Few things make a big night at the theatre better than a super pre-theatre dinner before you take your seat. In Edinburgh, one of the most vibrant cities in the UK, the choices are many. Here are theQR’s 5 Top Tips for where you should be grabbing your scran before the curtain rises.
PULSE
Open for just over a year, PULSE is a plant-based kitchen & eatery nestled beneath St John’s Church, Edinburgh, on the corner of Princess Street and Lothian Road. It’s a short stroll from Pulse’s lovely green door to either Usher Hall, Traverse or Lyceum Theatres.
Run by the wonderful Ayshé and Mark Jenkinson, the former a genius of tasty deliciousness in the kitchen, the latter the most wonderfully genial Maître d’, PULSE is quite literally a hidden gem.
With a menu which evolves with the seasons, and an emphasis on tasty, satisfying, delightful food, there really is something here for everyone. I consider myself an ethical omnivore and always struggle to choose which of the delicious plant-based offerings to select from the concise, but excellently curated menu. The service is also quick, and thus perfect for a pre-theatre sitting.
Don’t Miss
The miso & seaweed butter (palm oil free) – sensational with just the right zing!
Intense Bites – precisely as described – intensely scrumptious!
Check out: http://www.pulsehomecooking.com/index.html
Tuk Tuk
Tuk Tuk Indian Street Food, founded in 2012 by Rizvi Khaleque, is our (myself and Mrs.QR) favourite place to eat before heading into the King’s Theatre, quite literally on the other side of Leven Street. Specialising in small plates of varyingly spicy deliciousness, expect a mix of what they describe as ‘rustic roadside and railway dishes’.
The menu (a la carte or set) is diverse but compact, competitively priced, and hasn’t disappointed in many visits. A haven for meat lovers, omnivores, vegetarians and vegans, the only pre-requisite for a visit is a fondness for well-spiced food. Be you Chilliphobe or Spice fiend you’ll find several small plates of deliciousness to ‘tuk’ into. Sorry, not sorry.
With a second restaurant on Drummond Street two minutes from the Festival Theatre and Assembly Roxy doors, you needn’t wait until the much-missed King’s Theatre reopens to enjoy Tuk Tuk pre-show.
Don’t Miss
The Classic Naan – the perfect dipper in every way.
Bhaji Onion Rings – a wonderful marriage of extremely tasty things.
Bombay Chilli Chicken – burns the goodness into your mouth.
Check out: https://www.tuktukindianstreetfood.com/
Los Argentinos
Probably the best steakhouse in Edinburgh (not that I’ve tried them all), Los Argentinos offers great food and great service at a great price. There’s an undeniable sense of a neighbourhood restaurant to the place. The meat’s the star here, prime Argentinian beef, and the folks in the kitchen know precisely how to handle it. 3 minutes walk from Summerhall, this is a carnivore’s dream pre-theatre dining hole.
Truly, this is a restaurant in which to eat, drink and be merry before the wild and wonderful offerings of Summerhall bend your mind! You might want to set a little more time in your calendar for a sit down at Los Argentinos, after all a well-cooked steak is there to be savoured, not rushed!
Don’t Miss
Empanadas de Carne – little pastry parcels of unctuous deliciousness.
Honestly any/all of the steaks – there’s love in every dish.
Check out: http://losargentinos.co.uk/#about
Mamma Roma
An Edinburgh institution since 1996, my first memory of Mamma Roma is of a delicious meal before sauntering across the road to the Edinburgh Playhouse for Les Miserables in 1997. Pilton-born Jeff Leyton made a sensational Valjean, but that meal was good enough to stay in my mind all these years later. There’s nothing to say about Mamma Roma that generations of Edinburghers haven’t already. The sense of welcome at Mamma Roma’s is second to none, be you in for a multi-hour feast, or sitting down for their specially designed pre-theatre menu.
The menu is generous, the wine list extensive, and the lasagne rightfully legendary. Having grown up with an Italian Godmother and many adopted Italian aunts, nothing else I have ever eaten comes closer to the welcome deliveries made to my Grandma and me. The Edinburgh Playhouse may be the one theatre in the whole of the UK which doesn’t invite theQR to review, but long may it thrive, if only to keep the patrons flocking to Mamma Roma’s door before the lights come up.
Don’t Miss
The Lasagne – you’ve been told.
Ravioli di Zucca – pumpkin, butter, sage, parmesan, and a crumbling of amaretto biscuit…simply yummy
Tiramisu – not all Tiramisu’s are made equally, the proof is in this pudding.
Check out: http://www.mamma-roma.net/
Pizza Express
Now this may seem an odd choice, in a list otherwise occupied by independent businesses, but hear me out. My growing affection for Pizza Express began in London a few years ago, when my wife and I found ourselves with time to burn before catching the train home from King’s Cross. Late in the week, and with evening approaching, our choices for a sit-down meal were few, except for…Pizza Express.
Ladies and Gentlemen, what a revelation, my Sloppy Giuseppe pizza was tasty, whilst my wife’s Calzone went down a treat. Thanks to a little online reading during our brief wait to eat we’d already formed an improved opinion of an establishment set up in 1965 by pizza enthusiast Peter Boizot. The company seems to embrace still his ambition to offer superior pizza in an interesting, non-generic establishment.
Having sampled their offerings several times since, I am happy to consider Pizza Express as a dependable, and frequently available place to eat pre-theatre wherever I am. If you’re catching a show at the Church Hill Theatre, in Morningside, the nearby Pizza Express on Nile Street is, without doubt, the most convenient and reasonable restaurant available.
Don’t Miss
Sloppy Giuseppe – lightly spiced beef mince, tomato and mozzarella – always satisfies.
Calzone Verdure – peppers, aubergine, chilli, garlic, and tomato – surprisingly light but satisfying.
Check out: https://www.pizzaexpress.com/edinburgh-morningside
There we have it, you needn’t go hungry for want of, or unsatisfied with, your pre-theatre eating in Edinburgh. Each recommendation comes with my personal recommendation born from dedicated sampling of their culinary offerings. Edinburgh has many more restaurants within waddling distance of our many theatre doors, however. This begs the question of where you find your food before curtain up. Recommendations warmly invited!
