I was there recently as I was going to a play at the Traverse with my Dad and cousin Nicholas. We needed to eat something fairly quickly so I suggested the Filmhouse.
I must say I wasn’t overly impressed. Between us we had the hummus, falafels and nachos with chilli and found fault with all of them.
The hummus was very bland; it needed more tahini, garlic and lemon! It was also very dry, badly in need of more sesame oil, so although the portion was generous it was more of a spread than a dip. The pitta bread was cut up into little wedges and was actually quite nice. The salad was quite tasty and the presentation was good but the hummus really let the meal down.
The nachos consisted of a big soup plate full of nachos with a spoon or two of chilli and a tiny dollop of fresh yoghurt. It all tasted fine but the fillings went too fast and you were left with a bowl of nachos which were too dry to eat on their own.
The falafels were served with a small salad and sweet chilli sauce. They were tasty but there were only 6 or 7 of them plus the bottled sauce and the nice salad. It wasn’t very filling and not very good value for money.
They serve UHT full cream milk portions as a matter of course. I think this is so lazy, and shows how much they don’t care about what they are serving. What gets me is you can actually get fresh milk in these little pots if you are worried about portion control. UHT full cream milk tastes vile because the treatment affects the fat. In Spain one year with friends, when we couldn’t get fresh milk, we found out that UHT skimmed is okay for most people.
The tea and filter coffee tasted normal once I had asked for fresh milk as they were happy to give me a choice of full cream or semi-skimmed. I have had a cappuccino here before and it was perfectly acceptable. Nicholas had a bottled beer and thought it very dear at £4.25 but he said it was good.
All the dishes were from £5 - £6 but they were not good value for money as we all came away unsatisfied.
Fortunately the play we went to see was excellent, so the whole night wasn’t ruined. “Born to Run” was about a woman who finds out she can avoid epileptic seizures if she goes running the minute she gets a warning aura. The actress did the whole play on a running machine and she wasn’t even out of breath! If it ever comes to your area, go and see it!
I would never go the Filmhouse expecting fine dining, it is at best adequate.
According to its website it serves many types of beer, both bottled and draft and 20 types of wine by the glass. You can also take your drink in with you to the film if you ask for a plastic glass. This is a good idea and must be why it is always busy!
It is open from 8am – 11.30pm Mon-Thurs, 8am – 12.30am Fri, 10am – 12am Sat and 10am – 11.30pm Sun.
88 Lothian Rd
EDINBURGH
EH3 9BZ
0131 229 5932
cafebar@filmhousecinema.com
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