Metropolitan

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £11 (lunch)
   £21 (evening meal)
• House wine: £12.50 per bottle

• High point: Intimate dining area with a great view for people-watching
• Low point: Rather expensive
• Food served: Sun-Thu noon-10pm; Fri/Sat noon-10.30pm
• Bar open: Mon-Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 11am-midnight
• Private dining: Up to 44 covers
• Open since: 2002
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of menu), Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Metropolitan's glass-fronted ground-floor bar gives no clue as to the lovely balcony dining area upstairs, which overlooks Merchant Square's busy courtyard. This large, scantily-lit space has been effectively split into separate areas, with the adjoining lounge and champagne bar providing relaxing areas for an after-dinner digestif. The large menu makes use of Scottish produce - haggis, clapshot, West Coast mussels and Highland venison feature - while also borrowing from Mediterranean and Asian cuisine. A hotpot of mussels is small and sweet, but arrives with a soupy tomato sauce instead of the pepper and chorizo accompaniment stated on the menu. Similarly, from a fairly inventive vegetarian selection, a wild mushroom and asparagus filo basket could do with the advertised brandy and parsley flavouring, and is also a little heavy on the cream. The roasted duck breast fares better, though, served in tender pink slices with a satisfying mound of puy lentils and a complementary sweet and sticky blackcurrant and thyme jus. Desserts are on the heavy, indulgent side and include sticky toffee pudding and warm crêpes with berry compote.