bia bistrot

Having a bit of a nightmare trying to find somewhere with a table for lunch in the Bruntsfield/​Morningside area recently and with a vegetarian and a vegan in tow I remembered I had liked the look of Bia Bistrot. They can not only adapt dishes for vegans (as well as those with gluten, nut and dairy intolerances) they had a special 3-​course menu available with advanced warning.
The restaurant is cosy, relaxed, comfortable and well lit, also with a large dining area downstairs. Staff are very friendly and know their menu/​food.
There’s a set menu offering two courses for £9.50 or three for £11, which considering the quality of food served, is great value. There’s also daily changing specials, making great use of fresh, seasonal and sometimes more unusual ingredients. On the specials menu the day I visited were Wolffish and Sebaste. I have never tried Wolffish before and had never even heard of Sebaste. They were out of Wolffish so I went for the Sebaste.
I eat more seafood than anything else, to the point I am surprised I don’t have gills. It was served with romanesco, confit potato and olive tapenade. The flavours were huge! The Sebaste turned out to be very meaty, and juicy. A lot like Monkfish. The tapenade, nutty romanesco and potatoes were an ideal match for the fish. It was seasoned and cooked to perfection.
We were all so impressed, we decided that it was to be the venue for an upcoming Birthday. Although i’ll definitely be back before then.

Really lovely little restaurant.
Went last week for the pre-​theatre menu (£11 for three courses…) on a recommendation. The décor is nice and laid back, all pretty things but very comfortable and unassuming.
The food was excellent, all of our dishes were delicious.
I’ll have to make a return visit at some point, one of out fellow diners had the bone marrow, which unfortunately was not on the set menu, which definitely piqued my interest!

Oh, Bia Bistrot! We wanted to love you! So badly!
Let me start by saying your staff deserves 5 stars. Easily. Friendly, helpful, checking up on us, asking if everything was OK when there were clearly issues. And the location? Cute, lovely atmosphere, very promising! Lovely looking menu. The stage was set for perfection…
… yet
Something just wasnt right. Everything was just off. We started with wine which was just missing… flavor. It was just bland. My partner tasted it and asked me whether it had been watered down or something. It was just… not right. Next came the starters which were… sadly lackluster. The scallops were very small and coated with way too much salt and pepper. Also, they did not seem cleaned as I got several gritty bites. The strange vinegary, mustard sauce the ‘sea spaghetti’ on this dish is coated with is just, well, why? It doesnt suit the dish at all. Our faces were so confused about this that your nice staff actually came over to ask if something was wrong. To be fair, we told them it was fine when it wasnt, but there wasnt really much that could be done.
Next came the mains. Partners steak was ordered medium-​rare, but came out a bit over medium. Wasnt worth bringing up. My fish came out on a bed of strangely flavored greens. Eating the fish itself, I thought the first half was quite bland, but then began eating the other half which I found extremely salty. It was like the two halves had been seasoned completely differently. Again, strange.
In the end we decided we loved the staff and the atmosphere, but the food just wasnt for us. Overall the flavors seem a bit confused. The menu looks nice and makes a good effort, but just doesnt succeed.

Hands down — this is my favourite restaurant in Edinburgh!

I think Bia Bistrot will always hold a special spot because it was one of the first restaurants I visited in this city. I came across this place on a fluke with my uncle when I first arrived to Edinburgh back in November 2010. It was pouring rain — in fact it mimicked a tropical rain shower except it was cold. We stood under a church canopy on the Holy Corner waiting for the rain to subside. We quickly ran into Tesco to dry off but then realised we were hungry (and thirsty for something to take the edge off us being completely drenched!) Across the road we saw a packed bistro that looked very cosy. I recall there was only one table left and we quickly sat down. We both enjoyed a fantastic meal — I had venison which was cooked perfectly. It was such a memorable restaurant, that whenever my uncle visits me we make a point of coming here for dinner. The staff are very friendly and you can tell the chef takes real pride in the food. Bia Bistrot really lives up to being, «fresh, local, seasonal, sustainable, and homemade». They also have an excellent wine list. Further, for what they serve I think Bia Bistrot is very reasonably priced! I’ll have to make a note to check this place out for lunch!

I went to Bia Bistrot as part of a work leaving do. I’ve always been tempted by it and had fancied trying it for awhile. The lunch and early evening (til 6pm) menu prices suit my student budget so it was always on the to-​do list.
Despite being a large group and arriving later than planned, staff were great and still allowed us to order off the early menu. There are around 4 choices for each course and (I think) its around £11 for 3 courses, before 6pm.
Thinking we’d be on the cheap menu and the portions would be small was a mistake. Portions are a decent size and food is great. I had a terrine to start with and it came with gluten free bread (toasted) which was lovely as usually it is only higher-​end restaurants that would offer this. Lovely gamey flavours, complemented by a (apple?) compote. My main was chicken and mash potatoes — winter is coming, I need comfort food and this is a good test of a restarant being able to cook a basic dish well. The chicken was cooked to perfection — lovely crispy skin with tender meat underneath and perfect mash, lovely and creamy with no lumps. I loved the gravy (ok for GF) with a hint of tarragon in it, just lovely comfort goodness. We shared sides of carrots and savoy cabbage which were good and I tried some very garlicky potatoes which were great (crispy on the outside, fluffy inside).
For pudding, I opted for the coffee chocolate pot. Again ok for GF (without shortbread) and my portion came in a large ramekin, so although I was special (no shortbread), I had infact been spoiled by a larger portion which was lovely and a nice touch. I noticed some colleagues didn’t like the chocolate pot — I loved it as the coffee was strong enough to flavour but not overpower the chocolate but it is probably one of those deserts you would either love or hate.
Talking to colleagues, they were full of praise. Several had opted for the terrine and a fish pie for the main which was meant to be awesome. As it was a work do, I’m not sure if colleagues had ordered more expensive wine than I usually would or if this was the standard pricing (£23 per bottle) as this might make this a more expensive night out than planned, so 4 stars still I can confirm the booze prices…
I would go back to Bia Bistrot — great food and service and fab value if you eat early or at lunch.

We went with just a little trepidation, as we used to love this place under its old ownership as the Olive Branch. But I need not have feared. On this occasion we went with a party of six, three adults and three children from infant to teen. And without exception we were delighted. Not pretentious, but neither was it dull. The important thing was that the ingredients are well sourced and excellent, and then compiled into well balanced and delightful combinations. The staff too were friendly and helpful without being either too attentive or too absent, as seems to happen too often. And the ambience is perfect, neither too noisy nor too quiet. It all just works as a well thought through and executed package. Congratulations to the owners. Go there, they deserve it. And so do you.

A coworker took me out to Bia Bistrot for my birthday the other week (24 November, if you have your diaries out …). Neither of us had been since it changed from an Olive Branch, and that coupled with it’s very convenient location, made it a must try. They advertise a two course lunch or dinner for a very reasonable price.
I generally can’t be bothered with two courses for lunch so was pleased when the waitress was happy to let us order single courses off the set menu.
My coworker decided to try the cumberland sausage with mash, and I went for a salad with poached egg and haggis.
I heard good things about the sausage and mash, but probably not as good as my salad. I’d never thought of putting haggis on a salad before — I don’t really know why, I’ll put any other type of meat on a salad — but wow, this was fantastic. The haggis was sliced, so it had a crispy outside but broke apart easily and went wonderfully witih the salad leaves.
I do love a good poached egg but I am very very very picky, and this one unfortunately was pretty underdone to my taste. I have to have a liquid yolk but absolutely can’t stand if the white is anything but completely cooked. If I can do it at home, why is it so much of a stuggle to find that when I’m paying someone to cook the egg for me?
In any case, the food was in general quite nice, and the wine and service were excellent. Two mains and two glasses of wine came to £22 — a wee bit more expensive than I would have expected for lunch, but overall very nice. I would definitely come here again.

It is always great to find a place that prides itself on using fresh, seasonal and local food… and Bia Bistrot certainly didn’t disappoint. What made it even better for us was how wonderfully baby friendly the place was, completed with delightfully friendly staff.
We were in for Mother’s day lunch and the menu they had on was a delightful selection of dishes.
Their starter of asparagus, poached egg and herb salad made my day as the asparagus was wonderfully sweet and the egg was poached to perfection. My husband’s starter of mackerel (complete with perfectly crispy skin) and rhubarb was gone in a flash and our son was delighted with the piece he was given to nibble.
My main of free range chicken breast was cooked so well it was full of flavor and the meat was still tender and moist and was accompanied by a lovely little smoked chicken pasty and some very tasty braised leeks. My husband’s main of slow roasted pork didn’t disappoint either and had fantastic crackling and beautifully flavored meat. We also shared a side of garlic potatoes which i very highly recommend, as well as there homemade wheaten stout bread that we had as a nibble before out starters came… it really wet the pallet.
To finish off I had the gorgeous chocolate pot that came with a shot of hazelnut liquor and melt in the mouth shortbread, i couldn’t have had a better end to my meal, while my husband enjoyed some wonderful Aged Mull Cheddar.
Their menu is fairly priced, great fresh food at a great price. They offer an a’ la carte menu as well as a set menu of 2 courses for £9 or 3 courses for £10.50, offered between 12pm — 2:30pm and 5pm — 6pm. There wine selection is good and they offer a great range of real ales, much to my husband’s delight.
If you love local seasonal food then this is definitely a place that you need to try and we will certainly be frequenting there again.

Fresh — seasonal — local — sustainable — homemade boasts the brand new Bia Bistrot menu. I mentioned in my review of George Hughes & Son Fish Emporium (note, not a fishmonger) how important I (and a lot of preachy TV chefs) feel using local, sustainable produce is so this is good to see.
The menu is fairly simple and I like this. Convoluted, overly long menus really put me off a place. Ranging from leek, red onion and blue cheese tartlet to beef rump with potatoes and pepper sauce Bia Bistrot has something to cater to everyone. Prices are fair. Not cheap, but fair. And the food is delicious. They also do a pre theatre menu for £9 (2 courses) or £10.50 (3 courses), which is pretty reasonable.
It’s also very tastefully decorated which makes for a nice atmosphere. Being off the main road means you don’t get any of the Morningside through traffic noise either. A really promising place. Less sure about the spelling though.