Café Marlayne, Edinburgh

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet

Rudyard Kipling - The Ballad of East and West

Well, here at Tom's Food! we delight in debunking myth and legend. Regular readers have on a regular basis encountered two trenchermen of renown, namely Scotland's Finest Former Journalist (East), and his counterpart SFFJ(W). Never indeed had our twain met: until today that is, when the two broke bread and cracked a few bottles, in the finest traditions of the Scottish press.

And the question which is obviously on your lips is how did we fare and where? Café Marlayne has been on Thistle Street forever. I have absolutely no idea why I haven't visited before, as I've heard nothing but good things. There was a big sister of the same name in Antigua Street which closed some years ago. I discover that it is owned by Marcelline Levicky. I have no idea if she is related to the (in)famous Pierre Levicky sometime of Pierre Victoire and now of Chez Jules, but the restaurants seem to be unconnected. I'm glad, as I'm not a fan of the latter despite its astonishingly low prices.

There's a fine line between cheap and great value. Café Marlayne is firmly in the great value camp. Lunch is two courses for £18.90. And if you have very low expectations, you would be quite wrong. There were four starters and four mains, so we couldn't quite sample the lot, but we did our best.

Peaches with ricotta and honey might sound like a dessert entry but the fruit was flavoured with rosemary and balsamic. Smoked mackerel can be a pretty basic starter, but here you have the addition of horseradish cream, chervil oil, pickled onions, candied walnuts, apple batons, toasted sour dough crumb and green olives. Jings! Nearly at my word limit, and I haven't done with the starters. This was the pick of them. My Thai pork salad was enjoyable enough but unsubtle.

How can a menu of this price feature steak? No idea, but you could have rump with no surcharge. Haddock came with lots of fennelly bits and green tapenade. The chicken sounded intriguing. Served on a bed of poached leeks with apricot poached in verjus, and drizzled with a mustard and sherry sauce. This is serious cooking. I should add that the starters come with complimentary bread, and you are given a generous bowl of sautéed tatties with the mains.

There are no fewer than six puds on offer at £7.50 plus cheese for just a pound more. The same imagination is at work. Panna cotta, for example, is gin flavoured, with caramelised almond, dried fruits steeped in green tea, and meringue. You could have an almond and frangipani tart, or a chocolate, walnut & olive oil torte in addition to the more conventional sticky toffee.

Two ladies on service. The lovely Cherelin (fairly sure I've misspelled that, sorry) told us it was her first day. The other was a slightly scary looking lady with muscles and tattoos. I was delighted that they were so busy that we had to settle for a 12 o'clock table. It is made clear when you book that they need the table back by 2. Perfectly understandable. At these prices you have to turn tables, and two hours is plenty. (Watch and learn, Celentano's.) We were reminded of this at 1.25. Fine. But shortly before quarter to two Ms Tattoos literally chucked the bill in front of us. It could have been done so much more graciously, and was the one sour note in an unexpectedly terrific lunch.

Likelihood of Tom Eats! returning? 10/10.