Roseleaf pub review: all day breakfasts and ginger juice
March 16th, 2008
Leith. What a strange place. Rows of dull, bland, deluxe-luxury-exclusive penthouse apartments. Rotund, shrieking children giving their dishevelled mothers a hard time. Chinese supermarkets and polish “sausage cafés”. Toothless cronies, drunken neds, and a smattering of smart restaurants, pubs, and delis. The green of the Links, the smell of the sea, the smug smirk of the thirty-something professional - it’s a rather pleasant place to be living, really.
Walking along The Shore, where the Water of Leith ends its gentle stroll in the Firth of Forth, makes for a lovely Sunday afternoon. If the fresh air and full hour of actual daylight is too much for your fragile constitution at this time of year, stop off at the Roseleaf pub for an emergency snack. Battered chairs, typewriters and mismatched porcelain give it a comforting, welcoming feel, as does the almost extreme friendliness of its staff. So friendly in fact, that you may find yourself wondering whether you should be giving them a hug for making you feel so at home. But that would just be weird. Right?
Then again the Roseleaf is a bit weird. There’s the all-day, all-night breakfasts, a more than passing obssesion with ginger juice (try it in a hot toddy, very nose-clearing), a menu featuring a gooey cheesy box, and a varied selection of exotic bar snacks. A. had a beer, I had a jasmine tea, and we both greedily picked at a generous plate of nachos, rich with guacamole, sour cream, and lots of jalapenos, while marvelling at the serrated sporks we’d been given for cutlery.
Unfortunately, the Roseleaf does not have a fryer (which means no chips and no wedges, booh!), and their salads and salsas have been a bit sweet for my taste. But as we left, we eyed the tray of plump, golden scones on the bar counter. Next time, you weird little comfy place. Next time.
23/24 Sandport Place
Edinburgh EH6 6EW
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