrived. There is just no way we are planning on going back! 

St Andrews Square Gardens brought a bunch of burger vans and festival prices to 

the centre of town in August, it did however provide a half decent environment to soak up the festival atmosphere! 

The Voodoo Rooms is just trying to be a bit too trendy for lunch. It was quite empty, looked a 

bit seedy in the day and the lamb burger with cucumber and feta just did not work very well.

To see the Full Leaderboard for 2014 click here Full Leaderboard

Best comments of 2014:

- 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.

- My hot beef noodle soup was tasty. However - place was a little cold, and waiter forgot to serve one of us.

- 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.

- 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

- Feta + cucumber + burger = wrong / urine aroma = hmmm

- 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.

- perfect lunch - pie and a pint

- Its the festy...rip off prices but good vibes

- Good place to hang out in the summer, would have found it better if the noodle guy hadn't slept in.

- Really cool place. Good selection of sauces. Could do with some more beer options. Staff were good fun and I like the StarWars theme !!!!

- Feels like I have been tourist slapped due to proximity of festival. Good food and drink just a shame about the attitude about the place.

- A sublime hand made burger topped with Ayrshire bacon and served with a delightful crispy salad and classic bun. Washed down with a chilled Ceasar August beer in the sun drenched heavenly beer garden of the 

Cumberland. Service was s***.

- I started with chicken from the lunch deal - fantastic flavours, as the chicken was roasted well, and stuffed with a herby cream paste. The veg was cooked to perfection (long beans and potatoes). This was 

followed by a "strawberry summer pudding". No Tesco jam in this - a kind of pie stuffed full of strawberries, topped with a home made jam and sauce, with cubes of ginger jelly on the side. Both for a tenner, 

and washed down with a bottled dark Scottish beer.

- Can't complain about the food for a fiver.

- Excellent food and a nice resuarant to eat in. Had my first Lhassi amazing hence the high mark for Drinks !!!!

- ¡Mi Enchiladas y Pacifico eran sabrosos!

- The bomb....

- Waiter was a good laugh. Quality of food and value of lunch deal great.

- At the risk of sounding w*nky, not sure everything on my plate went together, but it all tasted great.

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

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

- The service was a bit slow but I blame the pork belly people for that.

- Service a bit slow. Would not recommend this place for a date due to the amount of garlic used. Good variety of food at a good price.

- Way too long a wait for our food. Pie wasn't a pie and pastry was a bit pasty.

- Would be nice if they had turned on the heating. A bit slow however good selection of beer.

- Really enjoyed the food, but disappointed by the narrowness of the pavements.

- Beetroot fritter starter was sublime - sweetness of beetroot balancing perfectly with the creamy sauce, peppery cress and slightly salty batter. Lamb  was served more or less as a steak, off the bone. 

Slightly chewy, but not overcooked, and accompanied by crunchy beans, a rich dark jus and buttery parsley potatoes. The wine was smooth yet full bodied, and was a perfect accompaniment to a near-perfect meal.

- Soupe à l'oignon fantastique, suivi par porc terreux avec du boudin noir, le tout arrosé d'une bouteille de vin rouge. Un gagnant digne des 2013 Bright Gruts Awards.

What is in store for 2015??

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.