Mosque Kitchen

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £4 (lunch)
   £4 (evening meal)

• High point: A friendly community atmosphere, and prices which are impossible to beat
• Low point: Wrap up warm in winter
• Food served: Sat-Thu noon-7pm; Fri noon-1.25, 1.45-7pm
• Open since: 2004
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of menu), Take away

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

The Mosque Kitchen (formerly called the Lunch Box), a staple fixture of more than ten years' for worshippers at Edinburgh's Central Mosque, was opened up to the public three years ago to give the city's diners a unique new dining experience. Situated in an alfresco courtyard just off West Nicolson Street, the Kitchen draws a diverse crowd of Muslim families, budgeting students from the nearby university and those value-conscious weekend shoppers who are aware of its singular delights. The trestle-tabled outdoor eating area is somewhat rough and ready, but the welcome is always warm and the food just can't be argued with - certainly not at £3 for a heaped plate of chicken, lamb or spinach and potato curry, with rice or naan on the side. The staff also prepare other curries as the mood takes them on certain days - Wednesday is chickpea day, for example, while barbecued chicken, shish kebabs and corn on the cob are Saturday's specials. Any possible complaints about the food are mitigated by such great value, but - barring the odd hunk of bone in the lamb curry - they're kind of hard to come by anyway.