Browns Restaurant and Bar

Send us more details about this place.

The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2011) edition.

Browns is the only Scottish branch of a well-established chain that installs its popular brasserie template in historic buildings around the UK. Their mission, from conception in the 1970s, was to offer 'classic food, well-delivered in a stylish environment', and to some extent they are still succeeding. The place has a good buzz aided by the grand interior, a now somewhat dated take on the high-ceilinged fin de siècle Parisian brasserie with its large bar, and dining areas furnished with palms and chequerboard floor. A vast all-day menu including prix-fixe and afternoon tea attempts to cater for all tastes; sharing platters, pastas, salads, burgers and larger mains are all here. A key expectation from a chain operation is consistency, and food quality here is rather variable. Duck liver parfait is rich, velvety and full of flavour but a slab of pork belly that follows is dry and devoid of promised succulence. While Browns has got the 'stylish environment' sorted it could perhaps do with working on the 'well-delivered' aspect of its promise.

• High point: Lively atmosphere and good value promotions
• Low point: Socks need pulled up on the consistency of the food