2.5 Star Restaurant and Takeaway Reviews
Browsing the newest of 81 2.5 star reviews on EdinburghMenus.com.
Montpelier's
159-161 Bruntsfield Place, EH10 4DG, Edinburgh
from DrKolarBear (21%) on July 2nd, 2008 (2 months ago)
The food in Montpeliers is variable to say the least. For a while a friend of mine and I were going just to see how badly our order could be messed up by the staff. He and I are chronic masochistic complainers so maybe this is something for my analyst and I to discuss rather than taking up the meat of a restaurant review. Nevertheless.... the burgers are reasonable, the pasta is lame and the steaks (assuming your order makes it intact over the 20 metres to the kitchen) are good. Ribeyeeeeeeeeee.
(0) (+2) (0)
Indian Cavalry Club
22 Coates Crescent, EH3 7AF, Edinburgh
from jcaughey (67%) on June 26th, 2008 (2 months ago)
This reopened about a year ago and is directly opposite my office. We were very excited when the Cavalry Club was moving because we heard it was going to have a restaurant AND a pakora bar. Since its opening I have been there on a couple of occasions, primarily because it is handy... not sure if I would recommend it to a friend!
I have never eaten in the restaurant but have eaten in/ had drinks in the pakora bar. The food is very fresh and delicious – I have always eaten off the set menu – today I had the vegetable pakora menu that was yummy - just the right size for a lady for lunch (maybe a bit on the small side for you gents!). It came with either a Cobra beer or a soft drink for £8.90. This offer runs from 12 – 7. Good value - especially when you consider how overpriced the drinks are normally – they have Cobra on tap and if I remember correctly it costs about £5 (maybe a little more) for a pint. Extortionate!!!
Anyway, the décor is absolutely stunning in the bar and very pristine in the dining room. Raw silk curtains and funky lights… very plush.
There a few reasons why I feel Indian Cavalry club falls short (apart from the price of booze!)
Firstly the lack of atmosphere; we were the only table in the bar area today. They do not play music so it is very quiet and feels too sterile. Absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever. Perhaps it is a bit different in the dining room in the evening when it is busy???
The second flaw is the service. They seemed to have about 4 people on lunch today and when we arrived there was no one on ‘the floor’ at all. We wandered about, looking for someone to show us which table we could occupy, but no one was there no one to welcome us, (doesn't quite fit with the mock red carpet up the steps on your way into the restaurant) so we plonked ourselves down and waited to be served. There were a lot of people wandering about and talking to the waiting staff not in uniform talking throughout our meal which I thought was a bit unprofessional. Not sure if they were chefs or friends or family... On a previous occasion, I was there for lunch and they were conducting an interview at the table next to us despite it being quite a busy lunchtime shift. Again, not really the sort of experience I think this price tag should provide.
In short good food, beautiful surroundings, dud atmosphere and average service.
(+4) (+3) (0)
Espresso Mondo
116 Lothian Road, EH3 9BE, Edinburgh
from Meng (86%) on June 15th, 2008 (2 months ago)
Espresso Mondo, a bar-bistro-delicatessen by the corner opposite the Lothian Road cinema. Does a fair coffee selection that's just above average, some decent cakes. Had a disappointing salmon and cream cheese bagel, with a rather tired salad that could've had some dressing or zest added to it. It does have an o.k selection of cakes, and on occassion seems to support and encourage a quasi-folky Jack Johnson-alike acoustic live music set (that admittedly just gets talked over and not listened to).
With tasty cakes, and with a comfy setting and family-n-friends atmosphere, a great place to hang out. Trouble is the food isn't exactly much to shout about and the service is basic. A Starbucks-a-like that will open until 11pm and serves drinks, despite it's worldy wise pretensions affected by the choice of name for the venue, it doesn't seem to rise above a certain plodding pace. 2.5 out of 5.
(+2) (+2) (0)
Rick Shaws
248 Causewayside, EH9 1UU, Edinburgh
from mdavidson (90%) on June 11th, 2008 (2 months ago)
I like the idea that you can order a variety of different types of cuisine from one place. However, after recently ordering a selection I think that other takeaways and restaurants that have a specific focus do things a little bit better.
Like Irishphat I was disappointed with the lemon chicken - this might well be to do with the lack of colourings and msg which they boast about. I think I would rather have the gloopy bright red lemon chicken that I'm used - even if it is not very good for me.
One more thing, shortly after ordering and them taking my mobile number I received a spam text (offering me free text messages). Now I hardly ever receive spam-texts so can't help thinking that Rick Shaws might have passed my number on to a third party, however, I have no further evidence to support this so it could well be coincidence...
(+2) (0) (0)
Fishers in the City
58 Thistle Street, EH2 1EN, Edinburgh
from NealeG (17%) on June 4th, 2008 (3 months ago)
The restaurant has two sides, the street facing side and the back side. The street facing side is great and full of buzz, the back side is as the name suggests and was a bit like being seated at the kids table. I had visited in person to book a table so was surprised to be shown through to a back room. Up there the views and atmosphere were absent and the service was poor to be frank, we had to grab someone to get drink while we viewed the Menu and later then also had to wave for attention to place our food order. Later we wanted more drinks but no one was “looking in on us”, so we did not order more drinks or coffee and sadly they lost revenue. Shame as the quality of the seafood and presentation was really very good and the wine list was also pretty good. But we felt that we had a watered down experience.
(+2) (+1) (0)
Chimei
294 Leith Walk, EH6 5BX, Edinburgh
from Sandervdd (12%) on June 3rd, 2008 (3 months ago)
Living halfway Leith Walk I used to go to this Chinese take-away often. I normally call the order in and then pick it up later. This normally goes fine, but if you have 6 guests at your flat, it can take a wee bit longer! We had to wait for over an hour for that perticular order. Anyway, my general problem with this take-away (and with most UK based Chinese take-aways) is that after a while all the different dishes taste the same. Glupy, fatty, oily dishes. The sate sauce never really tasted like sate sauce, and the sweet and sour actually could have been the sate sauce. It's a friendly business though, don't get me wrong. I give 2,5 stars because I've been quite often to this restaurant, but I won't go there again. One of the things I dislike is that you can't see the kitchen from the waiting area. I always like Chinese take-away restaurants where you can see your order being cooked while you're waiting, so you're sure it's made fresh.
(+1) (0) (0)
A Room in Leith
1c Dock Place, EH6 6LU, Edinburgh
from dw1664 (10%) on May 30th, 2008 (3 months ago)
First visit was on a Saturday several weeks ago and was reasonably impressed with the food and service. Nice to see two reasonably imaginative veggie choices in both the starters and main courses for such a short menu.
Last night, (Thursday), however was a different story. The courses read well on the menu but were poor in execution. The starter of oregano bread and bean salsa, was very greasy, from it being fried, and the salsa was bland and tasteless. The main course of spicy lentil bangers, which were less than delicate, had no spice what so ever. The remaining ingredients on the plate were all sweet, with nothing to balance them. Not a memorable dish.
Even although quite a bit of food went back to the kitchen, not once did anyone ask us if we had enjoyed our meal.
Certainly think they need to up their game to match the prices they are charging, and make sure the quality of cooking is consistent throughout the week, not just the weekend when it is busy.
(+1) (+1) (0)
Oloroso
33 Castle Street, EH2 3DN, Edinburgh
from NealeG (17%) on May 7th, 2008 (4 months ago)
I have been a few times and have actually written to complain about the slow service. I did not even get a reply , but I may now go back to find out if it has imrpoved to an acceptable level. Shame as the food was always quite good.
(+1) (0) (0)
Coconut Grove
3 Lochrin Terrace, EH3 9QJ, Edinburgh
from selle (18%) on May 6th, 2008 (4 months ago)
Went as a small group for a friends party. Unfortunately most of the rest of the place was taken by a large and very rawkus student group. Food was OK, but not particularly memorable. A couple who came in part way through the evening walked straight out. BYOB will appeal to students.
(+1) (0) (0)
Bella Italia
9 Hanover Street, EH2 2DL, Edinburgh
from mdavidson (90%) on May 5th, 2008 (4 months ago)
Given its location this place is always going to be a bit of a tourist trap. As you might expect from a restaurant that is part of a chain (there are over 70 Bella Italias in Britain - I just checked) the feel and ambience of the place is pretty generic and you could be anywhere.
The menu is not bad but when I visited we were given a long list of things that were not available (this might be related to us turning up without a booking at 9.30 on a Sunday evening). Then when I tried to order, what I had selected was also unavailable. I ended up with duck leg in a cherry sauce. The duck was quite succulent and tasty but the sauce was too sweet for my liking. My mates had pizzas which all looked and smelled good.
At £15/head for a shared started, mains and a bottle of wine it seemed pretty good value. Overall, not bad but I probably wouldn't choose to go there again.
(+1) (0) (0)
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