After a very enjoyable time checking out their cocktail masterclass, Danielle (of Edinburgh Foody fame) and I took the opportunity to give All Bar One’s food menu a try.

It had been a wee while since my last visit to their George Street branch, but I found it quite nicely abuzz on this midweek evening. It’s always been a reasonably reliable spot for an early evening drink and I have eaten here previously, on occasion.

We quickly settled upon trying one of their build-your-own sharing platters, with five dishes costing £25. We divided up the choices and settled upon trying their duck and smoked chicken rillette with toast, slow roast pork and crackling, seabass ceviche, caramelized cauliflower with harissa, and szechuan crusted calamari.

Dishes arrived all together, delivered by our friendly and attentive waitress. They all looked rather smart.

The winning dish was the cauliflower, which had good colour and was served with nicely pokey harissa. The ceviche was rather good, too.

There wasn’t much of a szechuan kick to the calamari, but it was nicely crisp. The rillette didn’t pack much of the suggested smokiness, but was still solidly decent. The slow cooked pork was probably the weakest of the dishes, with the crackling verging on the inedible.

So overall, it was a slightly mixed bag from All Bar One’s sharing platter, but it was a generally positive experience. Stronger dishes just about carried the day so we were left pretty content with our choices. I’m sure I’ll be back again in the future. If you find yourself here and in need of a feed, you’re likely to be decently pleased with what’s on offer.

Scores
Blythe scores All Bar One
3/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 13.5/20

Today’s questers were: Danielle, Blythe

We ate: sharing platter of duck rillette, charred cauliflower, seabass ceviche, szechuan crusted calamari, slow cooked pork with crackling

We drank: water, coffees

We wore: red scarf, brown brogues

Total bill: £29.25