La Barantine Victoria

La Barantine in Bruntsfield has long been on my list of places to visit, but when I’ve tried to go there it has invariably been completely full, as it’s very popular.

It came as no surprise to hear they were opening a new shop on Victoria Street. It’s much more on my routine flight-path so I found an opportunity for a trip there after it had been open for only a few weeks.

I was joined today by Rose. We had some Total Food Geeks business to discuss but this was handled quickly enough, allowing us to focus on tasty lunchtime treats.

We were both lured in by the specials board, which offered butternut squash as their soup of the day and a croque monsieur as their daily changing main dish. These arrived promptly looking very generous in terms of portion size.

The soup proved to be very good, with a lovely velvetty texture and creamy finish. It was highly enjoyable stuff.

The croque monsieur was good, too. The bread was very good, but the filling didn’t pack the winningly flavour-packed gooeyness of the one I’d had at Le Bistrot, the other day. It was a hearty and pleasing eat, though.

They have an excellent selection of baked goods, across both sweet and savoury. These are available both to sit in and takeaway, ensuring the place will remain as busy as it was today.

So overall, La Barantine’s new branch is doing very good work. The welcome is extremely friendly and the place is full of Gallic charm. I’d recommend a visit, next time you’re in the neighbourhood.

Scores
Blythe scores La Barantine
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20

Today’s questers were: Rose, Blythe

We ate: butternut squash soup (2); croque monsieur (2)

We drank: espresso, water

We wore: long skirt, action footwear

Total bill: £22.65