Cameo Bar

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

The Cameo's location by the waterfront in Leith means it regularly welcomes a lively crowd of locals and office workers. The bar menu, served all day, features a selection of pub favourites: nachos, sandwiches, baked potatoes, burgers and pasta, all patiently and freshly cooked. For instance, the sausages and mash are of the pork and apple variety and come with a red wine and redcurrant jus. The Grill Room, open on Friday and Saturday nights, is a small restaurant area adjoining the bar. The food is simple and classic, in keeping with the understated bistro style of polished dark wood and mirrors. Roasted tomato and pepper soup is a large portion and full of flavour, but very salty. Tender fried calamari with garlic mayonnaise is also arguably over-seasoned. The fillet steak is tasty and well cooked, but upstaged by the accompanying home-made chips – bronzed wedges of fluffy potato which encourage you to keep picking long after you are full. A firm and meaty salmon fillet is classically matched with buttery hollandaise and char-grilled asparagus spears. Banana crèpes are not as good as they could be: they are thick and slightly rubbery but come with a hot and buttery vanilla, toffee and rum sauce.

• High point: Very charming (if a little ditzy) service
• Low point: Over-salted food