Bar Soba
Considering how much I used to visit Bar Soba when I was a student, this blog would feel incomplete if it was missing a review of the Edinburgh city centre bar and restaurant.
Before I get into the actual food and drink I tried on my most recent visit, can we just take a moment to talk about how great of a discount students can get?! You’ll need to sign up on their website and after that, you can receive 20% off drinks and a whopping 40% off food. Now…it’s been a moment since I was a student but this discount explains why this was always our restaurant of choice!
You’ll find Bar Soba on Hanover Street, right across from Six by Nico, and they serve a range of Asian Fusion dishes mostly inspired by the night markets of South-East Asia. Although they do have mains on offer, my favourite way of dining at Bar Soba is getting a bunch of small dishes to share amongst the table.
This time around we ordered:
- Korean Cauliflower with a sweet soy glaze
- Saté bao stuffed with chicken, satay sauce, sweet soy and spring onion
- Korean popcorn chicken with a sweet and spicy glaze
- Dirty katsu fries covered in curry sauce, sriracha, soba mayo, chicken scraps, crispy shallots and garnished with spring onion
- Asian greens which came tossed in a teriyaki, garlic and ginger sauce
- Vegetable gyoza
The food is nice but certainly wouldn’t be at the top of my recommendation list. The sauces are all tasty enough but each dish seems to have an element that brings its rating down by quite a bit. For example, the popcorn chicken bits are so small it’s basically just batter and the greens were extremely watery. I’m also 99% sure the portion sizes have gotten smaller as the dirty fries used to come on a bigger dish and could be easily shared between 2-3 people.
One thing they do know how to do is shake up a great cocktail. Their passionfruit and chilli margarita is perfect for any tequila lovers out there. If that’s not your thing there is a nice range of cocktails and drinks on the menu but the bartenders will also whip up a classic drink of your choice if you don’t find one you like.
Overall, Bar Soba isn’t the best place in Edinburgh to find Asian fusion food but if you’re a student looking for cheap food and drinks then I’d say it’s a strong contender. It’s also just a funky small venue that is a delight to sit in for cocktails on its own in the centre of town…even if you’re not hungry!
- Bar Soba
- 104 Hanover St, Edinburgh EH2 1DR
- 0131 225 6220
- www.barsoba.co.uk
- Walk-ins or reservation
- £20-£30pp (cheaper for students!)
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