Deelicious Geelicious

Interior

Interior

I was in a rush in Glasgow. This was not the first time. On my previous escapades I’d spotted that Biggars music store seemed to have a new cafe ensconced in the ground floor of its premises. Called Deelicious Geelocious, I thought I’d give it a whirl.

With service at the counter, I firstly ordered espresso, from Portioli, then added their soup of the day which was beetroot and roasted parsnip.

Soup and bread

Soup and bread

The core of their selection was cakey treats and given the soup combo spelled sweetness, I suspected I was in for something that didn’t entirely agree with my palette. And so it proved.

Brightly hued and profusely portioned, the soup proved a velvetty textured tooth-loosener.

On the upside, it was served with two doorsteps of excellent bread. On the downside, the coffee was poorly made and bitter as hell.

So overall, Deelicious Geelicious wasn’t my kind of place. The cake selection looked very pleasing but I really don’t like it when the cakey sweetness drifts over into sweet savouries. My advice would be go for the cake, stay for the cake.

Scores
Blythe scores Dee Gee
2.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 12.5/20

I ate: beetroot and parsnip soup

I drank: espresso, water

I wore: grey and stripes

Total bill: £5.50

Deelicious Geelicious Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Posted in Glasgow, soup | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Patisserie Valerie

Exterior

Exterior

OK – I’m going to commit one of my regular heresies and eat a thing at a place that’s not really their main point of existence, or to state it more simply I went for a fry-up in a cake shop. The place in question was Patisserie Valerie, the UK-wide chain of cake emporiums that draws its origins to 1920s Soho.

I have tried their cakes on a couple of occasions as their branch on North Bridge is not far from my office and the inevitable leaving dos and birthdays are occasionally populated with their wares. The cakes are generally very pretty, very big and very sugary; a monstrous, sickly case of all sizzle and no steak.

But I approached breakfast with a clear mind and their red formica topped tables very much helped to get me in the greasy spoon way of thinking. They were a very odd mismatch with the gilt mirrors and Parisian poster art.

Service was very welcoming with the international flavour of the staff matching very nicely with the predominantly tourist customers. The atmosphere was effervescent and impressively warm.

Breakfast

Breakfast

I was in the mood for their full Scottish breakfast which brought together haggis, sausage, bacon, poached or scrambled eggs (I opted for the former), toast, tomatoes, mushrooms and beans. This arrived after a short pause looking very much as expected.

The first thing to report was that the eggs weren’t poached, they were baked in that great misnomer item, an egg poacher. What’s more they were cooked through to solid yolks. If this is how they prepare their eggs for the range of Benedict-type dishes they offer, I would avoid these like the plague.

Interior

Interior

This aside, the breakfast was really pretty good. The haggis was decent as was the bacon, and the sausage and mushrooms were both a notch or two better than that. The toast was of good quality, as was the butter. This was all pretty pleasing.

So overall, it was a slightly mixed bag from Patisserie Valerie, but their friendly approach just about won me over. Until they can demonstrate a change of approach, avoid their “poached” eggs, but that aside I’d be happy to come back for breakfast in sure knowledge of receiving a good feed.

Scores
Blythe scores Patisserie Valerie
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 14/20

I ate: full Scottish breakfast (poached eggs, bacon, sausage, haggis, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes and beans)

I drank: water

I wore: lilac shirt

Total bill: £7.95

Patisserie Valerie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Posted in Breakfast, City Centre | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Annabelle’s

Exterior (with new sign)

Exterior (with new sign)

I have two apologies to make to Annabelle’s. Firstly, they messaged me many months ago suggesting that I come in and give them a try. My reluctance to do so leads on to my second apology.

In my younger and more vulnerable years, I played a very minor role in a piece of thievery from Annabelle’s: we pinched their sign. And I don’t mean an easily liftable A-board sign; I mean people on each other’s shoulders unscrewing a swinging sign from above the cafe’s entrance. Fuck knows why we did it, but it was hilarious for us at the time and no doubt a baffling pain in the arse for them.

So, apologies Annabelle’s: I was student tosser, but now that I’m a grown-up tosser, please accept this sincere apology.

In a further twist, I visited on the day that Filament had their bench stolen from the front of their cafe, likely by the current generation of student tossers. Thankfully it was returned a couple of days later. And so the world turns.

Soup

Soup

Anyhoo, Annabelle’s is a delightful little cafe on Sciennes Road. The menu is packed with homemade delights, with a good mix of cakes and savouries, and a good range of hot dishes. I was in a soupy mood so ordered the broccoli and blue cheese from a daily changing list of three options.

This was promptly delivered by the friendly waitress. It was accompanied by two rustic slices of multi-seed bread, made in-house.

Interior detail

Interior detail

Both the bread and the soup were very good indeed. The bread had a lovely cakey crumb and the soup had just the right amount of blue cheese tang to balance the broccoli. I was impressed.

So overall, I was glad to finally apologise for past misdeeds, but mainly it was just fantastic to find Annabelle’s on such fine form. I must come back and explore their menu in more detail. On the basis of their very pleasing soup and bread, and the lovely atmosphere of the place, I very much look forward to that. You should make sure to visit and when you do, please don’t steal anything.

Scores
Blythe scores Annabelle’s
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15.5/20

I ate: broccoli and blue cheese soup

I drank: water

I wore: blue

Total bill: £4.50

Annabelle's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Posted in Edinburgh Cafe, Marchmont, soup | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fire in Babylon

Exterior

Exterior

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the new places opening in Edinburgh. I get that I should be enthused by all the exciting new places, but I’m just not feeling it at the moment. Accordingly, I toddled off to Glasgow and made a lunchtime visit to Fire in Babylon, on Hope Street.

A Caribbean street food kitchen, the interior is nicely informal with plenty of room to take things in. Furniture is finest Swedish flat-pack mixed with comfy sofas. It comes together quite smartly.

Curry goat

Curry goat

Upon approaching the counter, I was quickly drawn in by talk of curry goat so ordered that to sit-in. I took a seat at the window so the world going by could watch me, or vice versa.

My dish was soon with me looking hearty and enticing. Good chunks of flavourful meat, served on the bone, were wrapped in a warmly spiced sauce. It was impressively good.

Interior sign

Interior sign

The accompanying rice & peas and simple dressed salad brought the required filling and textural elements making the dish entirely satisfying.

So overall, I thought Fire in Babylon was doing very good work. It reminded me a little of West African favourite Mam Kangu’s Delicacy, as they both have a commitment to hearty goodness using a similar flavour and spice palette. I’d be glad to visit again and would recommend it to you.

Scores
Blythe scores Fire in Babylon
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15.5/20

I ate: curry goat

I drank: water

I wore: charcoal overcoat

Total bill: £8.95

Fire In Babylon Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Posted in Caribbean, Glasgow | Tagged , | Leave a comment

City Grill Steakhouse

Exterior

Exterior

We’ve had a little burst of steakhouse openings, with Field Grill House at the forefront, joined by new places on Morrison Street (where Atithi used to be) and on Bread Street (where Hei used to be). I popped into the latter to check out its meaty wares.

The soundtrack was Cuban and the feel of the place South American, so it felt like fairly familiar territory and not unlike Los Argentinos.

Goat's cheese

Goat’s cheese

Service was a strength throughout with the extremely friendly waiter attentive and enthusiastic.

My eye was caught by their very reasonably priced burgers, but given my visit was in the evening, I figured I’d try the steak and come back at lunchtime to try the burgers in due course.

I opted to start with the grilled goat’s cheese then followed with ribeye steak. This came with handcut chips and a choice of sauces. I opted for the blue cheese on the side and they also let me try the chimichurri, which proved a rather bitter with fierce garlic.

The goat’s cheese starter was really nicely executed and had a great balance of flavours, with thin slices of beetroot, sweet cherry tomatoes and a smart balsamic dressing. It was simple but really tasty.

Steak

Steak

The centrepiece steak was pretty good, but lacked a really good char or overwhelming beefy flavour to really make the dish sing. The chips were fine, the blue cheese a notch better, but it packed just a little less wow factor than I’d hoped.

So overall, the City Grill was enjoyable and pretty good, but I think it will struggle unless it makes its offering just a bit more compelling and distinct. For now it’s a friendly little mid-priced, mid-quality steakhouse in a notoriously tricky location. I’d like to see it succeed but wouldn’t be betting my house on it.

Scores
Blythe scores City Grill
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

I ate: goat’s cheese salad; ribeye steak, chips, blue cheese sauce, chimichurri

I drank: sparkly water

I wore: action footwear

Total bill: £25.90

City Grill Steakhouse Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Posted in Lothian Road, steak | Tagged , | Leave a comment