Traverse Bar Café

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.

Happy birthday to the Traverse Theatre. In 2013 the venue celebrates its Golden Jubilee and to mark the occasion its fondly regarded basement bar/cafe has an updated menu. Fried sea bass with crushed new potatoes, or tagliatelle with mushrooms, chestnuts and radicchio are added to such popular staples as soups, haggis (veggie and non) and nachos. Well-executed meals include a stand-out ale-battered fish and chips and Crombie’s steak burger with onion rings and fries. Food is served all day, from breakfast to light bites, lunch and late options. Though small in number, the dessert choices have a secret weapon in the form of the outrageously tasty warm blondie and Luca’s ice-cream. It’s a draw for a mixed crowd of theatre-goers, office workers and regulars – and with its large open space and kids’ menu, this place can be great for children, too. Long may it continue.

• High point: Reliably good nosh
• Low point: Bit tatty round the edges