Iglu

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £12.95 (set lunch)
   £23.50 (evening meal)
• House wine: £9.95 per bottle

• High point: Dishes are well-sourced, well-conceived and well-cooked
• Low point: Good ingredients come at a price
• Food served: Mon-Thu 6-10pm; Fri-Sun noon-3pm, 6-10pm
• Bar open: Mon-Thu 4pm-1am; Fri-Sun noon-1am
• Private dining: Up to 28 covers
• Open since: 2001.Upstairs Bistro
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

An admirable sourcing policy, top quality ingredients and no-pretence cooking with a flash of panache are the core values at this highly impressive yet unassuming bistro tucked down Jamaica Street. It is possible to eat in the sophisticated, yet snug, bar downstairs, though the even more intimate main dining room is off a landing upstairs. Foliage, a fish tank and deep, dark dub on the stereo conspire to create a chilled-out, at-home ambience that draws both young urbanites and the more mature New Town set. The strong Scottish bistro menu, brimming with seafood and game, should surely please as well. Owner Charlie Cornelius is proud of Iglu's produce, which is organic wherever possible and prepared enthusiastically in the entertainingly visible kitchen. The menu, which is dominated by mighty meat such as a buxom chunk of venison, yet takes in mussels and veggie haggis, is buoyed throughout by thoughtful accompaniments. Yummy home-made chutney and sourdough bread complement rough, yet rich, pork terrine; a date jus is a fascinating adjunct to a quality roasted quail, and Puy lentils support the porky white youthfulness of wild boar. Dessert doesn't fail to impress either, be it hot chocolate pot or a spot-on crème brûlée.