Jessica S.
Yelp
I'd forgotten about this place earlier when I was writing reviews for "our two worst dining experiences in two weeks of travel." This would make three. Three terrible food stops over the course of two weeks. I guess it's to be expected, but I would have preferred for them all to be winners.
First off, there was a stench in the air when we walked in. Not like a bar smell - which I'd expect and actually welcome. The odor I noticed on walking in smelled a whole lot like sour milk. It was not appetizing, and I started to head back to the door to find another spot for our last dinner in Edinburgh, but I could tell by the look on my husband's face that he was two seconds from mutiny, so I stopped in my tracks.
Secondly, the service here is abhorrent. We were ignored by the young waiter guy (but didn't take it personally, as I saw him ignoring everybody else in equal measure). We had to approach him to ask if we could seat ourselves, to which he gave a hurried, "yeah, sure" and scurried off to do who knows what.
Third, the food is only being referred to as such because I'm feeling generous. We placed our order at the bar (as was required), and then sat back down at our tiny table to wait.
Let me take a minute to chat real quick about the decor. "The Last Drop". One might think that refers to draining a pint of ale, or licking the insides of a whisky glass. But no - in this case, it refers to the moment the floor of the scaffold gives out and the unfortunate soul above starts the long process of being strangled to death. Or, their neck breaks. Or, sometimes - horribly - the rope and/or scaffold itself breaks, causing an uproar and a second attempt at killing a person.
Yeah - it's their schtick and I'm sure it's amusing if you're schnockered off your arse and easily amused. Stone cold sober and already annoyed by points 1 and 2 above, neither of us were particularly charmed by the many pictures and stories and references to the gallows surrounding our little table.
But, that's on us. We should've stopped to read the placard near the front door before going inside.
Anyway, the food. I ordered the Charred Aubergine and Harrissa Burger and my husband ordered the club. The same not-so-friendly waiter swung by long enough to drop our plates on the table before once again scurrying off to parts unknown.
My sandwich (which really shouldn't have been called a "burger", since it was vegetarian) was cold through and through. It was also very dry. It was supposed to come with some sort of salsa and cheese, but the salsa was conspicuously absent. It made for an unedible sandwich. The fries were just as cold as the rest of the meal, making me wonder if it'd been sitting out on a counter for hours before being plopped on our table.
My husband was able to choke down his meal, at least, but I think it was sheer starvation that made that possible. In the end, I couldn't flee that place fast enough.