The Basement Bar is widely thought of as a bit of an Edinburgh institution and after its recent make over, Celia and I were looking forward to our dinner.
Situated at the top of Broughton Street this bar has fun quirky decor where Florida seems to meet Mexico.
The Basement Bar serves predominantly Mexican food, a firm favourite of mine, so I was keen to try the dishes they had on offer. Choosing from a selection of ‘small plates’ ranging from cheesy tacos to ceviche, Celia and I opted for empanadas and quesadillas. The empanadas are light puff pastry parcels filled with a yummy mix of aubergine, spinach and coriander. These are served with a refreshing tomato salsa and for those meat eaters amongst you they also offer a chipotle chilli beef option too. The quesadillas are warm tortilla filled with sweet potato puree, Mexican chorizo and crumbly feta cheese. If you are after a quick snack or a kind of tapas sharing selection, these small plates offer the perfect option.
For main course we chose fajitas and the Chicken Tinga Enchilada. Ordering fajitas at a Mexican is a bit of a sell out for me as it is one of my favourite dishes to make! That said I do LOVE them and can never resist especially when restaurants offer a rump steak option! The fajitas were authentically presented with some fresh guacamole and yummy sour cream. I thoroughly enjoyed these and the staff were only too happy to keep my guacamole and sour cream topped up! Celia opted for the Chicken Tinga Enchilada. Though there was certainly plenty of meat, Celia felt this dish was a bit dry and needed some sauce to jazz it up a bit.
As usual we had to have a pud. I am abstaining from chocolate due to Lent, (what?? Ed) so Celia tried the Chilli Chocolate Pot and I went out of my comfort zone with the caramelised pineapple and warm chilli syrup. Celia liked her chocolate pot but unfortunately it didn’t seem to rock her world and my pineapple proved to be an odd mix of sickly sweet and fiery chilli sauce – not for me – but if you want something totally different, give it a go.
Though we didn’t sample any of their cocktails we have it on good authority that they not only serve a mean margarita but have a fab cocktail menu too. So whether you are after a bite to eat or to catch up over some cocktails The Basement Bar offers a relaxed and funky atmosphere right in the heart of Broughton.
The Basement Bar, 10a – 12a Broughton Street, Edinburgh 0131 557 0097
