Café Lucia

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

There's a light Parisian motif to this eatery attached to the Festival Theatre (and associated with Nicholson Street's Ten Hill Place Hotel). Long windows provide ample people-watching opportunities and the cheerful apple-red interior makes it a pleasant spot for pre- and post-show drinks. The menu features options of soups, sandwiches and filled baked potatoes. Along with omelettes made to order, the cafe tips its beret to Paris with a quartet of 'croque' sandwiches: monsieur, madame, Norwegian and vegetarian. On a more Scottish note, the cafe can also be set apart for its pie of the day option. Golden puff pastry layers encase a chicken, mushroom and spinach filling that is chunky, creamy and seasoned with tarragon. A chicken and bacon club sandwich arrives on thick toasted bread spread with pickle and home-made mayonnaise. Compared to the range of savoury options, treats and tray bakes seem like an afterthought, but a coffee and walnut cake is full of nutty flavour. Though Café Lucia is mainly regarded as a theatre bar, the satisfying lunches show it can be much more than that.

• High point: Pleasant pie of the day
• Low point: Weak coffee