Caffe Nero

Posted on April 4, 2015 by BKR

Exterior

Exterior

Certain situations prompt me to actions I wouldn’t normally take and this was the case today, with an early departure from Waverley station necessitating a trip to Caffe Nero. I stopped in for a breakfast bite and coffee.

I’d visited when compiling the Espresso 100, way back when, and had been thoroughly underwhelmed by their coffee. I gave their espresso another try and it was sadly just as bitter and burnt as before.

Breakfast item

Breakfast item

Their breakfast options included a couple of filled muffin options, so I opted for the ham and egg over the bacon and ketchup. This was heated by the friendly and efficient counter staff.

Soon enough, I was on my way with a defeated looking, squished breakfast muffin in hand.

It was one of the poorest items I’ve been served in all of our quests. Lightly filled with egg mayonnaise and two small, thick triangles of ham, it was a sad effort at breakfast sustenance. The outer casing was like plywood. A couple of hours of southward train journey and I had to eat again, so it didn’t even do the job of addressing my morning hunger. It was complete and total in its failure.

So overall, while Caffe Nero runs an efficient ship that quickly manages down the commuter queues, the fare on offer is dispiritingly poor. Bagel Factory aside, Waverley could, in general, use a refresh of its food options. Caffe Nero needs a major rethink of their breakfast options as what I sampled today was shockingly bad.

Scores
Blythe scores Caffe Nero
1/5 for food
2/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 9.5/20

I ate: egg and ham breakfast muffin

I drank: espresso

I wore: brown suit

Total bill: £4.35

www.caffenero.co.uk

Posted in Breakfast, City Centre | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Cafe Colpamia

Posted on April 3, 2015 by BKR

Exterior

Exterior

With the eye infection that had kept me away from the Budding Chefs pop-up still persisting, I rather gloomily wandered along the road despite the entirely clement weather conditions. I alighted upon Cafe Colpamia, in Roseburn, so popped in for a visit.

I’d visited when it was in different ownership and had been quite charmed by the place. The new owners have brought a Sicilian influence to the menu and have recruited the coffee expertise of Mr Eion to roast their house blend coffee. I was intrigued.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta

I started with coffee which was a dark roast Sumatran balanced with some brightness from peaberry. It was complex and interesting. It’s really pleasing to see more and more good quality continental roasts appearing in the city, as it was a weakness (an absence, really) until very recently.

From the menu I was taken in by talk of bruschetta Scozzese – haggis bruschetta. What could be more reviving than herby tomato and offal based goodness?

Interior looking out

Interior looking out

It promptly arrived, delivered by the very friendly counter man/waiter. It was an extremely generous portion topped with fresh shavings of parmesan. It was right on the cusp of shove-faceward and knife-and-fork-job. After an initial go at the former, my beard had reached saturation point, so the latter was adopted.

Replete with garlic and fresh basil, this was really pleasingly good stuff. The haggis brought a balanced meaty pepperiness so worked really well as an integral part of the dish. I was impressed.

So overall, I was considerably charmed by Cafe Colpamia. It’s a lovely spot serving really tasty food and very good coffee. I look forward to many future visits and would recommend you add it to your list for a priority visit.

Scores
Blythe scores Cafe Colpamia
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: bruschetta Scozzese (pesto, tomato, haggis, parmesan, oregano)

I drank: espresso, water

I wore: shady shades

Total bill: £6.60

Cafe Colpamia on Urbanspoon

Posted in Coffee shop, Edinburgh Cafe, Italian, West | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Lancer’s

Posted on April 2, 2015 by BKR

Exterior

Exterior

My good friend Andy (@wandywatson) has been a great supporter of the site since its infancy, in many and various ways. I mention him because in recent years he has chosen Lancer’s, an Indian in Stockbridge, as his preferred location for Christmas lunch. I finally followed his lead and crossed their threshold for a late evening visit.

It was a quiet Tuesday, so I had the largely undivided attention of the friendly front of house staff. I was seated at a table in their main dining area and left to contemplate the menu.

Starters

Starters

I quickly settled upon trying the two dishes that had the Lancer’s name in their title – the starter kebabs and the daal. I added a methi gosht and plain naan to round things out.

The starter was soon with me and was a bit of a mixed bag. The fish pakora was really good, but the lamb and chicken kebabs were pretty tough going. They both had good flavour, but there was room for improvement.

Methi gosht

Methi gosht

The main course was on much surer lines. The lamb was plentiful and delicious, the daal was very good and the naan was of the soft, fresh and pillowy variety. I was very pleased with it.

So overall, I really rather liked Lancer’s. The service was a real strength with a friendly and attentive approach creating a welcoming atmosphere. A few missteps on the starter aside, I enjoyed the food very much. I’d be happy to visit again.

Scores
Blythe scores Lancer’s
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 14.5/20

I ate: mixed kebab, methi gosht, daal, naan

I drank: lager

I wore: brogues

Total bill: £27.45

Lancers Brasserie on Urbanspoon

Posted in Indian, Stockbridge | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Golden Ambal

Posted on April 1, 2015 by BKR

Deals board

Deals board

The restaurant on the corner of Albert Street has gone through four different incarnations since we’ve been writing Lunchquest. Golden Ambal is the latest, following in the footsteps of Assam, Babylon and Chaska. I popped in to try their lunch menu on a lovely sunny day.

The place remains rather smart with beautiful golden cornicing and nice Indian detailing in the upstairs space. The downstairs, with seating for around another forty people, has been given a nice refresh, too. I was impressed

Their lunch menu offered two courses for £5.95, which sounded pretty good to me. I started with chilli paneer, then lamb saag with rice and butter naan.

Chilli paneer

Chilli paneer

The friendly and attentive waiter was soon bringing over my starter which was packed with bright peppers. It proved very tasty indeed with profuse chunks of paneer in a warmly spiced sauce.

The main course maintained the very pleasing standard. The portion of lamb was very nicely judged for lunchtime, as was the naan. The rice was really good, too.

Lamb, rice, naan

Lamb, rice, naan

So overall, I was highly pleased with Golden Ambal. This hasn’t been a fortunate location, but this iteration is well-equipped to flourish as the fare on offer is very good. I look forward to visiting again, particularly to give their dosas a try. I’d recommend a visit.

Scores
Blythe scores Golden Ambal
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: chilli paneer; lamb saagwala; pulao rice; butter naan

I drank: water

I wore: brown suit

Total bill: £5.95

Golden Ambal on Urbanspoon

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iCafe

Posted on March 31, 2015 by BKR

Exterior

Exterior

I feel I’m perhaps starting to exhaust the early morning options between Queen Street station and the office where I often lurk in Glasgow, but I was glad to spot iCafe on Sauchiehall Street, to which I hadn’t previously been. I popped through their automatic doors into their smartly appointed cafe.

Their coffee, a house blend from Matthew Algie, was prominently positioned and available in retail bags. It didn’t hit the spot with me, though, as is often the case with Algie coffees.

Breakfast roll

Breakfast roll

For the sustenance element, I chose a bacon and egg bap. It was interesting to note that the turkey rasher was their preferred approach.

The bap soon appeared, delivered by the friendly and smartly aproned counter man. The turkey bacon was tasty but the scrambled egg was bland and under-seasoned. The bap was pretty ordinary, too.

Interior

Interior

So overall, iCafe was decent but a touch underwhelming. It’s a tidy and friendly place and clearly very popular, but it didn’t particularly float my boat.

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

I ate: turkey bacon and scrambled egg roll

I drank: espresso, water

I wore: pink shirt

Total bill: £4.74

Icafe on Urbanspoon

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