TACO MAZAMA MEXICAN KITCHEN 6 Renfield Street, City Centre, 0141 248 8940, www.tacomazama.co.uk, £8 (lunch/dinner) This is authentic US-style Mexican food – clean, bright and fresh as you might find in an upmarket US mall. On offer are burritos, chillis, nachos, tacos and quesadillas; the side salsa comes in four different heat strengths and the jalapenos would be hot enough to satisfy a real cowboy. The meat and veg fillings are a notch above what you might expect at a takeaway, and the massive burritos – rice, beans, sour cream, salad, cheese and meat or vegetables all wrapped in soft, floury, convenient and easy-to-carry tortilla – are a generous meal in themselves.
Edinburgh AMANI
28 Bernard Street, Leith, 0131 555 4626, www.amanirestaurant.com, £8 (lunch) / £18 (dinner) With carved black latticework, glowing panels of pink and purple, slick lighting and waiters in flowing black kurta pajama suits, new Indian Amani is out to make its stylish mark. A cocktail list, kids’ menu (albeit with fish fingers and macaroni) and chef’s special fusion menu incorporating Moroccan and Mediterranean influences all confirm the ambition of Silvia Sanjurjo’s new venture, though familiar tandoori, jalfrezi, korma and biryani dishes are all there too.
LOS CARDOS 281 Leith Walk, Leith, 0131 555 6619, www.loscardos.co.uk, £6.50 (lunch/dinner) Another example of fast food and takeaways trying to re-engage with the world of real food, this small takeaway (with basic seating for about a dozen) promises ‘Fresh Mex’. Tortilla (made on the premises each day), beans, salsa, guacamole, cheese and sour cream are on offer alongside a choice of fillings which includes ‘Red Tractor’ (higher welfare) chicken, slow- roasted pork and even MacSween’s haggis. For an extra kick you can rev things up on the spice front with your choice of chilli toppings.
CHEZ ROUX Greywalls Hotel, Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian, 01620 842144, greywalls.co.uk, £22.50 (set lunch) / £25 (set dinner) Albert Roux, the most influential restaurant chef in the
Amani
For more food and drink visit www.list.co.uk/food-and-drink
SIDE DISHES Déjà vu all over again
UK in the last 30 years, is now within touching distance of Edinburgh with his consultancy contracted to establish a Chez Roux restaurant at Greywalls, one of three such arrangements in Scottish hotels. The menus – written by Roux and blending his rigorous French classicism with the inspiration of local food – are very approachable and certainly not over-priced. Set within the dignified country house designed by Edwardian architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901, the dining room is smallish with golf-course views beyond. It’s not La Gavroche, but it is 45 minutes from Edinburgh.
TASTE OF ITALY 9 Baxter’s Place, New Town, 0131 5557 9996, £10 (lunch/dinner) Taste of Italy shows all the signs of having made good a somewhat blighted corner a few doors down from the Playhouse. Open very early till very late, this is a place for all tastes, whether you’re after a filling breakfast, takeaway latte, quick-bite panini or a more substantial pizza/pasta in the evening. There’s a Milano vibe with Italian pop music in the background, bustling, friendly service, and a tempting selection of cakes and pastries on display, encouraging visitors to linger at high tables by the large windows and do a spot of people-watching over a cappuccino.
Independent write-ups on all the restaurants worth knowing about in Glasgow and Edinburgh are available on our online Eating & Drinking Guide at list.co.uk/food-and-drink Prices shown are for an average two-course meal for one.
■ Hot on the heels of Ashes to Ashes, a Conservative prime minister and not overlooking Marc Almond’s 30th anniversary tour, the 80s and 90s revival continues with the return of the old green and gold livery of Pierre Victoire to the streets of Edinburgh. After two years of hearing diners and journos compare Chez Pierre on Eyre Place to Pierre Victoire, Pierre Levicky couldn’t resist an attempt to revive the good old days by rebranding. Of course the hint was there when Chez Jules arrived in Hanover Street late last year, and Levicky claims it was the success of a one-off Pierre Victoire night at the newer restaurant that prompted the switch. ■ Further mash-inations in the restaurant world can be observed on Forrest Road in Edinburgh where the well-known Monster Mash Café has shifted a few doors along to number 20. The menu and approach remain the same, but the new premises allows more space, a carry-out menu and outdoor dining. Meanwhile, their original site at number 4a has become Mum's Great Comfort Food, run by original Monster Mash owner Terry Soe (who hasn't been involved in the operation for a few years) and looking remarkably similar in livery and menu.
■ Finally, a couple of corrections to point out in the recently published Eating & Drinking Guide 2010:
• The map reference for Boteco do Brasil, the new Brazilian bar, restaurant and live music venue at 62 Trongate in Glasgow (page 151), wasn't quite right. It is listed as dot 30 on Map 7; it should be dot 50. • Edinburgh wine bar Ecco Vino (page 22) is incorrectly listed as offering BYOB. They have lots of good wine of their own to offer, as you can see at www.eccovinoedinburgh.com
10–24 Jun 2010 THE LIST 11