Steak Brasserie
It’s been a wee while since we last visited Steak in Picardy Place. Their Steak Brasserie has recently had a makeover, and they’ve introduced an express lunch option to their menu so it was the perfect excuse to go and check it out. The Brasserie now offers a two-course Express Lunch menu that is available from Tuesday to Saturday. The offering is a bowl of French onion soup followed by minute steak frites for £8.95 – sounds like a great deal. The Express Lunch menu is served between 12 noon and 2.30pm and 5 pm and 6.45 pm.
The cosy dining room with open gas fire, brick and stone clad walls and a scattering of greenery is a very welcoming space. After trudging through the Edinburgh snow, we started to defrost beside the fire before our waitress brought the menus. Along with the Express Menu, Steak Brasserie also serve an A la Carte menu at lunchtime so if you fancy the full works then that’s available too.
We abstemiously decided to have a couple of “small” glasses of wine to go with our steak. Raymond chose the Tempranillo (£6.50), and I decided on the Pinot Noir (£7.50). We opted for the 175ml glasses rather than 250ml as the larger glasses were over £10 each – that would have been more than our two courses of food!
With it being Saturday, we were in no express rush, but if you tell the restaurant that you need to eat quickly, they will ensure that you are in, fed and out within thirty minutes. This is perfect for a weekday business lunch or a catch up with friends in your lunch hour.
The Food
The French Onion soup was the perfect start to a snow day meal. Hot, richly flavoured and deliciously sweet from the caramelised onions, the soup came topped with a crisp, cheesy crouton. French onion soup is never the easiest to eat, but we tucked in and soon started to thaw out. You can add an artisan bread selection to your starter for £3.95 if your feeling extra peckish.
Steak
The set menu comes with minute steak frites as your second course, but you have the option to add on extra sides and sauces. The optional sides are creamed peas, leeks and bacon, bacon and spring onion mac and cheese, roast garlic field mushrooms, beer battered onion rings, dressed baby leaf salad or buttered seasonal greens – all at £4 each. The sauce choices are peppercorn, blue cheese, bearnaise or chimichurri. We decided to add on one side of onion rings and some chimichurri sauce each.
The first thing that struck us was the portion sizes – they don’t skimp. Each plate arrived with plenty of steak and chips, and the side dish had around six crisp onion rings. The steaks were tender and flavoursome and the frites, crisp and well seasoned – what more would you want for £8.95!
Good deal?
We think that Steak Brasserie has come up with a delicious express meal offering. £8.95 for two courses of quality food in Edinburgh city centre is a great deal. If like us you enjoy a glass of wine and some extra sides with your meal, the price does increase to around £21 per person though.
How do I book a table:
Steak Brasserie
12 Picardy Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3JT
Tel: 0131 556 1289
Email booking@steakrestaurant.co.uk
Many thanks to Steak Brasserie for inviting us along to sample their Express Lunch Menu.