Bigos

We had a surprisingly good meal in Bigos given the other poor reviews. Definitely no frills, but decent considering the dirt cheap prices and BYOB.

Visited this restaurant last night and thouroughly enjoyed it. Food excellent, just what we needed on a cold winter night. Service good too and waiters very helpful . Second time we have been to Bigos and well worth it. Everyone should try it. Lovely home cooking.

Having read a rather poor review of Bigos on another website, I still decided to give this restaurant the benefit of the doubt and try it out. Well, believe me, I wish I had listened to the reviewer whom, I now believe, had not rated it poor enough. It's not as if I'd gone to the restaurant with high expectations. I merely expected some half-decent home-cooking. However, I have never been so disappointed with restaurant food as this. You may well ask, "What'd you expect for £7 for two courses?". Well, for a start, I would have expected sometime as simple as serving soup to be done properly. The soup of the day (tomato with spaghetti through it) was tepid and served without bread. The cheap 'flat' spoon made eating the soup a frustrating experience with the spaghetti splashing back into the bowl. Thankfully, a paper napkin (all be it, the cheapest you can possibly find on the planet!) was provided. But still, I thought, I have the house specialty of Bigos to come. The menu describes Bigos as a "dish made of sauerkraut with a variety of meats, red wine and mushrooms". Mmm... sounds delicious. However, my heart sank when I was presented with a large plate with a dollop of what can only be described as very cheaply 'tarted up' sauerkraut. At least that part of the description was accurate. The only meat I could find amongst the sauerkraut was some quartered pieces of Polish sausage which could not have amounted to more than a whole slice about half an inch thick when whole. There was absolutely no sign of any other promised variety of meats through the dish nor a flavour of red wine and mushrooms. To add insult to injury, the whole dish looked as though it had been sitting for days in the kitchen, just waiting for a gullible customer. A half-slice of the most inferior white bread was served per diner with the main course. The bread was stale and no butter was offered. There is no excuse for serving poor bread when there is an abundance of good Polish delis on Leith Walk selling great bread. At the end of the meal, the bill was presented with a complimentary 'After Eight' mint which tasted as though it had been sitting in its box since last Christmas! I now understand why this restaurant, which didn't have an ounce of ambiance by the way, had no other diners when we arrived at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. I am by no means a food-snob, but this has to rank as one of my worst dining experiences ever. In summing up, I'd recommend taking your business elsewhere. A pie and a pint in any of the local pubs is haute-cuisine by comparison.