BACKLIST
FOOD & DRIN
TITBITS
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I The Whisky Bar 150 West Campbell Street. Glasgow. 0I4I 332 1032. Flushed with the runaway success of his earlier venture. Mojo. Bobby Patterson has recently made another foray into the licensed trade. Following in the footsteps of Whisky Bars in Paris. LA. and New York. Patterson has tried to recreate a speakeasy atmosphere where folk can drift in for a low-key drink.
Where Mojo boasts a design-led interior. the Whisky Bar has gone for a more traditional and down to earth style. Richard McLane. the man responsible for the tables and seating in the Theatre Royal cafe and the metal fittings in the Puppet Theatre restaurant. has made intriguing wrought metal frames for the stained glass window fittings but these compliment the overall relaxed tone of the interior rather than clash with it.
On the pints and platters front The Whisky Bar has gone in for real ales as well as the usual range of draught beers and true to its name they have a gantry packed with diverse examples of the distiller's arts. The extended lunch hour sees hearty school dinner type nosh being served up with dishes such as chicken and ham pie. stovies and sticky toffee pudding taking pride of place.
As we all know. man cannot live. on food and alcohol alone; you need a
.spot of music to help the medicine slide down and
i The Whisky Bar has live
music every night with the occasional ad hoc jamming session striking up. While there is no set music policy laid down. the local bands that play
2 tend towards the bluesy/
folky end of the spectrum.
I Crabbie’s Green Ginger
has been relaunched with a lower sugar content and
I a spicier ginger taste. Just : to help things along
Crabbies are sponsoring a series ofconcerts at the
George Hotel on George Street. lidinburgh.
Perennial fave Craig McMurdo will be giving
the assembled throng a
taste of his golden tonsils and Crabbies will provide
I the opportunity for the
audience to taste a Whisky Mac made from
equal measures of
Crabbies and whisky.
McMurdo appears on Fri I/Sat 2 and Tue 5/Wed ()
Dec.
I Cate Dante 112 Hanover Street. Edinburgh. 226 I960. The
former Marie-Rose has ' been taken over and given a reformed ifsomewhat ; schizophrenic character.
At street level. there is a friendly cafe done out in a deliberately distressed design with big blocks of colour battling it out for supremacy among themselves. Harassed
g shoppers can pop down
Hanover Street for a quick
caffeine and cake injection while the more
leisurely-inclined can go for the full blow-out and tuck into a substantial
meal. The menu covers the likes of baked potatoes. pastas. fried camembert and croissants at under £4 or dishes such as Dante's chicken at £6.95: breaded supreme of chicken stuffed with ham and cheese and topped with an orange sauce. Everything is hand-made so be cautious with the tiramisu. Plans are afoot to extend the opening hours to 7.30am-2am which should please both early birds and very late risers.
Upstairs there is a restaurant serving much the same menu but with a slightly tnore formal atmosphere. ()fcourse there‘s no point having a Cafe Dante unless there's an inferno involved at some point in the proceedings and for this. sinners must descend to the basement. Lurking in the underworld is a fledgling pre-club club with [Ms playing at the weekend and live bands strutting their stuffduring the week.
I Zamzamah 157—150 l.othian Road. Edinburgh. 229 IOOO. Khalil
M ansoori has moved back into the restaurant business having sold his partnerships in the Shamiana and the Ann Purna over the last three years.
His new venture, whose name translates as ‘Rhythm of life‘. will specialise in seafood dishes from all over the sub-continent. a distinct change from most Indian restaurants that seem to be under a self-imposed ban from using anything remotely fish-like. All fresh ingredients are promised and the spices used are hand-ground to ensure that the flavours are pungent rather than flat or stale.
Set lunches start from
£4.95 up to £7.95 while the evening sees set meals from £7.95—£l5.95. (Jonathan Trew)
VIVA MEXICCD
hcensed nesta errant
LUNCH — 12—2.30pm EVENINGS — 6—1 1pm (last orders 10.30pm)
10, anchor close, Cockburn Street EDINBURGH 226 5145 50, East Fountainbridge EDINBURGH 228 40051
Filmhouse
Cafe Bar
If you want a hassle free party for a lot less
than you'd think.
why not try Filmhouse. You'll be surprised what we can do for
you!
'phone 229-5932 88 Lothian Road
Edinburgh
private dinner parties & outside catering. You can bring your own bottle.
Ask for the Soup Dragon on 0131 467 7847
24s Dairy Road. Edinburgh EH1 1 2.19
Ia Gargotte Cale, Bistro
Pro/Saw}, me éwt éa
8 Ruthvon Lane Glasgow
334 7165
1‘ I?! Kerwin/(d
I: l LIVE MUSIC - JAZZ/FUNK IEXTENSIVE WINE LIST :
12pm - 1.80am 1a Chambers St. 7 days Edinburgh a Lunch & Dinner 0131 — 220 - 4298 ;
WE CAN HANDLE “'9 (All YOU?
CALEY BISTRO AIID ALE HOUSE
A CONTEMPORARY SCOTTISH PRODUCT
WITH A TWIST!
BYO WINE WELCOME WITH A SMALL FINE! l-3 HAYMARKET TERRACE, EDINBURGH
8AM - IAM
OI3l-337-|006
J
The List I-l4 Dec I905 95