New place to eat, Dalry Road
The Clock Cafe and Grill at 125 Dalry Road, is a brand new, fully licensed place to eat anything at any time of the day. I stumbled upon it last week when I was passing through Dalry at lunchtime and popped in for refuelling. This review is based on one visit only, but we will definitely be back to sample more of the menu.
They don’t seem to have a website just now, or a valid telephone number, but from what I could gather, they are open from early in the morning and late into the evening, 7 days a week. It seems to be Italian run, with artwork on the walls and a mixture of classical, opera and acoustic music playing in the background.
Ample seating downstairs
There are only a handful of tables as you walk into The Clock, but the spiral staircase takes you downstairs to a larger seating area with tables and a selection of sofas and comfy chairs, perfect for a relaxing time with the free magazines and papers.
The prices on the menu were almost unbelievable for a place so close to Haymarket. A 175ml glass of Pinot Grigio was a very reasonable £2.50 with a coffee costing £1.60.
My dining partner and I opted for the 6oz steak burger, fries and leaf salad at £4.20. I was quite taken aback when this plate arrived, with two burgers on the toasted bun.
Good value and quality burger
The fries were delicious and were smothered in various sachets of original sauces and vinegar that are on the table. The burger was beautifully cooked and despite it being a simple classic dish – it really hit the mark. The accompanying salad was of ample size and tossed in a lovely dressing.
Allowing for time to digest the main course, I opted for a dessert from the several on offer in the cake cabinet. The honeymoon cake slice was only £1.50 and was washed down with herbal tea, £1.30 and a glass of coke for my dining partner, £1.20.
Thumbs up for tray bakes
We took our time before we rose from the sofa to pay our bill, which totalled £16.50 (plus tip). The staff were really friendly, as you would expect from a brand new business, but they weren’t over the top.
Despite the spiral staircase being a small obstacle to over come with parents with prams – children are very welcome here. Highchairs are available and the children’s menu is full of favourites and each dish comes complete with a carton of juice for only £2.50.
Sofa view
You can eat breakfast all day and into the evening, have fish and chips at lunch alongside the usual choices of baked potatoes, paninis and soups, all for very fair prices. We’ll definitely be back.
Suitable for disabled? There are seats on the ground floor, but the bathrooms are down a spiral staircase.
Map of this location
Tags: Clock Cafe & Grill, Dalry Road, Edinburgh
My husband and I live around the corner from the Clock cafe and were very pleased when it opened. The panini’s are delicious and as you can see from the above review and photograph, the portion sizes are generous! Prices are very good and we will definitely be going back quite often, if not weekly!
I went to the Clock Cafe for lunch today with 2 friends but will not be going back. I arrived at 12.40pm. We had to call the waiter to tell him we were ready to order after about 10 mins as we seemed to be invisible. He acted as if we were asking for something completely new to him but sent a waitress to take our order. When asked what the soup was she told us not to bother as it wasn’t ready yet (why would the soup not be ready for the lunch rush?!). In the end our order was a baked potato, a panini, a baguette, a coffee, an orange juice and 2 glasses of water. The coffee arrived quite promptly (and I am told was very nice). About 10 minutes later the orange juice arrived with another coffee. As the coffee was not the glass of water that was ordered it was sent back only to be replaced, another ~5 mins later, with an equally unwelcome cup of tea. Why can’t I have a glass of water?! At this point I asked how long the food would be and we were told it would be at least another 15 mins… I cancelled my order and left.
I can’t comment on the food as I didn’t manage to try it but the service was appalling. I imagine this stemmed from the kitchen but a waitress should make the customer aware of possible unreasonable delays and she did not give an explanation even when I cancelled my order and there was no apology. It might not have been her fault but I was in the place for 35 minutes and left without consuming anything…
My companions stayed and said the food was okay. One had been on previous occasions and said this was definitely an off-day but I’m afraid there were too many offs for me. I won’t be back.
i am sorry you feel like that i think you must have had a bad day yourself ..i have been going to clock cafe eversince it opened service is always been excellent food out of this world.
i will recomend it to everybody that likes good food