The Rainbow Arch

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A long established Chinese restaurant just off Lothian Road, the Rainbow Arch has arguably moved into the shadow of its basement offshoot, Henry’s Cellar Bar, one of the city’s best regular jazz spots. As with a number of traditional Chinese restaurants, Rainbow Arch can seem like a bit of a throw-back – from the fish tank and large Chinese vase as you enter, to the mirrored walls and pink tablecloths. Two menus are offered: a dim sum list with more intriguing options such as chicken feet, tripe in black bean sauce and mooli (white radish) cakes, and a longer, more conventional a la carte volume which is particularly well-worn and familiar. Folk coming in for the first time will be made to feel welcome enough, but you do sense that it’s a place for regulars who know their way around the menu. The food and cooking are decent – crispy pork has crunchy coating contrasting with soft, gelatinous pork slices, while sizzling chicken with ginger and spring onion is light and packs lots of flavour – and there’s a bit here for the more adventurous. It’s also one of the city’s late-night eating spots, with doors closing at 3am. Where diners are likely to be less enthralled is by the general tattiness of the place, from menus stuck with sticky tape at the doorway to spare tables untidily stacked at the rear of the restaurant. The downstairs toilets remain shabby in the extreme.

• High point: A chance to try some unusual dim sum
• Low point: Frayed around the edges

2. Mimi, Edinburgh – 18 July 2010, 1:24pmThe Rainbow ArchReport

This is actually the first time I post a negative comment about a restaurant as I felt so cheated after the lovely young Chinese woman deducted £30 from my debit card after that terrible meal last night...

The dish with egg and king prawns was actually an omelette with those tiny pre-frozen prawns. The sweet and sour pork sauce was thick and clearly came out of a packaging. The boiled rice was actually the only eatable part of the meal.

Going down to the toilets in the basement was definitely not the finale I was hoping for after feeling ripped off and bloated... It was filthy, smelly and apparently being also used for stocking buckets. Not even the taps were working properly.

1. chazzyb31, Edinburgh – 26 July 2008, 8:51amThe Rainbow ArchReport

I visited this restaurant in February 2007 with friends. The dim sum was a little bland, but enlivened by the sweet chilli dipping sauce we requested as an accompaniment. The main dishes were very tasty and plentiful - we had no room for dessert. The price was very reasonable and the restaurant was quiet when we arrived (around 6.30pm), but got very busy as we were leaving (around 9pm).

We later discovered that the restaurant had only just re-opened after having the Health Inspectors in, but on our visit it was very clean and the food was wonderful. The only downside were the toilets, which were a bit smelly and tatty-looking.