A selection of food consumed – Thai fish cakes, dauphinoise, pan-seared beef fillet & haggis bon bons

I’d seen and heard about Rollo in Stockbridge but when I heard they were opening up a second restaurant on Broughton street, closer to the centre of town I was excited to try it.

Post some Saturday afternoon rugby, it was the perfect cosy dining experience we were after. Five of us were seated at a table close to the back of the restaurant near the kitchen which I thought would detract from the coziness but not to fear, we were perfectly positioned to chat and feel snug surrounded by some quirky cushions for comfort and decor.

 I want this cushion!

The lady who seated us was charming and friendly as too was our server. Right from the get go of booking I felt a warmth and welcomeness from the restaurant. The boys ordered a bottle of red – a Chilean pinot noir which they absolutely loved and were on to their second bottle in no time! Myself and Jacklyn preferred white and ordered the first bottle on the menu, which happened to be the cheapest but that in no way impacted on taste. It was French, I think it was a Viognier but don’t quote me on that! Nevertheless it was subtle and light but tasted like wine if you know what I mean! I am by no means a wine connoisseur but I’m not a fan of fruity wine so this was perfect. 

We opted to order some bites to share for starters and went for the crispy haggis bon bons with whisky marmalade, the Gyoza goats cheese with carmalised onion balsamic dip and roast pork gyoza with wasabi cream – a gyoza is a type of Chinese dumpling they were both delicious and I loved the contrast of flavours served on the one plate, the balsamic was particularly nice. Someone in our party fancied the spicy Thai green king prawn curry for starters too which we were recommended to have with the steamed Thai rice. The food was flavoursome, vibrant and creative, by the time we’d nibbled all the starters we were all psyched up for our mains!

Book choy

The main acts came in the form of 2 X pan-seared beef fillet served medium-rare infused with parmesan shavings, rocket and basil oil and accompanied by dauphinoise potatoes in onion gruyere. You were advised by your server to choose either a plate or a bowl and choose a side of your choice to accompany either of them, we spent some time deciding what to have as the options were varied and sounded tantalising. Originally I was going to opt for the king prawn curry and rice but as we’d had it as a starter I went for the beef and dauphinoise. The beef was so succulent and soft and with the Italian flavours it was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. The dauphinoise were rich and creamy, it was my perfect combination of flavours. The dauphinoise were very popular with 3 of us opting for them as a side, mange tout chilli roasted pumpkin seeds were another choice along with the sautéed bok choy pepper sunflower seeds and lemon garlic. The other bowls and plates consisted of the coriander chilli fish cakes done in a lemongrass kaffir lime broth, Rollo’s goulash chipolata beef sausages butter bean tomato chilli and the crispy belly pork in roast apple jus. The array of colourful mouth-watering plates before us had us all desperate to dig in. 

The pork belly and goulash

We all highly commended the food and were soon presented with the dessert menu. I’d briefly read another review about Rollo which mentioned their banana toffee bread and butter pudding with peanut ice cream. It was right at the top of the dessert section and my eyes didn’t stray from there, I knew that’s what I was having! It was only Stuart and I who ordered dessert and he was tempted by the tiramisu everyone else had coffees.

Dessert was to die for, decorated with shards of toffee my banana bread and butter pudding was one of the most unique desserts I’ve had that contains my must haves in a dessert – banana and toffee! Stuart’s tiramisu was beautiful also as I managed to nab a taste and I let the others taste my pudding as well.

A quick trip to the loo before heading down to Leith for a mini bar crawl. I had a wonderful two hours spent in the cosy, intimate hideaway that Rollo gives off. Stylish and welcoming I think you should try it for yourself.

Rollo

14 Broughton Street

Edinburgh

EH1 3 RH

0131 332 1232

https://www.facebook.com/barrolloedinburgh/

Instagram – @rollobroughton