ADVERTISING FEATURE

After Christmas everyone is short of money but you don’t have to be rich to eat out in Edinburgh. All the restaurants and cafes listed here offer good value for money with special staple dishes or fixed price menus.

Your overdraft is assuming EEC butter- mountain proportions. the bills are all due and beans on toast seems like it‘s going to be the only culinary delight you‘ll be feasting on in the forseeable future. Fear not the following

reputable establishments will prove that value for money eating doesn‘t

necessarily mean pie and chips down the local caff. but imaginative. mouthwatering and healthy cuisine from around the globe and at prices even Ebeneezer Scrooge couldn't refuse. Whether it‘s a seriously massive four-tier deli sandwich to sustain you through an afternoon or a sit-down three-course Indian lunch bursting with aromatic spices and seasoning. you can be sure of your finances stretching further than Cyn'l Smith’s waistband if you pull up a chair

' at any of these diverse eateries.

I Gate 0 Queen's Hall. Clerk Street. 668 3456.The popular haunt of many a music fan where there‘s a competitive range of aromatic dishes served up in very pleasant surroundings. If you’re feeling peckish then opt for one of the

have overcome the minor setback of a recent fire and restored their highly- rated eaterie to its former glory. With a

' strong French/Scottish bias in mind

they have come up with a competitive starter. main course and coffee lunch menu for £6.95. Stressing that all food is cooked to order. one may expect to

I sample such delights as chicken liver in : red wine for starters with pigeon breast. guinea-fowl or salmon steaks

' representing the main courses. Also on

the menu: soup. salads and baguettes with a dazzling array of fillings.

I Helios Fountain 7 Grassmarket, 229 7884. Renowned wholefood restaurant

in the shadow of the Castle, the cafe is

located at the back of an Aladdin‘s

2 Cave of intriguing ‘altemative' goods.

tasty main courses at £3.80 baked fish

with thyme or curried chicken and apricots which seem to be going down a culinary storm with regulars. A thick bowl of beef and leek soup will set you back a mere £1.20 with pecan-pie or mousse a snip at £1.80.

I The Grain Store 30 Victoria Street. 225 7635. The proprietors of this former 17th-century Castle storehouse

A stn'ct health-orientated menu is in operation so those of a vegan persuasion needn‘t worry. Soup. bread and butter is a meal on its own for £1.55 while vegetable curries, crumbles

and casseroles form the backbone of the main courses starting at £1.95. Despite their aim to offer sugar and wheat-free cakes there's always a grand selection of fresh cream gateaux for the gluttons.

I Henderson’s Salad Table 94 Hanover

Street, 225 2131. Edinburgh‘s original vegetarian restaurant and one of the city's most popular. The emphasis here is on fresh foods direct from the market and wholemeal baking. The continually changing menu means that generous portions of salad are only 80p while the tasty main courses weigh in at £2.50. However the utterly cholesterolbusting desserts will prove your downfall at £1.50. They also have an enviable range of herb teas. just to balance up the health stakes.

I Kalpna 2/3 St Patrick's Square, 667 9890. Award-winning vegetarian restaurant specialising in the subtler southern and western Indian cuisine

The List 28 January—10 February 1994 85