Edinburgh Lunches

I'm at a training course this week in Edinburgh and so far we've been being taken out for lunch so here's the breakdown so far...

Monday - Bella Italia, 9 Hanover Street, EH2 2DL (map)

Fairly busy little place with friendly staff and a simple menu. I've no idea what the prices are like as we ordered before we got there but the food was reasonably good and there was enough of it. It was okay and I had Lasagne Al Forno for simplicity but I've had better.

Cuisine: Italian
My Rating: 6/10

Tuesday - Zest, 15 North St Andrew Street, EH2 1HJ (map)

Zest is billed as a contemporary Indian restaurant, which basically means minimalist decor, bright and airy lighting, laminate floor and a fairly cold atmosphere. Oh, and no sitar music either! It was pretty quiet for the time of day so maybe the "contemporary" theme doesn't work as well as they'd like.

I had a Lamb Karai, which was okay although I felt it seemed a bit like a tourist curry and the portion was tiny. I usually try to avoid Indian restaurants outside of Glasgow and especially in tourist towns as, in my experience, they tend to cater to a general market, which means that the curries are usually a bit on the mild or tasteless side with not enough bite. I had a vindaloo once in Fort William that tasted like a plate of stew and potatoes! Anyway, Zest didn't do it for me.

Cuisine: Indian
My Rating: 4/10