“A table in the shipping container, perhaps?” It was certainly one of the odder questions I’d been asked upon arrival at a new restaurant. Various Festival pop-ups have appeared and disappeared in the Forrest Cafe’s former location on Bristo Place, but Checkpoint, although using a name familiar from past endeavours is new, fresh and apparently to be a permanent fixture come mid-September. Intrigued and unaware, I crossed their threshold on opening night.

I got most of the above information from the obliging waitress greeter, upon achieving shelter from the pelting rain. Having been shown to the crate, I was left with the menu, wine list and some water to contemplate what was going on.

With a busy Fringe venue resident upstairs, the place had a vibrant buzz to it. It was a little loud, a little brash, a little Shoreditch, but the menu held plenty of interesting whatnots, so I was content.

With a really eclectic mix covering breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, the menu was slightly hard to pin down. It took me an age to work out what I was going to eat and I had to Google a couple of things.

Eventually, I settled upon a starter bowl of chorizo, merguez, kale and bean stew soup (£5), then followed with kale pesto topped rotolo (one of the things I had to Google) filled with squash, feta and spinach (£7). I matched these with a glass of young Rioja (£5.20).

There was a slight kitchen mix-up which meant both dishes arrived at the same time. As first night glitches go this was entirely acceptable.

I started with the soupy stew. It proved very good eating, although I’m not 100% convinced of the need for both merguez and chorizo in the same dish. They rather battled each other for sausage supremacy. Still, as sausage fests often are it was deeply satisfying.

The rotolo, basically a massive tubular pasta, looked an awful lot like a pair of macaroni pies. I was delighted. Although they were far more sophisticated than that, they still had a great melty heartiness to them. Kale pesto was a new one on me and I was very pleased with it as it cut through the richness of the cheese really rather well.

So overall, I was very impressed with Checkpoint. I’m glad to have stumbled upon it, as from a description of the elements it’s not a place that would instantly appeal to me, but I really liked it and now feel a pioneer association with the place. I look forward to visiting in late September when they’re open on a permanent footing, for a full review. I might even bring MJ along and let her loose on assessing their po’ boys.