GetStuffed FoodDrinkRestaurants
Let them eat cake Carine Seitz tastes a slice of Parisian heaven in Stockbridge
O pen since April 2010, Pâtisserie Madeleine is based on the French concept of salon de thé, where a variety of little cakes and sweet pastries are enjoyed with a hot drink. Very much a nod to Parisian chic, the diminutive shop has a classic palette of cream and black, with Louis XV chairs, photography of Paris scenes adorning the walls and French music playing discreetly in the background.
All the cakes are handmade and created on site by Arnaud, the resident pâtissier. Madagascan vanilla, mascarpone, deep caramel, crisp praline and delicate summer berries are among the various ingredients used in his creations, which wouldn’t look out of the place on the set of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. As well as beautifully crafted cakes, you’ll find authentic macarons, the delicate confectionary made of two almond meringue discs sandwiched together with ganache and scented with various flavours ranging from
10 THE LIST 22 Jul–5 Aug 2010
matcha tea to vanilla and strawberry. A fine selection of teas is supplied by Eteaket and coffee is expertly made, with a respectable crema topping a strong black espresso. Whether you choose to sit in or buy a cake to take home with you, the volume of choice and sheer prettiness of the cakes means you’ll definitely be seduced into returning for more. ++ Surprisingly light cakes mean you can eat more than one -- Obscured by the bus stop outside means it can be easy to miss
PÂTISSERIE MADELEINE
27b Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, 0131 332 8455, www.patisseriemadeleine.com
Tue–Sat 10am–5.30pm; Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Ave. price cake and beverage £5
> RECENT OPENINGS
The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh, covered in every issue by The List’s team of independent reviewers Glasgow HORN OF AFRICA 672 Eglinton Street, Southside, 0141 429 4285, £6 (lunch/dinner) Low-cost, wholesome Somalian food served in a friendly and alcohol-free diner. Staples include fragrant rice with vegetables and dried fruit served with slow-cooked chicken, fish or lamb served with a zingy green chilli and lemon sauce. Other dishes combine Italian and north African influences, so spaghetti or canjeera (large savoury pancakes) may be on offer. There is sweet halva or fresh fruit but it is best rounded off with Somali-style tea. All main meals £5.
THE PIONEER 140 Elderslie Street, West End, 0141 332 1830, £12 (lunch/dinner) Now under new management and boasting an all- new menu, The Pioneer is part of the burgeoning bar and restaurant district around the Mitchell Library that manages to straddle both the City Centre and West End – appealing to those in both camps who refuse to stray too far from their favoured patch. Sunday brunch is a big draw with the morning papers and Bloody Marys alongside a full fry-up. Bar meals are all under a tenner and offer a surprisingly diverse range of options – rabbit and fries anyone?
BO’VINE Hilton Grosvenor Hotel, 385 Byres Road, West End, 0141 341 6540, www.bovinerestaurant.com, £24 (dinner) The too-clever-by-half name lets you know what’s going on at this new steakhouse tucked into the Byres Road gable end of the Grosvenor Hotel: bó is Gaelic for cow, you see, and beau is French for beautiful. And vine gives you wine and bovine gets you back to the cow. So, meat and wine. The menu selection process – steak plus plus a choice of side sauces and vegetables – makes choosing with a partner quite enjoyable as all the sides are served to be shared. Staff are pleasant and helpful and the smooth tempranillo by the glass goes down very well, and while there are some decent dishes to be had the steaks themselves can prove a bit of a work-out for both arms and jaws. Not so clever, really. Edinburgh GOOD SEED 100-102 Dalry Road, Haymarket 0131 337 3803, www.goodseedbistro.com, £11 (lunch/dinner) This corner spot punches above its weight with a concise Mediterranean-leaning menu. Homely and