Bread Street Brasserie

We booked this restaurant last minute before a visit to the Edinburgh Tattoo mainly because other restaurants in the area were fully booked. I am glad we did as the food and service were both excellent. I had a mushroom fricassee to start which was delicious and well presented, followed by rosemary chicken with a sweet potato and blue cheese mash which was a nice portion size. Some may think portions are meagre but to me they were still very filling, allowing for three courses rather than two (although I was still pretty stuffed after two courses.) I had cheese for dessert and was glad there was no cheddar as I find it bland and filling. This was served with honey rather than the usual butter and chutney, which was a delightful change, still getting a little bit of sweetness from what would be a normally savoury dish. Others in the party had soup but felt it was too thin and tasted more of sage than mushroom, with soggy bread pieces rather than crispy croutons; sea bass with a sweetcorn chowder which they enjoyed; and sticky toffee pudding which was a nice portion size as often you get a massive helping that is too sickly and filling to finish. The summer pudding looked nice but it was felt that there was too much unsaturated white bread showing which put one member of the party off it a bit. However, the whole experience was thoroughly enjoyable with attentive and highly professional staff. You wouldn't think that the menu we were eating from was only £12.95 per head. We also had pre-dinner drinks in the adjoining cocktail lounge and returned after the tattoo for hot chocolate. Toilet facilities were excellent although in the cocktail lounge they are down several flights of stairs which was a bit creepy! I would definitely recommend this restaurant and would love to eat there again next time I am in Edinburgh.