Recent Openings The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Glasgow
BANANA LEAF MALAYSIAN 67 Cambridge Street, City Centre, G3 6QX, 0141 333 9994, £7.90 (set lunch) / £14 (dinner) The two Wong brothers and their father offer Chinese Malaysian cuisine and a warm welcome to an already loyal clientele – Chinese customers especially favouring the soft-shelled crab and the stir-fried pork belly. The banana leaf theme runs from the plastic
curtains separating the kitchen to the plates themselves. A deep-flavoured, moist and meaty curry beef brisket is rich and rounded with a simmering chilli heat, while stir-fried prawns take on flavours of butter and milk and are given a lift with coriander, chilli, lemongrass and curry leaves. Authentic dishes and reasonable prices mean the restaurant is often very busy with local students, so booking is advised.
NO 1 CHOCOLATE FACTORY CAFE AND CHOCOLATE WORKSHOP 63 St Georges Road, Charing Cross, G3 6JA, 1chocolatefactory.com, £9 (lunch) / £14 (early evening) The idea behind this new venture from brothers Chris and James Davie is to offer an experience that’s equally as enjoyable for kids as it is for adults. Kids can head through to a backroom and experiment with moulding and decorating their own chocolate shapes to take home, while parents (and any other adults of course – you don’t need to bring kids) can relax in the spacious and colourful café, watching the Charing Cross bustle beyond the huge windows. The menu has options to suit most moods, from cakes or sandwiches to delicious meat/fish/ cheese or mixed platters.
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Edinburgh LA BARANTINE FRENCH CAFE/PATISSERIE 202 Bruntsfield Place, Southside, EH10 4DF, 0131 229 0267, £5.95 (set lunch) This new French café in Bruntsfield ain’t huge, and given its rapid popularity it’s really only a dose of Gallic bonhomie that keeps things cosy rather than cramped. Fortunately this is provided in the short menu where high-quality ingredients are evident in the simple soup, salad and sandwich dishes. Better still, though, are the pastries, superbly balanced between butteriness and lightness. Owner Vincent Aplincourt is a baker by trade with
everything from macaroons and sweet tarts to the breads and buttery quiche lorraine produced inhouse. What is not made is well sourced: teas from Eteaket, cheese and meat from Henri’s.
ASSAM’S INDIAN CAFE-DELI-RESTAURANT 1 Albert Place, Leith Walk, EH7 5HN, 0131 555 4000, assamscafe.co.uk, £14 (lunch/dinner) Assam’s brings to Edinburgh a combination of Indian café and deli that has become a feature in its well- established sister restaurant in Glasgow. On street level, under a glittering chandelier and surrounded by gold- flecked tiles, a smattering of informal tables sit alongside an open kitchen and chilled deli counter with ready-to-go pakora, curries and desserts and a takeaway menu featuring Indian pizzas. The windowless, stone-clad basement cleverly draws warmth from colourful wall tapestries, voile fabric dividers and a busily illuminated ceiling. Spicy nibbles and roti wraps populate the café menu, while the menu in the downstairs restaurant brings together chicken and vegetarian starters and mains with a decent sprinkling of fish options along with an appealing array of tapas-sized dishes.
blog at realfoody.blogspot.com. ‘At Real Foods, people are always coming in saying, “I’ve been looking for that for years! At last I have found it!” And if we don’t stock it we will try our hardest to get it for you – that is a genuine promise. Real Foods really is an Aladdin’s cave for food lovers and cooks!’ Real Foods holds regular, fun and informative events, see realfoods.co.uk for updates.
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AN ALADDIN'S CAVE FOR FOOD LOVERS AND COOKS Jenny Schofield has been a customer at Real Foods since she was 10 years old and went with her mother. Today she is the produce buyer for Real Foods on Broughton Street, Edinburgh. ‘I’ve always been fascinated by where and how food is produced and really enjoy working with the many local producers that
Real Foods buys from. Provenance and a fair deal are important to us all. ‘My mum introduced me to Real Foods when
she had a bakery and came here to buy organic flour in bulk. As I grew up I got seriously into cooking and I always knew that if there was anything I needed for a recipe, Real Foods would have it. I put lots of recipes online on the Real Foods website, realfoods.co.uk, and loads are wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. I’ve my own food
REAL FOODS | 37 Broughton Street | EH1 3JU & 8 Brougham Street | Tollcross | EH3 9JH | www.realfoods.co.uk 26 Apr–24 May 2012 THE LIST 27