Restaurant Review: L’escargot Bleu, 56 Broughton Street, Edinburgh

lescargot bleu edinburgh steak tartare

lescargot bleu edinburgh outside

Traditional French food with a few twists at L’escargot bleu

Stepping into L’escargot Bleu is like walking into a suburban bistro in Paris – a bright & welcoming interior with the smell of cooking in the air and the chatter of fellow diners (to our Glaswegian ears it may have been French; then again it may have been Morningsideish).
A friendly member of staff greeted us and we were quickly settled into our table to check over the drinks menus (Cocktails and Beer, Red Wine and White Wine)  We ordered a Tempest Easy Livin’ beer for Mr Foodie and a Cidre Nouvelle for Mrs Foodie. Both drinks went down well.
Choosing  from the menu was hard, but after careful consideration we picked…
lescargot bleu edinburgh snails
Scottish snails from the island of Barra grilled in garlic, parsley and Pernod.  Thankfully not a strong pastis taste as Mrs Foodie is not a fan of aniseed and similar flavours, but it was very garlicky, which we love.
lescargot bleu edinburgh steak tartare
lescargot bleu edinburgh steak tartare 2Steak tartare – Brought to, and mixed at the table which we’ve never experienced in Scotland. We were asked how spicy we would like it, on a scale of 1 – 10 Mr Foodie chose 7.
Quite thick pieces of meat and loads of capers. Salad on side with nice vinaigrette and croutons. Extremely tasty.
It was all too soon time for the mains…
lescargot bleu edinburgh pork
Crisp pork belly on a bed of vegetables and lentils. Melty fat and sookable pork juices coating the lentils. All that was missing was a chunk of rustic bread. Simply good comfort food.
lescargot bleu edinburgh beefWangus beef bourginoin. Wangus is not a spelling mistake, it’s Wagyu Angus. The beef pulled apart nicely and all the veg was cooked perfectly and this isn’t even the full portion – we spooned it out from a pot that was brought to the table. Sadly we couldn’t finish it as we wanted to leave room for the desserts
lescargot bleu edinburgh pear tartPear tarte tatin was dessert of the day. Mr Foodie had this: caramely, vanilla ice-cream with crushed biscuit served beside juicy, soft pears.
lescargot bleu edinburgh ice creamMrs Foodie chose to have a selection of sorbets. Lemon, raspberry and apple – all fruity and refreshing.
Then two white coffees to finish and it was time to go.
 lescargot bleu edinburgh coffee

Our total bill was £59.70, for three courses, coffee and an alcoholic drink each.  The restaurant have a two course set lunch for £12.90 and a two course early dinner for £14.90.  Service was friendly with all the dishes explained, food delicious and we were made to feel welcome and not rushed at all.

TL;DR
+ Great French bistro food
+ Steak tartare made to liking at table
+ Pleasant surroundings
+ Friendly service

– Main course portions can be too large!

Emma

Emma

Hello!

I am Emma and with my husband Mark write Foodie Explorers, which is a food and travel website.

I am a member of the Guild of Food Writers and British Guild of Travel Writers.

We have a wide range of judging experience covering products, hotels and have judged, for example, for Great Taste Awards and Scottish Baker of the Year.

Along the way Mark gained WSET Level 2 in Wine and I have WSET Level 2 in Spirits as well as picking up an award with The Scotsman Food and Drink Awards.    

Usually I can be found sleeping beside a cat.

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