On the way towards Queen Street station, to effect my return to Edinburgh, I was in need of a quick soup and sandwich fix, so stopped off at City Patio, which looked like a no-nonsense spot.

Exterior

Friendly women behind the counter had good banter with customers, offering “bag in or bag out” tea, and other such carefully attended items.

Their soup of the day was veggie lentil. To this, I added a brown baguette with ham, brie and sundried tomatoes on it.

Sad sandwich

With my victuals acquired, I headed to the station, boarded the train, then settled down to munch.

The soup was piping hot, so could wait for a moment, while I turned my attention to the baguette. It was, without doubt, the saddest sandwich I’ve had on all quests, so far. The filling was incredibly meagre, with one slice of ham, one small slice of brie, and three tomato pieces. What there was of it tasted quite good, but the overwhelming feeling was that it was lacking in quantitative terms.

Soup

The soup was much better. It was very similar to a lentil soup that I regularly make, with lovely red lentil thickness and good chunks of carrot and swede. It was completely satisfying.

So overall, it was a mixed bag from City Patio. The underfilled sandwich was a real let down, but the soup was excellent, so my initial disappointment was soon assuaged. Next time I visit, I’ll stick to the soup, as that’s where the place’s strength lies. In fact, I many well make a batch of my own version of that soup, this weekend.

Scores
Blythe scores City Patio
3/5 for food
2.5/5 for presentation
2.5/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 11.5/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: veggie lentil soup; ham, brie and sundried tomato baguette

I drank: nowt

I wore: navy three piece

Total bill: £4.25

53 West Nile Street
Glasgow