The Arches Café Bar & Restaurant

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.

In the Arches’ subterranean dining room, regularly changing installations – often by local artists – provide the backdrop to interesting, well-executed food. An appetising menu includes adventurous options such as deep-fried baby octopus and wood pigeon. A starter of fall-apart tender ham hough terrine with a core of creamy, smooth, herbed goat’s cheese is a nice mix of acidic and salty-savoury, while a smoked salmon salad is given bite by delicate slivers of radish amongst a veritable forest of rocket. Fajitas are available in beef, chicken and vegetable but, while plentiful, lack a chilli kick to cut through the sweet tomato. Bacon-topped pork, haggis and whisky burger, meanwhile, is one for the carnivores. Dessert choices include a jolly tangerine jelly with mango ice-cream and scattered shards of honeycomb, evoking childhood puddings in the best way. With a full programme of club nights and cutting-edge performances taking place upstairs and a popular bar adjoining, there’s a lively air to the venue, but do be aware that sound permeation from gigs can make the dining room noisy.

• High point: Unusual and appealing flavour combinations
• Low point: Salads largely composed of rocket