if i were religious, i would swear my prayers had recently been answered. for years i have been chanting the mantra “please might someone open a decent pub, with really good food, somewhere between jock’s lodge and leith walk”. but edinburgh’s equivalents of the goddesses edesia and bibesia must have been sat atop arthur’s seat with their fingers in their ears – until now!
for the last few weeks, as i trudged back and forth between scrumptious scran towers and my place of work in central edinburgh, i noted that the old station bar on abbeyhill’s cadzow place – a very traditional scottish boozer – had been shut for a bit of a repaint. then the posters appeared in its picture windows, announcing the arrival of the safari lounge. might this be, at last, a decent new boozer in edinburgh’s east end? praise the lord! or lady, or whatever be your deity of choice.
so this friday, jml and i dropped by to see what pleasures this revamped victorian bar might hold. oh my! walking into the place it doesn’t immediately look like a lot has changed. there is still much of the dark brown tongue and groove and ornate plaster work in evidence, except the walls are painted a subtle tangerine and white - taken together all vaguely reminiscent of a liquorice all sort. the original wooden bar has gone (despatched to another venue, to allow the nine rotten joists that lay beneath it to be replaced, apparently). and at the end of its subtly trendy replacement is a small kitchen – but what a kitchen…
as we ordered drinks at the bar and scouted round for a table, it became apparent that the place is much bigger than i had realised, with a comfy, offset area to the rear of the bar, and a separate “tiger room” beyond that. our drinks arrived – chosen from a great range of lagers and craft beers – together with a couple of menus. and that is when i realised why this place is confident enough to site an open kitchen at the end of the bar. at first glance it may appear a typical pub menu of salads, mezze, ‘lite bites’ hotdogs and burgers. yet read on, and it isn’t just your standard bar food at all. it’s a menu put together with real care and thought.
so, we ordered a main each of a “safari dog” and a “momo fuku” pork bun, accompanied by a side of skinny fries and the intriguing “popcorn mussels” and watched mesmerically as the two chefs in the open kitchen grabbed ingredients and cooked and assembled the dishes before our eyes. within ten minutes of ordering, the food arrived. jml had chosen what transpired to be very posh hotdog – a meaty, flavoursome sausage nestling in a brioche roll, drizzled in a mustard dressing and surrounded by a tangy onion and cider chutney. it was simply smashing. my shredded pork belly buns – there were two – consisted of beautifully succulent meat with vinaigrette coleslaw, all encased in ghostly white rice baps. intriguing in how they looked, delicious in how they tasted. both mains were served with a generous accompaniment of freshly prepared, perfectly dressed salad.
as to the sides? well jml’s fries were skinny and crispy as described, and came as an ample portion. my popcorn mussels were a revelation, however. imagine a take on whitebait, but involving shellfish in tempura batter accompanied by home-made tartar sauce. crisp on the outside and with a soft interior, packed with intense, slightly salty, seafood flavour. i need say no more.
full review at: http://www.scrumptiousscran.com/2013/07/review-prayers-answered-at-safari-lounge.html