New in Food: Mesa, Loudons, Cold Town House & more
This month's crop of new venues, featuring some cracking pizza, a fancy new pub in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, and brunch dishes everywhere
Mesa
The latest venture from the people behind Glasgow favourite Cafe Strange Brew, Mesa brings a slice of Strange Brew’s brunch game to Dennistoun. Expect beautifully-presented plates of poached eggs, and massive pancakes – we suggest not planning anything too hectic to follow your brunch, maybe something like ‘napping in a chair for an hour or two’. 567 Duke St, Glasgow
The Lansdowne
The great minds behind Mother India – the fantastic small plates Indian restaurants in Edinburgh and Glasgow – have branched out, taking their culinary stylings to the basement bar in the West End. If you’ve ever sat in a nice bar with a pint and thought to yourself ‘oh I could absolutely demolish a monkfish kebab’, your luck is finally in. 7A Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow
The Amsterdam
New in the Merchant City, The Amsterdam comes from the team behind Saint Luke’s, and offers up a pretty wild mix of options. There are brunch options a-plenty for the early risers among you, then you can get some lunch and a few beers, or you can wait until late and get well boozy. Plus, there’s a basement with live music and DJs. Basically, a bit of everything, all under one roof. 106 Brunswick St, Glasgow.
Errol’s Hot Pizza
This new hole-in-the-wall pizza joint comes to you from two former chefs at the much-loved Finnieston spot Alchemilla. If that pedigree wasn’t enough, there’s also the fact that it’s BYOB, which everyone loves. Pull up a pew (or more likely, wait a bit outside before sitting down), grab a slice, smash some cans, repeat. 379 Victoria Rd, Glasgow.
Cold Town House
A pub, you say? In the Grassmarket? But this isn’t a standard pub – for one thing, Cold Town House is spread over three floors with one of those floors being a flipping roof terrace right next to the castle. Expect beers from the eponymous brewery – who hooked up our pals at Fest with beer for their launch party last Fringe, and it went down fairly well – as well as pizza, live entertainment, and lots of space in which to roam around. 4 Grassmarket, Edinburgh
High Dive Pizza Pub
This one’s been a while in the making, but it looks like it’ll be worth the wait. The latest spot from the guys behind Civerinos, the High Dive bills itself as a neighbourhood bar that also happens to serve great pizza, which we’re right on board with. If it’s anything like their previous places, expect the food and drink to be immense, the design to be cool and interesting, and the music to feature a pleasing amount of 1990s hip-hop. 81 St Leonard’s St, Edinburgh
Loudons New Waverley
One of Edinburgh’s leading purveyors of egg-based dishes, Loudons’ Fountainbridge spot is permanently stowed-out every weekend which makes the launch of this new place a bit of a no-brainer. Expect more of the same – extensive brunch and breakfast options, with more Benedicts than a Sherlock box set – from one of your favourites in our Food and Drink Survey at the end of last year. New Street Sq, Edinburgh