There are just some days at work where all you need is a tasty dinner to look forward to after work. Well by chance one of those days fell when we were heading to The Whistle Stop Barber Shop after work. Mr E was looking forward to a delicious burger and I was looking forward to a pizza.
Whistle Stop Barber Shop has taken over what used to be Rascals and I’d previously been in with friends before heading to Festival Theatre Edinburgh for a show and knew the food was good. It’s hard to believe that they’ve been here well over a year now and will soon be celebrating their 2nd birthday.
Having recently launched a new menu they’ve kept the favourite bits regulars would be in uproar if they removed and have added to the menu their take on hotdogs, new burgers and also for the healthier amongst us house salads. I would have usually tried a salad but currently I’m loving carbs and I couldn’t resist a pizza. We did spot someone on a table beside us getting the Chicken Caesar salad and it look jammed packed. Certainly something I’d think about ordering on a future visit. If the hotdogs are as good as their burgers then we reckon you couldn’t go wrong no matter what you order.
Now you would think ordering burger and pizza we wouldn’t have room for any starters but we had both been careful with lunch in preparation for dinner. We ordered burnt ends and haggis tater-tots from the extra menu as starters, you do of course have the option to have these along with your burger etc. but we opted to ease ourselves in gently, boy am I glad we did. The burnt ends were full of flavour and the meat was falling apart. No chewy bits of meat here. The sauce/gravy the meat came with was rich and ensured the meat was moist. These quickly disappeared. The haggis tater tots, which Whistlestop once tried to remove from the menu are a firm favourite of regulars. Little bites of crispy fried potato covered with haggis and a whisky sauce are delicious. The right amount of topping ensures you can get a little bit of haggis and sauce with each bite. These also disappeared rather quickly and had set us up for the main event.
Mr E had the Trident burger – a double patty of meat, lettuce, pepper cheese, salsa, triple chilis and house hot sauce, I couldn’t resist the Grilled Hawaiian – buffalo mozzarella, charred pineapple and honey roast ham. We each ordered a side of fries, Mr E fries loaded with beer cheese and bacon and I ordered fries loaded with classic poutine.
The burger was spicy enough for someone who likes a good bit of spice but not so spicy it overpowered all the other flavours of the burger. The thick burger patties were well cooked and full of flavour. The toppings on the patties were well put together and meant you could easily eat it without it all falling apart. The fries loaded with beer cheese and bacon were very cheesy and a good match for the spice of the burger. The beer flavouring was definitely evident and the crispy bacon added an extra texture.
The grilled Hawaiian was delicious. The base was nice and thin and baked well. Lots of tasty toppings and cheese. I do realise that there will be some of you reading this who think pineapple does not belong on a pizza but you should really try this one before you rule it out totally. The pizza was well seasoned and a great size. If you’re hungry it’s probably enough on it’s own but the poutine fries are a great addition. The gravy was rich and covered all the chips with a good amount of cheese.
After we’d munched our way through all that food we were done. Thank goodness it was a walk down the hill to the car as I’m not sure I would have managed otherwise. The staff in Whistlestop are fab. They’re happy to recommend dishes as they know the menu pretty well and are more than attentive. We’ll definitely be back to try some more of their menu so keep you’re eyes peeled for more delicious looking pictures.
Whistle Stop Barber Shop | 66-67 South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1LS | T: 0131 556 0954 |
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*We were invited to try 2 sides and 2 mains as guests of Whistlestop. All other food and drinks were paid for by ourselves, this in no way influences our words and all words are our own.
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