Toast

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.

Very few places attract queues, and those that do are usually trading on being the hot new cocktail spot in town. A weekend brunch at modest, unpretentious Toast, on the other hand, really is worth the wait. A haphazard parade of paintings jostle for wall space, their colour, form and individuality drawing the eye around the room. Regulars and locals tuck into fragrant kedgeree, towering French toast with goat’s cheese and red onion marmalade, or hollandaise-glazed eggs Florentine, while absorbing the Sunday supplements. Weekdays increase the pace as students, Marchmont ladies and business people grab lunch just beyond the hectic city centre. Plentiful open sandwiches compete with warm, homey plates of barley risotto or smoked-salmon frittata. In the evenings, a small but considered core menu rotates every few months, but daily specials add interest. Chicken, chorizo and chickpea casserole is earthy and mellow, while salmon fillet on mussel, leek and potato broth is warming but light. Regardless of the time of day, luscious cakes abound. Toast’s carrot cake – savoury, spicy, moist, and lightly crowned with frosting – may well be the perfect end to any meal.

• High point: Brunch!
• Low point: They really should straighten those paintings