Social Bite

On this glorious day, to follow a day of terrifying thunder and lightning, my lunchtime adventures took me along Rose Street to Social Bite. MJ had spotted this place, the other day, and had been throwing strong hints that she’d like to pay it a visit.

Exterior

Social Bite is a social business. Their website, www.social-bite.co.uk, gives you all the definitions you’ll need to conduct a short seminar of the differences between social enterprises and social businesses, and the different types of social businesses. I won’t replay that commentary, here. All you need to know is that the vast majority of the money you hand over to pay for your grub goes to good works.

The place lends itself to comparison. MJ presented it to me as “like Pret”, and I’ve heard that from others. For me it’s much like Martha’s in Glasgow, which is somewhere I very much enjoyed. Or maybe Eat is a closer likeness. You get the general idea, though. The focus is on freshly prepared food, across the sandwich, salad, soup milieu.

Soup

I opted for a wrap (a hummus and vegetable one) and from their selection of soups, I went for the carrot and coriander. The counter service is prompt, accommodating and friendly.

One comment I’d make is that I don’t think their using the space particularly well, as yet. Seats are round the edges of the room, leaving the central area uncluttered. Should there be a table or two here? At busy times, will this area be filled with people, so tables will get in the way? They’ll work it out, in due course, I’m sure.

Once I’d trundled back to the land of work, I examined my choices. The soup looked grand, and the wrap had a heaviness that suggested it was tightly packed with filling. And so it proved.

Wrap

The wrap was generously filled with good fresh ingredients. The hummus was flavour-packed, and the veggies nice and crunchy.

The soup was one of the better carrot and corianders I’ve had. It had a lovely creaminess to it, combined with a rustic texture. It was extremely pleasing.

So, not only is Social Bite doing highly commendable work, it’s providing good value, high quality lunch items. I’d strongly urge you to pay it a visit, at your earliest convenience. If you like what you find, they’re keen to sign up offices for their delivery service, to maximise the impact of this excellent project. Further details are available on their website.

Scores

Blythe scores Social Bite
4/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 15.5/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: carrot and coriander soup; hummus and vegetable wrap

I drank: nowt

I wore: windowpane checked shirt

Total bill: £5

Rose Street
Edinburgh