Russian Passion
- Food served: Mon/Tue & Thu–Sun 11.30am–3.30pm, 7pm–10pm. Closed Wed.
- Delivery: Cost of taxi
- Private dining: Up to 10 covers
- Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least ¼ main courses), Children's portions, Wheelchair access, Free wi-fi
- Music on stereo: Radio - channels vary
- Capacity: 10
- Largest group: 10
- Open since: 2009
Tell us more about this place.
- Average price:
£7 (lunch)
£15 (evening meal) - BYOB: Free corkage
The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).
This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.
It’s rare to find a restaurant in Scotland that opens up unexplored gastronomic worlds and where pretty much everything on the menu is a new experience. Russian Passion in Canonmills, a café and restaurant run by Maria Belyaeva and her chef Luba, is one such revelation. Start your meal sipping Georgian mineral water and a tarragon-infused organic lemonade as green as crème de menthe before proceeding to the fresh soups, which include borsch and chicken broth seasoned by a classic Russian herb trio of parsley, dill and spring onion. Pumpkin and cream cheese piroshky (bready pasties) are perfect for dunking. Finish with Russian coffee (black with a slice of lemon), a chocolate potato (a spud-shaped rum truffle), and a wedge of Napoleon – a sensational puff pastry torte layered with cognac cream. The counter reveals more treasures: roasted Ukranian buckwheat, spicy adjika (Georgian pesto), Russian pickles, green walnut jam, coriander rye bread, Red October chocolate and the 'zephir', Russia's equivalent of the Tunnock's Teacake. Lunch is a daily-changing choice of two or three soups, piroshky and salads from the menu while dinner, featuring zakuska (appetisers) and main course blini (pancakes), pelmini (dumplings) and golubtsy (stuffed cabbage leaves), is BYOB and pre-ordered only or can be taken away for a feast at home.
- High point: The feeling of child-like wonder at such a fresh experience
- Low point: No grazing platter on the lunch menu
Reviews of Russian Passion (5 Canonmills, Edinburgh)
- 1. HMS, Edinburgh – 5 July 2010, 11:02pm
Russian PassionReport -
You need to know what you want when you are coming to this place. Don not enter the door imagining a fancy restaurant. If you are looking for a day out you are going in the wrong place. However if you are interested in good quality and well made traditional Russian food, you are in the right place. The Pirazhoks, borsch and different soups worth a trip to this "cozi" corner in Canonmills. Try the Gretcha Pirajok (a traditional bake with dark wheat) and the magnificent Borsch.
If you are returning, a nice call is the Fish soup (pronounced something like 'oo haa'), tasty and light!
To post a review you'll first need to sign in: Forgotten your password?
Not registered? Sign up – it only takes a minute.
RSS feed of these reviews
