The Blue Parrot Cantina

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses: £14
• House wine: £10.15 per bottle
• BYOB: £5 corkage

• High point: The endearing homely charm
• Low point: Having to nip outside to visit the lavatory
• Food served: Mon-Thu & Sun 5-10.30pm; Fri 5-11pm; Sat noon-11pm
• Open since: 1993
• Also offers: Childrens high chairs

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

There can't be many better-hidden eating places in Edinburgh; you could probably live around these parts for years without having any idea that this basement hideaway offers a warm and cosy environment where an unfussy range of spiced dishes are created. Word of mouth and repeat business are the main reasons punters keep coming through the door. Walking down the aged stone stairs, past the open kitchen bustling with chefs too busy cooking to look up, diners are then seated in a compact area that looks like a well-furnished, homely dining room. There are no gimmicky Latin American trinkets on display here - just candles, plain green wallpaper and a menu that does not resort to nationalistic caricatures. A caviche comprising cold chunks of tuna, swordfish and tiger prawns has a cool, citrus zing. Try the steak fajitas afterwards and be pleasantly surprised not to be confronted with a scalding-hot sizzling pan (instead the chunks of meat sit prettily on a plate). There's a home-spun charm to the Blue Parrot that gives it an identity distinct from some of the more worn-out venues of this type. Not for the stag night, it's ideal for smaller parties and couples.