I’ve walked past Foodies at Holyrood, on a number of occasions, and whilst it’s very close to my office, as the crow flies, the walk between the two locations is either highly circuitous, or it involves hiking up and down Jacob’s Ladder (or Regent Road Park), which isn’t the most enjoyable lunchtime pursuit.

Exterior

I managed to combine the circuitous and the steep in a tolerable enough fashion, today, so popped in for a quick takeout visit.

The place does busy lunchtime service, so I joined a short queue, at the front of which were a couple of folks awaiting their order. I was soon served, by an efficient counter girl. I opted to add a toasted bacon, chicken and brie ciabatta to my soup, which today was ham and lentil.

Ciabatta

The service doesn’t seem to work quite right. It’s fair enough for orders come out as and when they’re ready, but it had a rather chaotic feel. Moreover, it all felt a bit impersonal, too, but maybe that was just because I caught them at a busy moment.

Once I negotiated the hill that stood between me and my office, I was soon enough contemplating my selections.

Soup

After verifying that the soup was plenty warm enough, I tucked into the ciabatta. The filling was generous, with the brie particularly nice. It was a little better than your average toasted sandwich, so I was quite pleased with it.

The soup had a hearty and rustic texture, which boded well. However, it lacked seasoning and flavour. Once I’d liberally salted and peppered it, from the mountainous stash of extraneous packets that litter my life, I was much happier with things.

So, Foodies at Holyrood was perfectly fine. I think using the term “foodie” in the title of the place gives some impression that it might be a bit better than perfectly fine, but as a reliable spot for decent grub, it hits the mark. If it has ambitions of being a somewhere that builds a reputation for quality, it will need to improve things a fair way, though.

Scores

Blythe scores Foodies & Co
3.5/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
2.5/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 12/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: ham and lentil soup; bacon, chicken and brie ciabatta

I drank: nowt

I wore: navy overcoat

Total bill: £5.50

67 Holyrood Road
EH8 8AU