Yellow Bench - Edinburgh, City of

My verdict on Deli Polonia, located on Leith Walk, was that I had planned to go there for lunch one day, but unfortunately they had closed. The Yellow Bench was just what I needed in this area where I usually go to get Polish bread and pastries. Luckily, my friend Tracey suggested a fancy dinner at a nice restaurant, so we drove to my neighborhood and found a table at The Yellow Bench. The decor was vibrant and inviting, with interesting artwork and a unique basement that could be utilized in the future if needed. The menu was small but well-curated. I knew what I wanted, and Tracey...

My boyfriend and I decided to eat here during our visit to Edinburgh and it was a fantastic experience! We called ahead to reserve as we saw from reviews that the place was fairly small. We needn 't have worried however as it wasn 't crowded, perhaps because we were eating a bit later than usual. We were warmly welcomed and the waiter was extremely attentive and helpful wonderful service! We had read reviews about crêpes, but it seems the menu has recently changed to focus more on traditional Polish dishes. This obviously wasn 't a problem for us given that we came to try Polish cuisine as neither of us was very familiar with it. We opted for a starter of haggis filled pierogi and beetroot soup with the chicken roullade and the tasting platter for mains. The platter came with three different salads, pierogi (yes, we knew this when we ordered the starter pierogi is delicious), stew, sauerkraut, and chips. We shared the plates and by the end we were ridiculously full. We couldn 't bring ourselves to fully finish the salads as the portions were so generous. We couldn 't even entertain the idea of dessert even though it sounded fantastic from the description we were given. On the way out, we were given some magnets to choose from for a souvenir. I choose the one with the image of the yellow bench that is outside that has the inscription By sitting on this bench I am open to conversation with a complete stranger . The Yellow Bench is a really lovely, charming restaurant with fantastic food and is a great introduction to Polish cuisine. You 're missing out if you don 't try it!

I may be slightly more obsessed with Polish food than the average Irish person... I've been to Poland a fair few times. I like it there. The rich cultural history. The amazing woodlands. The fantastic ports. The people. The vodka. The food. Ah the food. When I recently moved to Leith I was so happy to have a good few Polish shops nearby and, of course, this gem. Pierogi. Krokiety. Barscht. all the salads. NOM. There's also Kubus and Tymbark, which you can get in any Tesco but I've not seen in many restaurants here. Yellow bench also does a wonderful crepe menu. Weirdly this is something I have been complaining about since I came Scotland-side, the lack of decent crepe places (Dublin has a surprisingly good selection). Now I have Yellow Bench. A fantastic selection of sweet and savoury crepes to suit everyone. My current fave is the Dracula, it's well garlicky and totally worth it! Yellow Bench isn't just a delicious food place. It's got community spirit too! Local Art on the walls, an upcoming photo-exhibition and childrens drawing galore. The friendly faces behind the counter are worth the visit and you'll feel right at home here! I just need to work up my confidence to order in Polish! And mispronounce the dishes...natch.

Now here 's a pleasant surprise! Following the check-in of a regular Yelper I came across this place... thanks again Sara! Disclaimer: I love Eastern European and Russian food. Now that we 've got that out of the way, I 'll also say it 's not everyone 's thing... you won 't necessarily get the complexity or presentation as you would from, say, a French restaurant, but after a night out or on a cold day you just can 't beat this type of food for me and whether it be Asian, Eastern European, or American, fatty has never said no to any type of dumpling... NOM! The gentlemen that served us was super nice and made us feel at home... I 'm not sure if there hours are different, but us and several others were in far past the closing hours on Yelp for our particular evening and there wasn 't even the slightest hint of please hurry ... quite literally the opposite! If you 're familiar with this type of food then just head on down, the dumplings (pierogi were top notch and everything else we sampled was spot on as well (traditional bigos, borscht, mix of salads ... I honestly can 't wait to get back at some point. We even made room for one of the waffles, which was also great and a good way to close out the meal. The place itself isn 't too large, but suitable... at the moment there was work going on the building on the outside so it was a bit hard to actually see the place initially, but hopefully when it 's done it will stand out a bit and be easier to spot. My only gripe is that no cards are accepted, but the food 's too good to let that stand in the way... they also don 't serve beer or alcohol, but while a slight inconvenience it really does save you money in the end and they let you keep a few in their fridge while you work through your meal. If this isn 't you 're type of food then I doubt this place will convert you, but if you 're generally a fan or haven 't tried it yet and are looking for a different type of comfort food then do yourself a favour and give these guys a chance... it 's five stars for me, no doubt, but I can see four for many others... I won 't hold it against them. :

Where to go for sushi on Leith Walk? A Polish restaurant of course ... Japanese cuisine wasn't initially what we were after when we stopped in here a week or so ago around 9pm but once sat down we were advised the Polish part of the kitchen was closed (or the chef had gone home) so we just went with the sushi option. Which turned out to be a good choice as it was well presented and as good as I've had anywhere else in the city certainly no more expensive. I can't coment on the drinks list as we stuck with water but the service was good the toilets clean. Now just need to go back and actually eat Polish.