REVIEW
FOOD & DRINK
Chop Chop
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Chop Chop Leith sits on Commercial Quay next to The Kitchin. With a first glance at the shiny red tables and melamine plates, you could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that this is an odd pairing; but in three months Chop Chop has easily proved itself worthy of its Michelinstarred neighbour. The simple, canteen-style decor is in fact a careful choice. It mirrors the unobtrusive style of its older partner in Haymarket – an Edinburgh institution for several years now – but is slightly sleeker and more polished. The ethos behind Chop Chop is what many might think of as tapas-style: a variety of small dishes are brought to your table, to share, as they are ready: aubergines pan-fried with fresh garlic and Chinese spices (my personal favourite), hot and sour soup, crispy shredded potato.
The Pelican Cafe New arrival in town The Pelican – over the road from Kelvingrove Museum – is the baby of Jason Harvie, a wine merchant by trade who wanted to create somewhere to eat well-sourced and well-cooked Scottish food that won’t break the bank. The Pelican is certainly incredibly reasonable, given the provenance of ingredients and the flair with which it’s served up – most mains will give you change from a tenner and all the wines from an (unsurprisingly) well-chosen list are available by the glass. The informal paper menu chats you up with a list of their suppliers up the road, from organic bakers to elderly fish smokers. To start, Orkney Gold beef makes for a top-notch, ruby-red carpaccio while chicken livers and tiny cubes of beetroot are a meltingly earthy marriage. The Pelican’s signature fish and chips are as far removed from a tepid post-pub greasetrap as is possible to conceive. Three types of seafood – sea bass, a firm chunk of hake and a few king prawns thrown in for good measure – are
Larger dishes are available for sharing too: the crispy northern lamb (or chicken/pork) is hot and sweet with good, tender meat, and the peanut and mustard sauce noodles are wonderfully rich, if a bit incongruous alongside the other, lighter, dishes. Then of course, there are their celebrated dumplings. These are of course delicious and come in a range of meat, fish and veggie flavours. They highlight that Chop Chop is most of all a fun restaurant: the dumplings would be worth it for the joy of creating your own dipping sauce alone and, if your stomach can cope, their sugar string desserts (available in apple, sweet potato or pancakes) are also a source of delight as you send strands of sugar flying across your table. With a plentiful variety of quality food, including great veggie and vegan options, the tale of Chop Chop’s brilliance will hold true for many years to come. [Liizie Cass-Maran] Around £35 for two. £18.50 a head for an unlimited buffet – the range of food you’ll get depends on how many of you there are, and it is indeed unlimited. Licensed, and also BYOB www.chop-chop.co.uk
encased in a light, tempura-style batter and dished up with a mountain of lusciously naughty goose fat chips and some homemade tartare. The only duff note is an overly-minted pea puree that smacks more of Aquafresh than allotment. My veal steak – brought to my plate via the Isle of Bute – was perfectly tender and intelligently teamed with sticky courgette ribbons and cubes of densely garlicky potatoes – no ‘one side fits all’ approach to veggies here. Throughout my meal I’d had the cold sweats of pudding anticipation, having eyed a warm chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream. When the moment arrived, it didn’t disappoint – molten choc mixing in with green, marzipanscented ice. The Pelican has a reassuringly laid-back vibe, more caff than restaurant, and one of the quirkiest draught beer lists in town (Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada both make an appearance). Pop in for a drink, end up staying for a blow-out dinner. [Ruth Marsh] Dinner for two (with wine) around £40 www.pelicancafe.co.uk
October 2010
THE SKINNY 37