I’d spotted the Broadsheet Bistro a few months ago and been quite intrigued by it. To escape the chill blast of a Friday wind I stepped inside their smart and accommodating premises.

Exterior

Their lunchtime deal of soup and a sandwich for £7.95 seemed to fit the bill so I ordered that. The soup was celeriac and apple. I chose a ham and mustard sandwich from their brief and quite uninspiring selection.

Part of the Fraser Suites on St Giles Street, the main bistro room is very elegant with natural light bathing a very smart interior. Sadly, their culinary fare was decidedly less impressive.

Sandwich and soup

The sandwich was a completely limp affair. It was the kind of thing you might make for yourself in the house when you’d lost the will to live, but it was not an item that should have been making an appearance in a smart restaurant. The soup was alright, but it couldn’t redeem the very poor impression that the sandwich had made.

So overall, the Broadsheet Bistro was hugely disappointing. In the context of places like this, lunchtime deals are supposed to be an opportunity for people to be impressed by how well you do the simple things while they spend a little time reading your enticing evening menu so they’re lured in to visit again to try the full-price dishes. The complete lack of imagination on display today was baffling. Although the setting is very elegant, I couldn’t recommend it as a place to visit.

Interior

Scores
Blythe scores the Broadsheet Bistro
2/5 for food
2/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
3/5 for service
giving an overall 11/20

I ate: celeriac and apple soup; ham and mustard sandwich

I drank: sparkly water

I wore: tweeds

Total bill: £10.20