New Flavours - Bar Soba - Edinburgh

One place Jess and I went to eat while I was visiting her in Edinburgh was Bar Soba. We were actually looking for one of my favourite restaurants, Tampopo, but the directions on google maps took us here instead. Apparently there is no Tampopo in Edinburgh after all! Ah well, we had some tasty south-east asian food at Bar Soba, and I like to visit new places, even if the Vietnamese crystal rolls I love so much weren't on the menu.

Bar Soba is a bar and kitchen that serves pan asian food and cocktails in Edinburgh and Glasgow. If you like Wagamama and Tampopo then you should check out this place. I am a big fan of asian food - the option of spicy and mild dishes is what attracts me - and Bar Soba certainly delivered.

Jess ordered the pad thai and some sort of potato side which I cannot for the life of me remember the name of, while I opted for two starters as I wasn't feeling that hungry (for some bizarre reason!)

I cannot even begin to describe how interesting my two little dishes were. On the left is the prawn and coconut skewer with a dip which I can only describe as a chilli mayonnaise, but I'm sure it was much more complex and interesting than that! It was absolutely incredible. The crunchiness of the deep fried coconut coating was amazing dipped in the mayo, and when I bit into each prawn steam came sweeping out and this sign of freshness pleased me very much! It had such a unique taste and texture to it, I could have eaten a few more despite my lack of appetite.

I ordered the pad thai spring rolls as a substitute for the crystal rolls I love so much. Unfortunately Soba Bar did not have these on the menu! However, these pad thai spring rolls served with a teriaki sauce were absolutely divine. They were sweet and had just the right amount of crunch and filling, and they weren't greasy at all. I was expecting prawns inside these spring rolls, but it was all vegetables - not complaining though, they were perfect as they were.

The only down side about our visit was the service. Upon arrival we were waiting a good few minutes before we realised we weren't going to be greeted or seated. Jess and I approached the bar to ask if it was seat yourself or wait to be seated. A waiter soon came to take us to a table and while they were attentive they were great, but didn't have much consistency. We left early because our second order of drinks never arrived. It's a shame because the setting was beautiful and the food was incredible, but the service was just not up to scratch.

However, I would recommend a visit to this neat little bar and restaurant, as they are open til 3am and the food was fantastic! Perhaps we just went on a bad day?