East Coast - Carta

Malvarosa

➤ 262 Portobello High St, Edinburgh, EH152AT, EH15 2AT, United Kingdom

Carta • Tapas • Spanish • Ice Cream • Chocolate

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"Malvarosa is a relatively new challenger to the Portobello High Street. It brings tapas much closer to my house, and for that I thank Malvarosa. And indeed, I thank and praise it highly, for not only does it bring tapas closer, but it brings gooood tapas closer. The service last night was excellent, great banter with the guy front of house (Vegetarian? What kind of monster are you? I think in Spain, I might be burned as a witch (I jest, I jest . You are made to feel welcome, and not rushed, even when the restaurant were heaving, we were one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave, supping on tasty sangria and enjoying a good catchup. To the food the menu is quite small, but not in a bad way just don't go in expecting a book of tapas. Malvarosa keeps it succinct but there is still a good amount of choice across meat, fish and vegetable spectrums. Patata bravas good, smoky paprika flavour with a good kick, although could do with a bit more of a hit of the sauce on the potatoes. A warm ensalada of broad beans, artichoke and spinach was delicious (also available with meat, the Spanish vegetarian option, hur hur hur . I'm still enjoying the thought of chickpeas, spinach and sultanas a tagine y style tapas which I couldn't get enough of. I could go on I'll admit, I forgot to ask my dinner date how the meat dishes were so I can't comment on those. I was too busy enjoying mine to think of anything else. For dessert, we tucked into chocolate cake (super rich, bit too heavy for me, with a stomach already groaning from our mains and flan (I got the last one hurrah! flan had a bit of an odd texture, so a little less enjoyable than I had hoped for. Overall, Malvarosa is a lovely place to spend an evening catching up with good friends. No rush, no stress, just good food and good times."

Crolla's Italian Kitchen

➤ Station Road, Musselburgh I-EH21 7PQ, United Kingdom

Carta • Pizza • Mexican • Asiatic • European

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"Wow, dining here is incredible! I've been to hundreds of Italian restaurants, and this one easily ranks in my top two. The staff is incredibly friendly and accommodating. We were staying in Joppa, and after experiencing terrible food at our hotel, the Best Western, we decided to eat here for two consecutive nights, and it was the best choice we could have made. I started with the arancini and had the chicken and mushroom risotto as the main course—both dishes were absolutely delicious. The gelato is phenomenal as well. Lastly, the service at Crolla’s is truly impressive; all the employees we interacted with were highly professional. The cocktails here are creative and adventurous. If you’re near Edinburgh and love Italian cuisine, Crolla’s is a must-visit!"

Gurkha Bar And Restaurant

➤ 96 North High Street, EH21 6AL, East Lothian, United Kingdom

Carta • Asian • Vegan • Indian • Nepalese

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"Gurkhas is a fantastic establishment! The food is authentic with staff making great recommendations on options. The service is friendly and attentive with staff knowing when to interrupt and when to let you enjoy your meal. The restaurant has good pacing between starters, entrees and mains. The food itself is incredible all the way from sauces with papadums through to mains, with amazing Nepalese tea to finish. Treat yourself to a great meal at Gurkhas!"

Foresters Guild

➤ 40 Portobello High Street, EH15 1DA, Edinburgh, City of, United Kingdom

Carta • Pub • Steak • British • Scottish

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"We visited the Foresters Guild after walking past many times. We certainly regret not visiting earlier. The restaurant is really nice. The booking online is generally easy although it would be helpful to see a map of the restaurant when booking, as the bar area is actually bigger than the restaurant area, however, food is served in both sections. Our first visit to the Foresters Guild was for dinner. We had the pan seared scallops as a starter (to share), and the Spanish Chicken burger and Foresters Beef burger as the main. The food arrived quite quickly. The starter was incredible with the black pudding being really juicy. Whilst the chicken burger was the best chicken burger we’ve encountered yet, the beef burger was overwhelmed by a rather big and dry brioche bun. On a later return visit the brioche bun was much fluffier and suited the burger better. Overall, a smaller brioche, or an alternative bun such as ciabatta or pretzel might be a better fit. The real highlight however were the Foresters Fries. We opted for the Truffle Parmesan fries and the Haggis Peppercorn fries. The Haggis fries were a bit messy to eat, as you can imagine, but really flavourful. The Truffle fries are good when craving something lighter and simply heavenly. We would definitely recommend trying either of these and will come back for these fries alone. We returned for breakfast and chose the full breakfast with the option for extra pieces. The sausages and bacon were outstanding. Some of the best bacon we’ve had, and we’ve had a lot of bacon in the past. The black pudding was also very good. The Haggis on this occasion was rather dry and certainly would not have made Robert Burns’ “Ode to the Haggis” proud. But overall it was very filling, worth the price and we will definitely come back to indulge. The restaurant is clean and the servers are nice, although nobody stood out in particular and all interactions were kept very short. The menu also allows plenty of options for vegan and gluten free requirements, without limiting options for people without dietary requirements. One of our celiac friends thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant as well. Overall we were very happy with our visits and will certainly return in the future."

The Filling Station

➤ 163 High Street, EH32 9AY, East Lothian, United Kingdom

Carta • Food • Vegan • British • Breakfast

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"Brilliant sandwich shop I must be one of their best customers! It's always busy, the staff are all friendly and the food is brilliant. They do filled rolls, baguettes, paninis, homemade soup, burgers, and hot filled rolls too. Their baking is also lovely they do massive scones with clotted cream, cheesecake, truffles etc. In winter time they have a roast and hot rolls/ baguettes which are great. Definitely recommended if you're about this way and need a bite to eat. I like the bacon, brie and cranberry paninis."