Food

Mitsos – Serial Griller

20/04/24

Brougham Street, Edinburgh

It was way back in November 2017 that we first stumbled upon Taxidi – a charming little Greek restaurant just around the corner from where we live – and were absolutely knocked out both by the standard of the food and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere. It became a regular favourite and somewhere we often recommended to Edinburgh visitors. So, in January of this year, we were somewhat dismayed to see that it appeared to be closing down.

We needn’t have worried. The premises were simply undergoing a transformation into Mitsos – Serial Griller, under the same ownership. We vow to visit as soon as possible, but the best laid plans often go awry, and it’s quite some time before we finally find the opportunity. As the name implies, the little restaurant is now home to a sizeable charcoal grill and, as we enter the familiar premises, we’re greeted by the appetising aroma of roasting meat – though I should add that, as before, there are still plenty of vegetarian options on the menu.

We start with some marinated anchovies. These are quite the revelation. Plump and zesty, infused with lemon, parsley and garlic, they are about a million miles away from the dried up, salty things that come in tins. We eat them (perhaps ‘devour’ would be a more appropriate word) with slices of char-grilled pitta bread, which are are quite a revelation themselves, hot, crispy and so downright moreish that we have to rein ourselves back a little in order to have some to accompany the dishes that follow.

Next to arrive is a grilled chicken breast – marinated in yoghurt and cooked over charcoal. It’s accompanied by mild red onion and a delicious mustard, the meat wonderfully tender and as moist as you could ask for. Then comes the undoubted star of the show, a whole grilled sea bream, perfectly cooked, the flesh quite literally falling off the bone and as light as a feather. This comes with a lemon and coriander dressing, which brings out the delicate flavour of the fish. There’s also a lovely beetroot salad, flecked with manouri cheese and flavoured with mint and garlic, and a side of hand–cut chips. Suffice to say that we make very short work of it all.

We’ve left room for a pudding (naturally), so we’re initially disappointed to find that Mitsos only offers a choice of two, but the disappointment is short-lived because both prove to be delicious. There’s that most traditional of Greek desserts, baklava, this one fabulously sweet and sticky – and there’s Greek yoghurt. I’ll confess that the latter doesn’t sound inspiring, but I soon discover that this version of the classic dish is a cut above – a mouthwatering confection that comprises ultra thick spoonfuls of set yoghurt, heaped with a succulent berry compote and liberally sprinkled with chopped nuts. Good? It’s all I can do not to lick the platter clean!

We leave feeling comfortably full and already planning our next visit. Αντίο, Taxidi. Long live the Serial Griller!

5 Stars

Philip Caveney

Mowgli Street Food

24/03/24

Hanover Street, Edinburgh

We’re not big on chains, but some of them are worth it. Dishoom, Wahaca, Wagamama: we’re looking at you. And now we can add Mowgli to the list.

I’ve been past this place on the bus a few times, and it looks lovely: a grand old building with more twinkling lights than Fairyland at Christmas. My interest is further piqued by listening to owner, Nisha Katona, on the Off Menu podcast. The concept – “the kind of food Indians eat at home and on their streets” – seems strong and some of those dishes sound amazing. Treacle tamarind fries? Yoghurt chat bombs? I need to try them

We’re long overdue a catch-up with some friends, so what better excuse to head into what, it turns out, was once the Clydesdale? “I used to bank here,” our pal tells us. The conversion has been more sympathetically managed than the Edinburgh Hawksmoor, also housed in an old bank, and which we found very imposing and austere. Here, the lofty space has been cunningly sectioned off so that it feels cosy and inviting, as well as very glamorous.

The food is good. It’s all small plates, and between us we sample four items from the House Kitchen (Agra ginger chicken, house lamb curry, mother butter chicken and Aunty Geeta’s prawn curry), two from the Hindu Kitchen (temple dahl and green ginger and rhubarb dahl), three Curry Companions (Mowgli slaw, roti breads and basmati rice) and, of course, those treacle tamarind fries. To the disappointment of one of our friends, there’s no Mowgli house keema available tonight, but he’s happy enough with what he orders instead.

The standout dishes are the lamb curry, which is melt-in-the-mouth tender – and, surprisingly, the slaw. None of us has ever considered coleslaw as an accompaniment to curry, but it works a treat, offering a cool, crispy contrast to all those rich sauces. We’ll be aiming to repeat the trick at home. But almost everything tastes great: the flavours are robust and interesting; the spicing delicate. I only have minor criticisms: I find the tomatoes in the prawn curry a little too astringent, and I can’t really taste the rhubarb in the ginger and rhubarb dahl. The tamarind fries are a revelation though. They’re very sweet and rich, so one portion between four of us is certainly enough, but they’re truly delicious.

None of us drinks alcohol, but there are several mocktails on offer, as well as a couple of 0% beers. The Estrella Dam goes down well with the others, and I enjoy a bottle of sparkling water.

We’re too full for either of the ‘big’ puddings available (gulab jamun or a chocolate brownie) but we can always find room for a little sweet something, so we’re pleased to see homemade ice cream cones on the menu. Sadly, the same friend who wanted the keema now learns that there’s no coconut ice cream, so he decides to do without. The rest of us go for either the salted caramel or the mango sorbet, and both are excellent.

All in all, we have a lovely evening. Of course, a lot of that is to do with the company, but Mowgli feels like a strong addition to the Edinburgh food scene, and I’m sure that we’ll be back. After all, I still need to try those yoghurt chat bombs.

4.1 stars

Susan Singfield

Pho

06/01/24

St James Quarter, Edinburgh

We’re not usually big on chain restaurants but, after dashing around the city on an ‘escape hunt’, we end up in the vicinity of the St James Quarter. The friend who gifted us the challenge has generously covered our lunch too – and we’re more than ready for it. Post-Christmas, I’m looking to shed a few pounds, so we need to find somewhere offering a healthy range. Pho seems to fit the bill.

I know it’s a contentious issue, but the 2022 law requiring businesses with more than 250 employees to display calorie information on their menus is useful to me today. I’m tracking my consumption, and it’s great to know that I can enjoy two courses without derailing myself.

For my starter, I have cuốn diếp chay (spicy salad rolls), which come in at an almost unbelievable 44 calories. They’re fresh and vibrant: strips of raw vegetables, enoki mushrooms and herbs wrapped in a lettuce leaf and served with a very more-ish peanut sauce. Philip has a Nem hải sản (a seafood spring roll), which is large, crispy and filled with king prawn, crab and pork. He says it’s crunchy, not at all greasy and packs a real punch.

For my main, I want a cauliflower rice bowl with char-grilled chicken, but I’m told there’s no cauliflower rice today. ‘Real’ rice takes me over my allowance, so I opt for the Phở gà instead. This Vietnamese rice-noodle soup (347 calories) is no mean substitute: the broth is fragrant, the chicken nicely cooked and the noodles as slippery and delicious as you’d expect. I especially like the side plate of fresh herbs, allowing me to tailor the dish to my own taste. Philip opts for the phở xào (wok-fried noodles) with chicken and prawn. This is a delightful dish, full of earthy goodness, replete with lemongrass, chilli and Asian greens.

We’re not drinking at the moment, so we’re pleased to see a good range of soft and alcohol-free beverages. Philip samples the Freestar 0.5% lager, while I try a Negroni spritz. Both hit the requisite spots. We enjoy the eclectic juke box too, and the lively, buzzing atmosphere.

All in all, we’re impressed. If you’re looking for a quick healthy lunch in the city, you could do a lot worse than Pho.

4.3 stars

Susan Singfield

Don@Tokyo – lunch deal

18/12/23

Lothian Road, Edinburgh

It’s a couple of months since Eat@Tokyo opened for business and (hardly surprising since it’s right at the end of our street) we visited within days of its launch. We were impressed and said we’d be back, but we usually only return to a restaurant if there’s something new to talk about. So the fact that Don@Tokyo has launched a lunchtime special is exactly the excuse we’ve been looking for.

We make the gruelling thirty second slog along the street and take our seats. This lunch deal is reassuringly simple: you get one of three main courses and a soft drink (or a mug of green tea) for a total of just £8.90.

Susan goes for the veg poke bowl, while I choose the chicken katsu ramen. The former is a generously-sized dish full of delicious ingredients: avocado, red onion, tofu, edamame beans, radishes, sweet corn and more, all nestled on a bed of gooey, sticky rice. The latter is an equally generous portion of noodles in a creamy broth, liberally sprinkled with red onion, sweet corn and greens, with half a perfectly-judged boiled egg nestling in the mix. This is accompanied by a breadcrumb-coated chicken breast which comes with a little side dish of a mayonnaise mix that I try (and fail) to get the recipe for. Ah well, a restaurant must have its secrets, I guess.

Both dishes are both utterly delicious, the kind of hearty, aromatic food that you want to eat every last scrap of and then lick the bowl. They’re nourishing and comforting too, setting us up for a happy and productive afternoon.

There’s also a third choice – beef gyudon, which I sampled on my first visit and have already spoken about elsewhere. https://bouquetsbrickbatsreviews.com/2023/10/16/eattokyo/. It was the best thing we tasted on our previous visit.

When a takeaway fish and chips or even a couple of pizzas can set you back £30 or more, this lunch deal represents excellent value for money and, when you honestly cannot fault a single element of the meal you’ve just eaten, there’s really only one score that makes sense. Office workers looking for a change from their usual sandwich and packet of crisps should check out this offer at their earliest opportunity. Those on a tight deadline will appreciate the fact that the food arrives at an almost unbelievable speed.

What’s not to like?

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Ox and Finch

26/11/23

Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

We are in Glasgow, mostly for the purposes of visiting the Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum, but we’re in the mood to make a day of it and hankering for a fancy lunch first, so we put out a call on the old socials, asking for recommendations. Most of the replies we receive mention Ox and Finch, which is why we find ourselves striding along Sauchiehall Street on a brisk November morning, working up an appetite.

The place has a vaguely rustic feel, with a team of industrious chefs in the open kitchen area, poised to deliver the goods. The central premise here is small plates to share, which sounds like a great idea, so we settle into a snug booth for two and place our orders. We love the fact that, like its sister restaurant, Ka Pao, the restaurant offers a bottle of still or sparkling water to accompany the meal at no cost. More places should adopt this approach.

First up there’s a bowl of fresh sourdough with whipped butter and a generous helping of gordal olives, crisp, crunchy and infused with lemon, which makes a perfect palate cleanser.

Next up there’s whipped feta, a bowl of creamy, cheesy delight flavoured with banana chilli and fresh oregano, served with toasted flatbreads. This is so delicious, we’re glad to have a bit of sourdough left over to mop up what’s on the plate. We soon discover that pretty much everything we’ve ordered is great. This may not be the best-looking selection of food we’ve ever been served, but taste-wise, it’s faultless.

The crab tubetti is next, an indulgent and aromatic delight, little tubes of pasta in a rich chive and urfa pepper sauce, every mouthful a revelation. In hindsight, it’s hard to single out one dish in particular as the highlight, but this could well be it. There’s something in those sumptuous, sticky mouthfuls that is completely gratifying.

Next out is charred hispi cabbage and I ask you, when was the last time you were enthusiastic about a brassica? But this crispy hunk of greenery, studded with creamy blue cheese and sprinkled with macadamia nuts is absolutely stunning and the accompanying thin slices of pear provide a perfect contrast.

A couple of impressive meat dishes follow. The pan-fried pork is sublime – melt-in-the-mouth tender medallions of flesh are accompanied by smoked ham hock and wonderfully earthy butter beans – while the slow-cooked lamb shoulder stands on a mound of creamy polenta with a scattering of salsa rossa and herb salad. So far, so perfect. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking, You can’t possibly have room for pudding, can you? But remember, these are small plates, perfectly judged – and it would be silly, wouldn’t it, to come all this way without going for the full experience? Well, that’s our excuse and we’re sticking to it.

So we sample three puddings: the raspberry and olive oil mille feuille, the delectable pastry layers cooked to a crisp brandy-snap consistency and loaded with sweet filling; the Montenegro semifreddo, a cold ice cream-like confection served with poached plums and pistachios; and a coffee and praline tiramasu, which is perhaps my least favourite of the three, though that has a lot to do with me not particularly liking the flavour of Tia Maria. (Susan is a fan though and assures me that it’s one of the best she’s ever tasted.)

So, there we are, suitably fortified and ready to walk on to the labyrinthine delights of the Kelvingrove, which is little more than a stone’s throw further along the road. My only regret here is that Ox and Finch has been in existence since 2014 and I have only just found it. 

As we’re paying the bill, our waiter slyly tells us that a brand new menu is coming in just a couple of weeks’ time. Would we be up for another visit?

Oh yes, I rather think we would.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Henderson’s

10/11/23

Barclay Place, Edinburgh

Some friends are up in Edinburgh for the weekend, so we arrange to meet at Henderson’s for a meal and a catch-up. The Henderson name is an Edinburgh institution: Janet opened the city’s first vegetarian restaurant way back in 1962. Sadly, the original venue closed in 2020 (due to the pandemic), but her grandson, Barrie, has since picked up the family (carrot?) baton, taking his turn to encourage the city’s residents to ‘Eat Better, Live Better’.

Philip chooses the vegan king oyster mushroom scallops for his starter, which are served with a cauliflower puree, samphire and seaweed flakes. It’s an impressive opening: the fungi’s texture and shape perfectly mimicking their seafood equivalent, and these are expertly cooked. One of our friends opts for gnocchi, with carrot purée, nasturtium pistou, toasted pumpkin seeds and almond parmesan crumb. He says it’s delicious.

Our other friend and I decide to eschew starters in favour of ‘nibbles’, reasoning that we don’t want to be too full to enjoy our mains. This is a mistake. Both her preserved lemon hummus and my butterbean, confit garlic and rosemary pate are very tasty and well-made, but they’re robust, generously-portioned and served with sourdough. We should probably have stuck with olives!

For our mains, three of us opt for the beetroot and black bean burger on a bouncy, homemade brioche bun. There’s also an onion ring, some caramelised onion and, because none of us is vegan, an extra layer of smoky cheddar. The burger comes with a side of skin-on chips, and a rather wonderful stout mayo. Philip – ever the outlier – has the beet bourguignon pie, which, despite its inelegant appearance, turns out to be the standout dish of the evening. Nestled beneath a flaky, golden pastry top is a rich, slow-cooked beetroot concoction, which he devours with gusto.

For pudding, our friends share a warm spiced fruit cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream, while Philip and I go halvies on a slice of vegan biscoff cheesecake and a baked Alaska with banana ice cream and salted caramel topping. While Philip prefers the cheesecake (he likes its silky texture and the fact it’s not too sweet), I think the baked Alaska has the edge, precisely because it is so intensely sugary.

It’s great to spend time with our friends in these convivial surroundings. Throw in a couple of mocktails (I highly recommend the Noscow Mule) and you’ve got yourself a delightful evening.

4.1 stars

Susan SIngfield

Bryn Williams at Porth Eirias

20/10/23

Promenade, Colwyn Bay

We are in North Wales visiting Susan’s mum and the weather is frankly horrible. All thoughts of a pleasant stroll along the sea front are promptly vanquished by the distinct possibility of being washed away by the foaming grey breakers crashing over the barriers as we pull into the Porth Eirias car park. We opt to watch the sea from behind the safety of the massive picture windows in Bryn Williams’ excellent restaurant.

For my starter, I choose salt and pepper squid, which is served with spring onion, mint and a swirl of tangy lime mayonnaise. The squid is moist and gratifying, with the finest dusting of crispy batter. It’s faultless – and so are Susan’s roasted prawns. There are five of them, plump and juicy, and they come with chilli butter and a bowl of Bloody Mary sauce. Yum.

When the weather is foul, is there anything more gratifying than a fish pie? At Bryn Williams, the dish comes as a sharing platter for two, a hearty creation featuring chunks of cod and salmon, nestling under mounds of creamy mashed potato, the top nicely crisped in a hot oven. It’s piping hot and utterly satisfying. Brenda has opted for stone bass served with tender-stem broccoli, a perfectly cooked poached egg in breadcrumbs and chicken beurre blanc. She pronounces it ‘superb’ – the fish skin is beautifully crisp, and the egg yolk an enticing rich orange.

Lately, puddings seem to be the weak link in many restaurants, but not so here. Susan and Brenda both go for the Porth Eirias Baked Alaska, which is the standout of the day – sweet and succulent; chewy and crisp – while I enjoy the treacle tart, which again is a fine example of its kind, enhanced with a swirl of intensely flavoured orange jus and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

All in all, this is a note-perfect meal, vivid and vibrant enough to make up for the miserable weather conditions. Even our scramble to the car is a bit dicy as we are obliged to time our dash between incoming waves, but the impeccable standard of the food makes it well worth the effort.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Don@Tokyo

15/10/23

Lothian Road, Edinburgh

It‘s not every day that a restaurant opens at the end of your street, but in the case of Don@Tokyo, that’s exactly what’s happened – and we couldn’t be happier about it.

When we first moved to Edinburgh eight years ago, the building that now houses the venue was a TSB bank. It closed in 2019 and, though there were mutterings about turning it into a wine bar, the arrival of COVID promptly finished off that idea. The place stood empty for years and quickly became virtually derelict and covered in graffiti, a real eyesore.

So when legions of workers appeared earlier this year and started to gut the place, working around the clock to get the job done, we were understandably delighted. In what seems an improbably brief space of time, the interior has been repurposed, refitted and redecorated and we’ve watched entranced as Don@Toyko has risen from the ashes. It’s now a bright, spacious, bustling Japanese restaurant with an eye-catching video display in the foyer, some quirky red figurines and even a semi-private dining room for larger parties. Best of all, they’ve preserved the beautiful old Victorian mosaic over the doorway that announces ‘Thrift is Blessing’.

We take our seats and somebody brings us the menu, a tablet with images of the various dishes on it and we tap through, wondering why there are so few mains to choose from. Then our waiter realises that there’s a glitch and that not all the meals are showing. He brings us a replacement and there’s a lot more there than we first thought. (Say what you like about ink and paper, you never have to turn it off and turn it on again.)

We decide to share some rainbow sushi: exquisite parcels of sticky rice featuring salmon, tuna and prawn – and some california rolls with crab, cucumber and avocado. Both are delicious, particularly when eaten with slices of the pickled ginger that accompanies them. 

We also order some soft shell crab. This is a tempura with not a hint of grease. The batter is as light as anything and the flesh beneath melt-in-the-mouth tender.

Best of all is the main course we share, a gyudon, slices of beef and egg on a bed of rice. It may not be the most picturesque item on the menu, but it’s rich and nourishing and we finish every last morsel.

From the drinks menu we choose a couple of cold teas, one with mango, the other with grapefruit. I’ve never been a big fan of tea but these sweet beverages work brilliantly with the food, the citrusy tang cutting through those savoury flavours and gooey textures.

A word of warning. The service here is really swift and we make the mistake of ordering everything up front, so it all arrives together. While this would clearly suit larger parties of people who like to mix and match their dishes, it’s less successful for two people seeking a quiet dinner. Next time, we’ll choose a dish, eat it and then order the next. What’s more, we’re so full towards the end, we ask to take half of the California rolls away with us, which proves to be no problem. They are transferred into a delightful little presentation box, ready for a delicious lunch the following day.

It’s early days for Din@Tokyo, with the staff clearly still getting the measure of the place, but on the basis of our first foray, it makes a welcome addition to the local eating scene. I’m sure we’ll be back for more before very much longer.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Ka Pao

01/10/23

St James Quarter, Edinburgh

We’ve been looking forward to this evening. Not only are we catching up with friends we haven’t seen in waaaay too long, we’re also – on their recommendation – visiting Ka Pao, a new Korean restaurant in the swish St James Quarter. The menu looks exciting!

It doesn’t disappoint.

The venue earns its first plus-point by presenting us with two bottles of chilled tap water as standard – one still, one sparkling. I like this new trend and drink a lot (maybe too much) of the fizzy one.

There’s a set menu for four or more people, but not everyone in our party fancies it, so we go à la carte. All dishes are for sharing we’re told, and are encouraged to order three or four each: a snack, a starter, a main and a side. Thank goodness we stick to three – it’s still too much. But that’s my only gripe.

This is lovely food: fresh, distinctive and perfectly cooked. For snacks, we sample the tomato and aubergine dip with pork skins, the pork and bone marrow sausage and the arbroath smokie miang. The pork skins are amazing – puffed up like poppadoms (or like yak chews, according to our dog-owning friends). The sausage is also delicious, just bursting with flavour, but the arbroath smokie is the most interesting. It comes mashed with peanuts and galangel, and we’re instructed to wrap a spoonful in a spinach leaf. It’s sweet at first, then spicy, then finally fishy and smoky. We decide we like it.

Our starters are corn ribs with salted coconut, shrimp and lime, and crispy pork belly. Three of us have ordered the corn but two portions would suffice. Not that we’re complaining: these are easily the standout of the evening, deceptively simple, crisp and utterly delectable. We spend some time looking for recipes when we get home.

For mains, we have the green curry of lamb shoulder (which comes with broad beans, peas and banana chilli), the chicken leg massaman curry (with ratte potato, smoked grape and peanut) and the chuu chee curry of courgette (with peas and ramiro pepper), with a side of stir-fried savoy cabbage and a couple of portions of jasmine rice. The chicken curry is very good, although one of our friends finds it too sweet for her palate. The lamb is particularly tasty, a fiery delight, the chunks of meat slow cooked until they’re melt-in-the-mouth tender.

We all profess to be full, but we still say yes to pudding, sharing a couple of portions of almond and cardamom sponge with pineapple and coriander curd (wow!) and a serving of mango and calmansi soft-serve, a kulfi-like confection that offers a citrus-fresh contrast to the sweetness of the pudding.

Like the comic-book sound effect its name evokes, Ka Pao is bold, punchy and memorable – and we’ll certainly be back for more.

4.7 stars

Susan Singfield

Söderberg Pavilion Café

29/06/23

Lister Square, Quartermile, Edinburgh

Söderberg is a bit of an Edinburgh institution: there are seven of the popular Swedish cafés dotted around the city, so it’s unusual to go for a walk without passing at least one. Nonetheless, we’ve never eaten there until today. The closest we’ve come was during the pandemic, in that weird post-lockdown period, when restrictions were slowly being loosened but we still weren’t allowed to sit indoors. During that time, my parents came up for a visit, and – being classed as vulnerable and thus wanting to avoid unnecessary risk – booked themselves into an Airbnb rather than staying at ours as they usually would. Their holiday flat was on the Quartermile so, every evening, we’d sit outside this Lister Square branch for a cup of tea or a glass of wine, shivering but glad to be together, glad to be out in the world again.

The gym we used to go to almost every day is directly opposite that same branch of Söderberg, but our pandemic pause turned into a three-year gap. Six weeks ago, we decided to rejoin, and so we find ourselves once again working up a daily sweat on the cross-trainers or exercise bikes, gazing out of the window at the people sitting in the sunshine, enjoying their coffee. We resolve to treat ourselves to a well-earned brunch one day.

And today seems like the right occasion. The sky is blue, the air is warm and, most importantly, I’m off work this afternoon, so we have time to dally. What’s more, we’ve worked up quite an appetite over the past hour! We request an outdoor table and, once seated, scan the short menu and choose quickly.

We both want a freshly squeezed fruit juice. Philip opts for a simple apple, while I have the fancier-sounding carrot, apple and ginger, which is pleasingly tangy. They’re both just as lovely and refreshing as you’d expect a decent glass of juice to be.

My brunch is Ägg – two eggs baked in a stone oven, served with sourdough and rocket. I add avocado, spinach and pesto, and I’m glad I do, as the boldly-flavoured walnut and basil pesto really elevates the dish. Philip has the Varm getost, an open sourdough sandwich featuring goat’s cheese, walnut, pine nuts and rocket. The goat’s cheese, he says, is delicious.

Sitting outside, lingering over a meal, feels every bit as indulgent as we imagined. In all honesty, however, we’re both a little disappointed by the meagreness of the portions. It’s not that we want anything too over-facing mid-morning, but a single, thin-cut slice of bread just feels a bit stingy. We’re not super-impressed by the mounds of undressed leaves on our plates either. An extra slice of bread and a decent salad dressing would have made this experience a lot more satisfying.

3 stars

Susan Singfield