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Home » Europe » Western Europe » UK » Scotland » Edinburgh

The Safari Lounge, 21 Cadzow Place, Edinburgh

04/04/2014 by Emma Leave a Comment

We had heard rumours of a slightly eccentric jungle-themed bar & restaurant in Edinburgh, just to the east of the New Town and not far from Easter Road, and so we donned our pith helmets and trekked over to a part of Edinburgh we'd never visited before...

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_bar_entrance_fisheye

Safari Lounge entrance

The Safari Lounge, a former wee old man's pub next to what once was Abbeyhill railway station used to be the "Station Bar" - it looks like it has changed a bit but not massively since its previous incarnation but it's now a cool space with bar/restaurant at the front, function room in the back (we believe this was the original "Safari lounge") and two pop-up shops downstairs in the basement, one selling mugs, tea towels, coasters, bags etc and another selling Afghan clothing to raise money for projects back in Afghanistan.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_bar_fisheye

Bar interior

Back up stairs and The Safari Lounge is a free house with a great beer selection - 7 regular draught pints plus up to 4 real ales, there were 3 Christmas ales on when we visited in winter, and all from Scottish breweries. These have their own lager brewed for the premises as well as delicious Maisels Weisse/Kristall and a few other German beers and American craft beers from Anchor, Flying Dog and Founders. As a pub it was great and we began working our way through the Christmas beers but what about the food...

The most intriguing thing on the menu was "Flying Scotman" Stornoway black pudding sushi, but sadly they'd run out! They also do a smoked salmon and chorizo sushi but on this occasion we tried the vegetarian option to start...(if you can't decide and they have all varieties available then you can order 3 of a kind for £4.95 or a mix & match of 6 for £8.95). They also sell Korean-style steamed buns which sound a bit different.

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Veggieano Sushi £4.95

Red pepper, courgette and sun blush tomato pesto in a pleasant light nori rolls with soy sauce dip.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_mussel_popcorn

Mussel popcorn £4.75

Well, here is a first - mussel tempura, and what a great idea! Lovely light but simultaneously crisp batter which went well with the beer, our only criticism was that it was a little greasy.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_diablo_chicken_wings

Diablo Chicken wings £4.95

We were expected something really hot but these were actually quite mildly spiced, again good beer food and a little greasy but very tasty.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_jungle_brother_hot_dog

Jungle brother hot dog £8.50

A huge monster of a massive hot dog in a sweet brioche bun with chorizo, beef chilli, melted manchego and salad garnish. We've seen gourmet hot dogs appearing in a few places of late and this is one of the better efforts.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_morning_glory_brunch

Morning Glory brunch £8.90

Brunch options are available at the weekend from 12 noon - 4pm and this is their "fry up" option - two free range eggs, Stornoway black pudding, smoked bacon with huge homemade sausage, served on a toasted brioche with salad greens = all-in-all a pretty damn good breakfast and very filling. There were two huge sausages which was perhaps a bit too much as we struggled to finish them.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_yule_log_dessert

Yule Log dessert £3.95

We only had room left for 1 dessert between us and so we decided to share a yule log since it was Christmas. Lovely and light with mixed berries, raspberry coulis and sprig of fresh mint Citrus zing!

And by this point we'd given up on the beer and moved on tea - £2.50 for a pot of Miss Integra tea's lemon myrtle & ginger which was lovely and refreshing.

Before we left we of course had to do our obligatory "toilet check" and they passed with flying colours - note the safari-themed light shade...

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_pith_helmet_toilet_light

Pith helmet light

In case you're looking for some place to hire, here's some shots of the function room at the back:

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_function_room_fisheye

Safari Lounge function room

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_function_room

Safari Lounge function room

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Desert scene at bar

There's a separate bar in the function room and the glass-topped bar isn't your usual bar as you can see above.

Before we left we visited the pop-up shops downstairs again and left with an arty tea-towel, Afghani waistcoat, hat, gloves and sockasins...as you do! We certainly didn't expect to leave with such a varied selection of items but they all made...interesting Christmas presents! We noticed the waistcoast was made across the border in Pakistan though...trade descriptions?! Only joking!

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_afghani_apparel

Afghan apparel

And so we had a great time at the Safari Lounge, a quirky menu with great food, great (local) beer, great (local) tea, friendly staff, varied eclectic pop-up shops - we highly recommend a trip to the Safari Lounge for their inventive take on food and ability to combine a pub, restaurant, cafe and shop all in one location - it's a great place to spend a relaxing Sunday and we shall have to come back to try the black pudding and chorizo sushi and Korean steamed buns.

Safari_lounge_edinburgh_world_map_mural

World map wall mural

 www.thesafarilounge.co.uk

 

The Safari Lounge on Urbanspoon}

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Has been eating and drinking for far too long. Usually found hibernating on a couch, snuggling a cat.

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The information posted on this website was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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