Plans are there to be altered, and such was the case, today. Regular quester Jane was detained at work, so I changed things round so I got to spend lunchtime in the company of Ayla, Mina and Patrick who are visiting from Istanbul, at the moment.

As Ayla is still quite wee, we needed to find a place that was family friendly, so at Mina’s suggestion we headed to The Living Room.

I was scheduled to have come here, a few months previously, but in line with my opening statement, plans changed. I used to frequent this place, many years ago, when a portion of my work life was spent on George Street, but it had been a while since my last stop. I found the place much the same as I remembered it, with the bar at the front, and a large open dining room at the rear.

I had a moment or two to contemplate the menu before my dining companions arrived. I was tickled to see two soups on offer, with a “classic” and a “gourmet”. I did wonder at the distinction, but looked forward to finding out. I thought the pork and chorizo burger sounded like a good way to go for main course.

Patrick opted to start with Thai fishcakes, then followed with the Moroccan lamb, while Mina contented herself with a truffled macaroni cheese main course. Ayla was a little sleepy, so had a wee snooze.

Starters quickly arrived, and were neatly turned out. The “gourmet” chicken and leek looked rather like a Thai-style soup, but the flavours proved to be less palette pleasing. It didn’t really work as a dish, with the chicken broth rather greasy.

The main course burger was much better. The nicely toasted brioche bun was filled with a richly flavourful burger. The accompanying chips were good, but the paprika aioli was rather characterless.

Of the other dishes, the fish cakes were good, and the lamb profuse and well cooked, but the giant cous cous that came with the lamb was strange and quite unpleasant, and the macaroni cheese was fine, but not much beyond that.

So overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag from The Living Room. The service was really good, the place is smart and airy, and the dishes were presented in a range of quite stylish ways, but the food didn’t scintillate. My burger aside, what the dishes had in common was that they were light on flavour. This was a shame, as with a little greater attention to seasoning and spicing, The Living Room could be a solidly pleasing place, with a broad appeal.

Scores
Blythe scores the Living Room
2.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 13.5/20

Today’s questers were: Ayla, Mina, Patrick, Blythe

We ate: soup; Thai fish cakes; pork and chorizo burger; Moroccan lamb with giant cous cous; truffled macaroni cheese; creme brulee

We drank: water, coffees

We wore: snow angel suit, lilac tie, blue jeans, pink boots

Total bill: £51.90