The most compelling food destination, in Edinburgh, has to be Leith. Famous for it’s diversity, one place I was eager to try was the award winning Punjabi cuisine, Shezan. I knew I had to try this place when a few days beforehand a complete stranger saw me window-gazing and stopped to tell me the food was amazing. So being an enthusiastic blogger, I’ve now become, I had to see if that was true.
Pickle Tray £3.98
And they did not disappoint. I’ve been to a fair share of Indian restaurants and it particularly excited me that there was an option for a pickle tray. Not just one little bowl of mint sauce that consistently had to be refilled, but 6 different sauces. Spicy onions, mint chutney, mango chutney, mixed pickle and chilli sauce. Yummy! I could get full on these with popadoms, any day!
Popadoms £0.65 each and Mango Lassi £2.95
Of-course, the popadoms were as they should be, light and crispy. Along with this, we ordered mango lassi. A yoghurt based drink, which was amazing. Fun fact; I don’t particularly like mangos as a fruit but I can tank cartons of Rubicon’s mango juice and now mango lassi.
Mix Kebab starter – £5.95
Ok, so for £5.95, I was let down by the portion size. Between two people, each kebab was split in half which wasn’t ideal. But it tasted great and I liked how it sat on a bed of diced peppers and fresh rocket. The chilli sauce complimented the kebabs and added a fullness to the flavours.
Chicken Bhuna and Garlic naan – £13.90
Finally, the classic bhuna curry, a base of caramelised onions, fresh ginger and garlic with puréed tomatoes and fresh coriander in a dry medium sauce was devine. It was everything a classic bhuna should be. It was creamy, the spices were just right to let the chicken soak in every flavour. The garlic naan was huge, we almost ordered two but one was enough for two people. This was one of those rare times we ate everything, I even licked the plate clean – which is another thing I’ve been told I can’t do at restaurants, at this point I couldn’t care less, the food was too damn good. Don’t even attempt to eat this with a fork and knife, that literally takes the fun out of it. You know you’ve had a good Indian when your nails turn yellow.
Another thing that amazed me was how attentive every waiter was, even though the place was heaving with diners, you never once felt disregarded. The title speaks for itself.
Address - 24-25 Union Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3NQ
Telephone - 0131 557 5098
Parking - Side street parking via pay and display
Halal Status - Alcohol served on premises/ no pork on menu/ Everything halal with certificates
Ratings
Food 4/5
Presentation 4/5
Service 4.5/5
Facilities 4/5
Overall Rating - 4.1
Comments