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