Herbe Bistro

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £10 (set lunch)
   £16 (evening meal)
• House wine: £13.95 per bottle

• High point: A calm setting for good food
• Low point: With no music playing, calm can be eerily quiet
• Food served: Tue-Sat 11am-3pm, 5-10pm. Closed Sun/Mon.
• Private dining: N
• Open since: 2006
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Pre-theatre menu

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

This split-level bistro set below street level in the Old Town was recently taken over by the team behind Marque Central, and they've brought with them their crowd-pleasing formula of friendly service and multi-layered taste combinations. The tone is warm and relaxed, and it's a good drop-in for a smart, but not overly posh, lunch. At night, it becomes more romantic, with flickering candles lighting up the pistachio-coloured walls. Complimentary canapés and petits-fours are a nice touch, as is their early-evening menu with two courses for £13. Considering the careful presentation and quality, the prices are very reasonable, with generously portioned and prettily-served mains averaging around a tenner. The menu, which changes every fortnight, offers light starters such as sweet, juicy scallops with spinach purée and a deliciously salty crab rosti, or gingered carrot soup. Main courses include king prawn, tomato and artichoke brochettes with pine-nut tagliatelle, and beef wellington with rosemary greens. Ice-creams are a highlight - try creamy orange or a memorable banana sorbet. The tapas bar in the small area at street level does mini crab-cakes, brie and tomato crostini or rhubarb and passionfruit trifle as a slightly more exciting alternative to grabbing a sandwich, and promises to get food ready in ten minutes.