Restaurant Review: The Water of Leith Café Bistro, 52 Coburg Street

Published on Sunday 4 July 2010 11:36

(0131-555 2613, www.thewaterofleithcafebistro.co.uk) Bill please Brunch (until noon) £3.50-5.65 Children's menu £2.95-£4.20 Afternoon menu (from noon) £3.50-£8.50 (sirloin steak £15.60) Rating ****

LEITH is fast becoming the culinary hotspot of Edinburgh and nowhere is that more vividly illustrated than at the Water of Leith Caf Bistro. It may only be open for lunch and by appointment in the evenings, but it has quickly garnered such a reputation locally that, even midweek, we had to book ahead to be sure of getting a table.

Once inside it was immediately clear why the place is kicking up a storm. Bright and airy, it's a favourite mid-morning watering hole for mums and toddlers, with a child-friendly space containing sofas and coffee tables given over to anyone who wants a snack rather than a full-blown meal.

The impression of a caf that's at the heart of the community is reinforced by the local artwork on the walls and the collection of children's toys. The sense of a place that doesn't take itself too seriously was rounded off by the Asterix and Obelix comic strips covering the toilet walls.

On the sunny day we visited, despite the place being rammed to the rafters, the atmosphere was relentlessly cheery and almost catatonically laid-back. The credit for that must go to Ana Mesle, the cheery earth-mother who runs the front of house while her partner Mickael does the donkey work in the kitchen. The husband-and-wife team both have a long and distinguished track record in the restaurant trade but, having had children, designed the whole enterprise to fit in with their lifestyle. So it's open only at lunchtime, it's child-friendly and, above all, it serves fantastic, no-nonsense food infused with Gallic flourishes.

Ana was previously manager of Leith institution Skippers, while Mickael has plied his trade in the kitchens of three of the most popular French-inspired restaurants in Edinburgh: La P'tite Folie, Daniel's and La Bagatelle. Ana says her better half bridles with indignation when described as French, insisting he's a Breton, but a good proportion of the food that comes out of his kitchen wouldn't look out of place in a Paris bistro.

The lunch menu is an eclectic mix, ranging from French classics like moules frites and Scottish staples like Cullen skink to healthy options (cold poached salmon with potato and beetroot salad), plus more exotic offerings (pitta bread filled with lamb kofta and tzatziki).

There's also an excellent selection of children's dishes, such as fish fingers and chicken goujons, all freshly made on site. Virtually all main courses are under 8, and the portions are pretty hefty, which means the whole place is excellent value. There is also a huge number aof specials,.

I started with a classic chicken liver and cognac parfait with oatcakes and home-made red-onion marmalade, while Lucinda went for surprisingly good fishcakes stuffed full of smoked haddock and salmon and served with a fantastically tart home-made tartare sauce.

But it was my main course of oxtail bourgignon with mashed potato, taken from the specials board, which really elevated my meal. With a dark, rich gravy and unfeasibly tender meat that oozed beefiness, this was a masterpiece of rustic cuisine. If Lucinda's chickpea, sweet potato and spinach curry could have done with a good deal more curry powder, its blandness was almost made up for by the fact that the vegetables were all clearly fresh.

I rounded off the meal with a big chunk of deliciously moist pear and almond tart, which came with spots of strawberry and vanilla sauce plus a big dollop of velveteen clotted cream ice-cream. The last word was a double espresso so strong you could stand a spoon in it, accompanied by a conspicuously home-made and ornate little meringue.

Even with a couple of glasses of wine each, the whole meal for two cost less than 50. Apart from the need to book and the dearth of parking, it's difficult to come up with a downside. The Mesles are even thinking of opening in the evenings, although they will already throw their doors open if a party anywhere between ten and 35 people asks them to.

This time of year, there's even a chance to walk off the meal along the Water of Leith, the entrance to which is straight across the cobbled road. No wonder the place has been a runaway hit with Leith ladies who lunch.