Newly opened where the Hudson used to be, Angel’s Share is a smart looking hotel, in Edinburgh’s fashionable West End. It’s bar restaurant, bejewelled with magnificent chandeliers, was our lunching location, today.
Exterior
I was joined by Frances, who had previously joined at The Pantry, and Ross, who most recently quested at Bar Soba.
Due to hectic scheduling, I joined these lovely people midstream, meaning that they’d already sampled some chicken wings by the time I arrived. The angelic theme of the place’s name is echoed in some of their dishes, with the two types of wings styled as “angels” and “devils”. They’d saved me some to try, which I messily shoved faceward. They were good, but not particularly thrilling.
Wings
The main item for me to catch up on was that during the 45 minutes that they’d already been there, the service had proved ponderously slow. This continued through my time there. 30 minutes passed between us ordering main courses and having to put out a call for a waitress to go and assess where our food might be.
I had ordered macaroni cheese, Ross a burger, while Frances had placed her fate in the hands of the kitchen, as their menu wasn’t particularly helpful in identifying dishes that might suit the needs those with specific dietary requirements. The kitchen’s choice of a chicken burger on a gluten free bun was met with Frances’ approval, but it was a rare highlight in what became an increasingly confused mixed bag of an experience.
Mac and cheese
I sampled a little of Ross’s burger and it was incredibly dry. The batter of his onion rings was undercooked, too. On the upside, the accompanying fries were very nicely seasoned.
My macaroni cheese was pretty good, and the simple side salad was fine, too.
Trying to reach a conclusion about Angel’s Share is incredibly hard, so I don’t think I can really award a score to reflect it. The place is lovely, with stylish décor and twinkliness aplenty. The dishes, served on chopping boards, looked pretty fair, although Ross’s onion rings looked rough (and so they proved), and my mac and cheese looked much as it always tends to look. I would not have been pleased if I’d ordered the burger, at all, and the onion rings were poor. But my mac and cheese was a good dish.
Burger and onion rings (and fries)
For certain, though, the service was nowhere near where it should have been. It was slow, sloppy, inaccurate and just a complete mess. As Ross commented, they should have delayed opening and spent a week longer on staff training.
So I have a feeling that Angel’s Share will get better, and may end up being a solidly good place, in due course, but for now I’d give it a wide berth. If I happen to find the time, I may visit again, later in the year, when I’ll hopefully be able to award it a score, rather than delivering a verdict that’s just about as confused as their service was, today.
Today’s questers were: Frances, Ross, Blythe
We ate: chicken wings (angels and devils), burger, chicken burger, macaroni cheese
We drank: sparkly wine, red wine, ale, water
We wore: red hat, pink shirt, green tie
Total bill: £67.55
