2 Star Restaurant and Takeaway Reviews

Browsing the newest of 73 2 star reviews on EdinburghMenus.com.

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A Room in the Town

18 Howe Street, EH3 6TG, Edinburgh

from Scott Anderson (16%) on November 22nd, 2008 (1 week ago)

Staff were fantastic, welcoming and friendly. Atmosphere was lively without being too noisy. It all started so promising, even the bread basket was fresh and delicious.

Unfortunately the food was boring, unimaginative and way overpriced. My red mullet was overcooked and drenched in black pepper accompanied by the most miserable and bland broth ever to leave a kitchen. The menu advertised "clam, prawn and baby squid broth" I counted 3 chewy hard clams, 2 prawns and 1 baby squid tentacle. The broth was obviously vegetable with the fish added just before serving. For 17 quid I would expect the chef to take the trouble of boiling a few fish carcasses.

My girlfriends chicken was obviously cooked by the same chef, who was either having an off day or just can't be arsed. Over salted, over peppered, no other discernable flavours, served on a wet lump of cheesey puree. The side dish of new potatoes, mangetout and carrots were just plain boiled, no olive oil, butter, herbs, salt or pepper (I used some of the excess from my girlfriends chicken).

The wine was good but then I brought that myself.

(+5) (+1) (0)

Mamma Roma Ristorante

4-5 Antigua Street, EH1 3NH, Edinburgh

from Bryan (65%) on November 20th, 2008 (2 weeks ago)

Disappointing meal here last week. The waiter kept staring at my partner's breasts until she flipped him off.

I had Calzone which was a watery affair with zero pepperoni and an over abundance of mushrooms and a hell of a lot of tasteless chicken. On the upside, my partner quite liked her Spaghetti Bolognese, preferring it to many other local Italian restaurants.

Don't think we'll go again though - the slimey Italan waiter thing might go down well at a hen night but not during dinner for two.

(+2) (0) (+1)

Sushiya

19 Dalry Road, EH11 2BQ, Edinburgh

from Mike S (6%) on November 20th, 2008 (2 weeks ago)

Leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to value for money. Even after spending close to 25 GBP I could still have another round of sashimi's and Maki.

(-3) (-2) (0)

Saigon Saigon

14 South St Andrew Street, EH2 2AZ, Edinburgh

from spooky (12%) on November 20th, 2008 (2 weeks ago)

We had dim sum, service was bad - had to ask 4 times before they gave us some chilli sauce. When the food came out the waiter crossed off the wrong dish so when the correct dish came out they were about to take it back thinking we already had it. Servings small, we ordered chicken feet, instead of getting a whole feet everything was cut in half to make it look like we were getting more. Taste ok, would only go back if I was desperately craving for dim sum and could not find another dim sum place.

(+2) (0) (0)

Sky Bar and Grill

Unit 42, Ocean Terminal, EH6 7DZ, Edinburgh

from pans (13%) on November 17th, 2008 (2 weeks ago)

Nice service but the food was terrible. Chilli garlic prawns were burnt and shrivelled. We also had the chilli burgers which were bland and tasted processed and deep fried. I have had a better burger in McDonalds. No chilli apparent. The chips were frozen and I saw the chef open the chip bag with his teeth. I asked if everything was made on the premises and the quick reply was of course, yes. I am not sure if I believe this. I wouldn't blame the staff at all as they were lovely but the management of this establishment need to have better standards and realise that if they think they are making a quick buck they are very naive. I will never go back to this restaurant. Serve 'real' food please and your customers will appreciate it. People are no longer taken in by trendy exciting menus. We want quality produce.

(+2) (+1) (0)

The Tron

9 Hunter Square, EH1 1QW, Edinburgh

from smurfberry (36%) on November 16th, 2008 (2 weeks ago)

Can't really understand the popularity of this place - the beer is awful with no choice whatsoever if you want a real ale. If you are a student with a very limited budget and a 'yellow card' fine, but if if you want decent beer then head elsewhere.

(0) (+2) (0)

Monteith's

61 High Street, EH1 1SR, Edinburgh

from Katesby (13%) on November 12th, 2008 (3 weeks ago)

I was really looking forward to eating here but was very disappointed. I had the scallops en croute to start which game served between two shells sealed with a bit of dough - not quite what I was expecting but maybe that's just me being thick! The scallops were nicely cooked but the chilli jam they came with was very bitter and not complementary to the dish. My friend didn't like her foie gras either, but perhaps both of these issues were just down to personal taste. We were really looking forward to our main course having both ordered the smoked haddock with black pudding and poached egg. The waitress even mentioned that it was her favourite. It may well have been lovely if it hadn't been completely over cooked - either that or sat under heat waiting to come out (no excuse for this though as only 3 tables were occupied). It was a shame as the pommes anna were lovely but the haddock was like rubber, inedible I thought, and the poached egg was cooked right through. Some nice flavours but it was ruined by the texures. I don't know if it was a different chef from usual but either way I don't think I'll be going back, which is a shame.

(+4) (+1) (0)

Pink Olive

55-57 West Nicolson Street, EH8 9DB, Edinburgh

from bouncingtigger13 (11%) on October 15th, 2008 (1 month ago)

Very limited lunch menu, which I struggled to find something interesting from. Ended up with a homemade burger, which arrived on a small crispy roll, with a limp little gem lettuce leaf and a slice of tomato. I had a couple of bits of gristle in my burger, which wasn't ideal. However, the few chips that came on the side were gorgeous - hot, chunky, crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle.

Wine was expensive, for what it was, but no more so than other local restaurants. Decor was uninspired, service was adequate - the waitress obviously didn't hear me asking for the bill until the third attempt. £20 for two burgers and two glasses of wine? Hmmm. Bring back Phenicia, and the wonderful tapas instead.

(+3) (0) (0)

Khushi's

9 Victoria Street, EH1 2HE, Edinburgh

from Raj Seeruttun (15%) on October 11th, 2008 (1 month ago)

For a long time I had heard of Khushis and its excellent reputation and I finally visited for the first time at its current premises a couple of years ago.

I have to say that that they lived up to their reputation, good service, good prices and fantastic food even with larger parties. All that has now changed unfortunately and I have heard similar reports of the same type above re the aggressiveness of the staff and forgotten bookings. Last year they had forgotten to book my party of 16 which were neither stag or hens which is what they tend to cater for now.

Three things that I look for in a good meal, cleanliness, good quality of food and value for money. Khushis had all of the above until about 18 months ago when they changed their 'policy'. It started around festival time when they limited their menu, reduced the size of the portions and increased the prices. Some would argue that Khushi's would be stupid to not do this at Festival time as everyone else does, that's another discussion somewhere else.

What has really gotten to me is their current scam, and it is a blatant scam, bordering on theft. They have a dish called King Prawn Makhani, which is a creamy tomato based dish, a thick spicy full flavoured sauce. When the waiter brought me my dish I was appalled at what he brought me. It was literally (and this is no exaggeration) king prawns in Heinz Tomato soup!! They had made no effort to disguise this fact, no evidence of spices, onions, butter, oils, nothing, it was a bowl of soup with prawns.

How naive do they think we are, the worst thing was they charged £13 for this dish! They no doubt have a catering can of soup in the back which in reality probably cost them about 20p a bowl of this 'curry'; at least Dick Turpin wore a mask.

Another worrying aspect is that when I complained to the waiter, he didn't even attempt to justify the dish, he obviously knew that they had been caught out and suggested alternatives, although he did his best to point me to other King Prawn dishes so they could minimise losses and continue to maximize profits. Disgusting.

I actually heard this scam story from someone who had visited their Fife restaurant but put to down to myth, unfortunately its true, apparently the scam involves another dish which is oxtail soup, but I don't know which dish that refers to.

They know me in Khushi's and I think they consider me a regular, so you have to think that if they try scam a regular what do they do to first timers...

Avoid.

(+5) (0) (0)

Buffalo Grill

12-14 Chapel Street, EH8 9AY, Edinburgh

from richardwb (19%) on October 6th, 2008 (1 month ago)

I've lunched there many times over the years (I used to work nearby) usually only when the nearby alternatives were closed as it is certainly not my first choice of eatery. The regular plastic covered menu appears not to have changed in many years, though to be fair they do have dishes of the day on a chalkboard. Quite good value, but not good enough to tempt me back except when there's nothing else.

Wouldn't choose to go there for dinner.

(+1) (0) (0)