HAMILTON'S: IDEALLY SITUATED

Hamilton’s Bar and Kitchen
16-18 Hamilton Place
Edinburgh
EH3 5AU
0131 226 4199
www.hamiltonsedinburgh.co.uk
Open seven days: 9am to 1am

Hamilton’s was launched three years ago. The object was to give the Stockbridge locals a home from home and others a destination where the service was friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and the confidence that only fair-trade and organic suppliers were used in dishes, charged at a reasonable price.
It is situated in Edinburgh’s affluent Stockbridge district which was originally an outlying village incorporated into the Capital city in the 19th century.
Stockbridge is my favourite part of Scotland’s Capital city and still has a village feel with quality local shops – interspersed with a number of charity stores - including an up-market butcher shop, where you can buy game birds (no jokes please), plus a superb cheese shop (the smell is exquisite for some nauseating for others), plus a number of popular restaurants and bars.
It also boasts the Water of Leith, with a much-used walkway, running through it with Hamilton’s ideally positioned. The establishment is branded as an all-purpose venue. The web-site blurb reads: “Hamilton’s is a place where mothers meet after dropping the kids off at school, business meetings roll into lunch and locals meet with destination diners for food, wine, cocktails and everything else in between. Hamilton’s seem to have something to offer everyone at different times of the day.”
And, let’s not overlook this point, it is busy. The management accommodated us on a Saturday night, an evening when they also had a 30th birthday party and the bar was packed, so was the restaurant.
We were privileged to sit at a table at the front, overlooking the Water of Leith walkway, however that backfired. Where do drinkers at the bar go for a cigarette? Immediately in front of where we were sitting. OK we didn’t get the fumes, but we were gawked at by punters having a drag.
We couldn’t fault the service. It was slick despite it being a full-house. And the extensive menu undoubtedly provided something for everybody.
It was inventive as well as having tried and tested. The small dishes provided seven choices including Hamilton’s own fish cakes with spring onion and mixed leaf salad and aioli, asparagus and watercress soup as well as crispy chicken with sweet chilli dipping sauce or pan fried chorizo with sherry, lemon, chilli and tomatoes.
There was also the alternative of four to share including nachos and antipasti.
Pam picked roast red pepper and chorizo toasts. It was tasty but pricy at £5.95 and my steamed mussels with white wine and garlic – I opted out of the cream – was an ample portion. The sauce, however, lacked real bite.
On to the mains. There were 11 large dishes on offer including a Scottish beef burger, a vegetarian option of roast red pepper and saffron risotto or seared yellow fin tuna with charred summer vegetable salad and basil pesto.
Pam selected organic chicken breast with black pudding, Jersey Royal potatoes, fresh lemon, sun blush tomato and watercress, cost £11.95.
My pick? I went for fish again, marinated sea bass with roast sweet potato, baby spinach and red pepper sauce. Charge £11.95.
We were advised to go for sides – an extra charge. Cauliflower cheese was £3.95 and charred local asparagus came in at £2.95.
And the end-product? The chicken, which came with the skin on, was moist but the black pudding greasy and the Jersey Royals were devoid of much taste. The cheese sauce on the cauliflower was tasty but did not appear to have impregnated the vegetable. Verdict: disappointing.
My sea bass arrived perched on top of the roast sweet potato – lovely taste and good mix – and spinach, but the red pepper sauce, apart from being eye-catching, also had a fine flavour. Nothing overpowered the delicate flavour of the fish. The asparagus – recommended – was ideal as an accompaniment.
We opted out of the various sweet options and left, but not before visiting the toilets. It is difficult to keep on top of things on a busy Saturday, but one has to take account of paying guests and the toilets were not as one would have liked for this type of establishment.
Also, cleanliness in the dining room must be of paramount importance. My table top was sticky and so was the one opposite. (Yes, I did inspect it. Sad, but the things you have to do as a reviewer).
You don’t expect that in what is being marketed as an up-market establishment.
My overall impression is that Hamilton’s is trying to cover all bases. The major appeal, in my view, is for the younger set with a disposable income. One look at the web site - their home page has blaring music – indicates that. It is packed with pictures of young people enjoying themselves, plus an offer or two.
I’ve got a family of three, the youngest one is nearly 21, and a business student at a local university. He might appreciate the hustle and bustle, but discerning diners, I believe, like a little more. Talking, an integral part of going out for a meal, was a tad difficult because of the noise.