Nobles

A corkingly sunny day, a seat outside a lively Leith boozer doing a fine line in pub grub, the excellent company of an Awesommelier, and a matchingly entertaining bottle of white rioja. These are some of the finest ingredients our fair city affords us, for lunchtime entertainment, so I was very pleased to find myself sitting outside Nobles at the nexus of this pleasing concatenation of circumstances.

Soup

I’ve seen Nobles pass through many incarnations, over the years, mainly from my preferred vantage point atop the bar in the nearby Port o’ Leith. Over recent years, it has started to build a reputation as a good spot for grub in a pub setting, pitched at the level above pub grub that’s often referred to as gastropub.

What was clear from today’s menu was that their offering was varied and interesting, with classics given a fresh twist, and a broad range of options to suit small to large appetites.

Mussels

I was joined today by Frances, who previously quested at the Angel’s Share, a few weeks ago. She’s quite the oenophile, and the wine list at today’s chosen establishment was all her own work.

I opted to start with their soup of the day, which was a potentially interesting courgette and rosemary, then follow with their rabbit burger. On the recommendation of our lovely waitress, I opted to add a mozzarella topping. Frances kept things simple with a plate of moules frites, correctly opting for the small portion, which was a more than generous lunchtime portion.

Burger

As we ploughed through a really good white rioja, my soup arrived. It looked decidedly bonnie, with dots of rosemary oil, topping it. The herb oil proved to be a little too intense, but the soup was still very good in its execution. I was very happy with it.

When main courses arrived, Frances’ mussels looked good and tasted even better. The accompanying frites were very nicely made, too. My burger looked excellent. It was good to see that my chips were of the chunky variety, showing that the kitchen was adept at producing both neat and rustic chip varieties.

The burger, packed with flavour and moisture, had solid claims on being the best I’ve sampled in the city. The mozzarella brought a good extra dimension of meltiness, and the bun held up pretty well. The chunky chips were excellent, and even the little side salad was nicely done.

So overall, I was highly impressed with Nobles. They were firmly on their game, today, with each dish we sampled hitting the nail right on the head. I can think of few better pub dining experiences I’ve had, of late. Accordingly, I’d be happy to recommend that you pay them a visit, soon, as I have a strong feeling that you’ll be as impressed as we were.

Scores
Blythe scores Nobles
4/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 16/20

Today’s questers were: Frances, Blythe

We ate: moules frites, courgette and rosemary soup, rabbit burger

We drank: white rioja

We wore: cool shades, shades of blue

Total bill: £42.75