HULA JUICE BAR - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Hula Juice Bar
103-105 West Row
Old Town, Edinburgh

Interesting place this. Not a lot of hula-ing done in Edinburgh I suspect so a juice bar called Hula is probably the closest you'll get. They serve a diverse range of juice combo's and some food as well. Mlady had a Ginger Jack - a blend of carrot, ginger, apple and orange juice. She said it was excellent - great flavours and very refreshing. 

I wanted something a bit more substantial - no great surprise there - so I ordered coffee and cheese on toast. It turned out to be great.

The coffee was really nice - considering it was a juice bar - with good aroma and flavour. The cheese on toast was as good as it looked - really good!

The cheese was a cheddar and the bread was high grain so it had plenty of flavour and bite and plenty of crunch.

Hula is quite popular. It has an interesting vibe, good service, pleasant decor and really nice food and drinks.

THE HUB CAFE AND RESTAURANT - EDINBURGH SCOTLAND

The Hub Cafe and Restaurant

Castle Hill, Royal Mile
Edinburgh

Its an amazing building to start with. It attracts everyones attention. So imposing.

Its an arts and festival centre as well as a cafe/restaurant. We were looking for a late lunch/afternoon snack so it wasn't the arts side of things we were seeking.

However just along the entrance corridor and off to the left is the cafe. It's actually quite large in size and can hold plenty of people.

Being a Devonshire tea fan is always dangerous. Its probably not the healthiest snack - but it is a good one. The offering here was decent - nice scone, good jam and freshly whipped cream - all a good combination. It certainly disappeared quickly and a coffee topped it off nicely.  

Mlady chose a slightly more substantial snack - and healthier as well - being soup and a roll. This was also well received and welcome on a cold day. It was a tomato soup and came hot and fresh.

The whole lot cost just over 10 pounds. Not bad value for decent food. The place has some charm as well - particularly in the other areas which are quite spectacular.



THE DEACONS HOUSE CAFE - EDINBURGH SCOTLAND

The Deacons House Cafe

304 Lawnmarket
Edinburgh, Scotland

Tucked down a laneway near Edinburgh Castle is The Deacons House Cafe. It's not big and it's not terribly fancy but it does have charm.

The narrow laneways and stonework make this place all the more interesting.

You order at the front counter and either take your food back straight away or get a number and its delivered soon afterwards.

Mlady grabbed a hot chocolate and I grabbed a coffee and some scones.

The scones were nice but perhaps a bit over cooked. Strangely you need to order cream and jam separately - they don't automatically come with it. I haven't seen this before.

This isn't the cheapest place in town but it attracts a crowd - presumably because it's so close to Edinburgh Castle. The strangest thing here is the small doorway in the wall above the main entrance that says toilets - must need to bring your own ladder!

This place was fair - not bad but not spectacular.

MUSSEL AND STEAK BAR - EDINBURGH UK

Mussel and Steak Bar
110 West Row
Grassmarket, Edinburgh

Flying solo in Edinburgh one night lead me to Mussel and Steak Bar sitting right on the edge of Grassmarket. Its a nice place with a pleasant appearance.

Service is fast and friendly and it has a downstairs eating area and bar and further seating upstairs.

So when you're in a place called Mussel and Steak Bar its probably a given that you'll have either mussels or steak. I chose steak.

It was a lovely piece of meat that was nicely cooked and well presented. It was also huge - but as I was a bit peckish that certainly wasn't a problem!

It also came with a lovely braised cabbage and bacon combination and a green salad. The tartness of the cabbage was perfectly offset with the salty bacon - it was very tasty.

The chips came as a side serving. You can have them cooked in either vegetable oil or beef dripping.

The indulgent thought of my chips being cooked in beef dripping was to much for me so I chose it. I have to say that these chips were delicious, crisp and cooked perfectly. It was all washed down with a nice Ceilidh beer.

Mussel and Steak Bar is a great place for a good quality meal. I enjoyed my dinner very much and would gladly head back there again for another visit.



AULD JOCK'S PIE SHOPPE - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Auld Jock's Pie Shoppe118 West Bow
Old Town
Edinburgh

Sir was feeling peckish - no Sir-prises there - and we spied Auld Jocks Pie Shoppe across the square. Who doesn't like a pie?

So we wandered over and sat inside by the window. Its always nice having a bite to eat while you watch the world go by.

Its a small shop but seems popular. It is cosy and has a pleasant decor. You order at the front counter and they bring your food to you when its ready.

I simply ordered a pie. I was then asked if I wanted beans and mash with it. Why not I thought.

On arrival I was a bit Sir-prised that the beans were baked beans - somehow I had thought they'd be green beans.

Nevertheless, the whole meal was extremely good. Mlady stole some mash and pronounced it as some of the best she's ever had - and she's a bit of an expert in this department.

All in all the pie was great, the mash exceptional, the beans were - beans - but nice and hot and quite tasty combined with the rest.

Auld Jocks Pie Shoppe is a pleasant and popular place for a decent meal at decent prices.



GRASSMARKET HOTEL/BIDDY MULLIGANS - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Grassmarket Hotel/Biddy Mulligans 
Grassmarket
Old Town
Edinburgh

These are actually two different places but many people blur them into the one place. Grassmarket Hotel is accommodation. Biddy Mulligans is a pub attached to it that also provides food - including breakfasts for hotel guests.

The Grassmarket Hotel itself is very nice. It has some unique touches that make it memorable. The pub is deceptively big as it stretches back from the street quite a distance. We had breakfast there.

Sir has a weakness for eggs Benedict - especially with smoked salmon - so once this was spotted it was a done deal to order it.

This meal turned out to be the choice of the place. The toasted sourdough was lovely. The eggs were perfectly cooked with nice runny yolks and there was a huge (yes HUUUGE) quantity of smoked salmon. This was my kind of meal!

The sauce was also very nice so the whole dish combined really well and tasted great. As every last drop of it was devoured it's certainly a dish worth getting here.

Mlady, being the healthier of the two of us, chose porridge for her starting food of the day.

As the porridge didn't come with any accompanying milk it was a bit stodgy and thick. The flavours were decent without being spectacular.

The verdict for this dish was that it was ok. It was decent - not great or terrible. Mlady said she probably wouldn't order that dish there again - and didn't.

The food here is a bit hit and miss. The coffee here is terrible though. I'm sure they will fix this soon as its out of keeping with the rest of the place. I know its a pub and coffee isn't usually there thing - but most pubs get it close to right.

All in all not bad but room for improvement.

DAVID BANN - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

David Bann
56 St Marys St
Old Town
Edinburgh

It was a wet day in downtown Edinburgh and I was flying solo for a few hours. I realised I'd missed lunch. This is a rarity for Sir! I spied an attractive restaurant across the road and ventured to the window. Now I have to say that generally a vegetarian restaurant isn't going to be my first choice (or second or third!) but I had a  bit of a craving for some hot soup (again not a usual choice for me).

The menu in the window showed some very attractive food options and, fortunately, soup. I went in to a fairly empty place - as it was mid afternoon. I received a friendly greeting and was promptly seated at the window to watch the world go by. 

The soup was described on the menu as being a substantial bowl of freshly prepared soup of the day with homemade bread. I found out todays treat was a hearty vegetable mix so I ordered a bowl.

I didn't have to wait long before a steaming bowl of deliciousness arrived. The soup was great. Certainly I was keen to have soup so this may have helped - but it tasted amazing with great flavours.

The homemade bread was good as well. Crisp outer and soft texture inside made it a perfect partner to the main dish.

This meal only cost 3.60 - good value for a good meal in a quality place.

I also had a cup of coffee to go with it. Yes I know some may find this a strange combination but it was mid afternoon so my meal was a combined lunch and afternoon tea.

The coffee was good. Nice flavours, good aroma, hot but not overheated.

David Bann is a pleasant place. It has nice decor, good service and great food. Although I'm a meat eater I'd still be happy to go there again and try more of their dishes.



THE WHITE HART - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

The White Hart
34 Grassmarket
Old Town
Edinburgh

On a cold night there something great about pub food. It warms you right through and fills you up with hearty helpings. Well The White Hart is one of those kind of places.

We were out to grab a quick meal and stumbled across this quaint place. It's not big - in fact it's quite small - but it has a certain charm nonetheless with booth seating along its wall.

The traditional beef and ale pie appealed to Mlady. She had been keen to have this dish for a few days so spying this on the menu certainly added to the appeal of this place.

What arrived was certainly substantial. A large plate of mash and peas appeared with what looked like half a pie. The pastry was crisp and tasty and the meat tender and full of flavour covered in a well prepared sauce.

The verdict was that this was a good meal.

The bangers and mash was described in the menu as three delicious St Andrews Ale sausages served on a bed of spring onion mash potato and covered in red onion gravy.

It looked like just the thing I was after on a cold Edinburgh night - and it was! The sausages were very tasty. It was a simple yet very effective meal. Sometimes that's the trick - simple quality!

The White Hart serves hearty pub food that is good quality and at reasonable prices. The service was also fast and friendly. All in all it's a good place for a decent meal.

MOTHER INDIA CAFE - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Mother India Cafe
3 Infirmary St
Old Town
Edinburgh

An Indian restaurant that serves its food tapas style had an appeal to us, and as it had received positive reactions from plenty of people we decided to go there. The fact that it was close to where we were staying was an added bonus.

Its a deceptive restaurant as it has two rooms. The back room filled up quickly then they started using the tables in the entry room. We certainly couldn't fault the service which was extremely attentive throughout the entire meal

We started with some popdoms and dipping sauces. The spiced onions were lovely with a nice tang to them. This contrasted well with the sweeter mango chutney. We devoured both of them with the popadoms.

The mushroom bhaji was unlike any bhaji we've ever had. Most of us are used to the traditional onion bhaji - in fact I have to confess I love it.

So it was the word bhaji that actually convinced me to order this dish. As you can see from the picture they weren't fritters nor was there any batter.

Nevertheless, the flavours were good though and it tasted really nice. We both enjoyed it.

The machi massala was delicious. The combination of flavours went together really well.

Fortunately the fish pieces in this dish were not overcooked and dry. They still had their texture and moisture. The serving size was good as well.

The lemon and cashew rice was on the specials list for the night. It was the unusual combination that actually attracted our attention in the first place anyway.

The rice was nice and light. There was a subtle lemon flavour to it and certainly plenty of cashew pieces.

I'm still not sure about it though. It certainly was nice but it was possibly not the greatest rice though.

We also loved the chicken curry. It had a lovely blend of flavours and quite a kick to it as well.

The tasty pieces of chicken were swimming in a thick curry that combined perfectly.

The breads we had were really nice. We had the pitta bread and aloo paneer kulcha. Her favourite was the pitta but mine was the aloo paneer kulcha - absolutely delicious and so light as well.

The entire meal only ended up costing us 27.50. We both though this was good value for an extremely tasty and very filling dinner. The decor is pleasant without being over the top. The service is excellent. The food is very good as is the value.

All in all Mother India Cafe is well worth visiting.

OINK - EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Oink
34 Victoria St
Old Town
Edinburgh

We're back! The name here basically says it all - and if it doesn't then the window certainly shows you what you're in for! The whole pig that is delivered fresh each day and proudly displayed in the widow attracts crowds of people to stare, drool a bit and eat. As the day unfolds the pig gradually gets consumed until there are just scraps left. Then the following day the whole process unfolds again.

The pricing is easy to work out - its well displayed in the window -  and the three sizes are brilliantly named - Piglet, Oink and Grunter!

There are three simple steps to follow in choosing (after you decide on what size to get). Firstly you need to decide on a white or brown roll. Secondly choose sage and onion stuffing or haggis. Finally choose your relishes and sauces.

Its a simple and quick process.

My choice was an Oink on a white roll with sage and onion stuffing and some apple sauce to top it all off. For a mere 3.60 its good value for a substantial meal.

The pork was extremely tender and the flavours were wonderful.

Its important to remember that there is one pig a day so once it goes you have to wait till the next day. The point is, if you want one get in early.

If you're near Grassmarket give it a go, you wont be disappointed.