The Olive Branch Bistro, Edinburgh - Restaurants in Edinburgh | s1play.com

In civilised company

Review published on 04/11/2008 © Sunday Herald

We had only been five minutes in the Olive Branch when my dining partner (male) asked: "Notice anything about this place?" I knew right away what he meant. Apart from one other guy half-hidden round a corner, the entire restaurant seemed to be filled with single-sex tables of women - young women, to be precise - with a Midwich Cuckoolike preponderance of long, blonde hair.

We've noticed this curious gender divide in eating-out habits before. Women in their 20s - gay or straight - enjoy civilised eating out with their female friends. Their heterosexual male equivalents worry that the world will think they are gay if they eat out with their mates and prefer a takeaway either before or after a blokeish male bonding session down the pub. As a result, the solvency of restaurants catering for a younger crowd depends on the female population.

Stepping out of the Olive Branch - a stylish, comfortable and convivial restaurant despite its subterranean location - into the war zone of Edinburgh's George IV Bridge on a Saturday night was a culture shock. The girls inside had drunk a good few bottles of wine and had a good time, but no-one had lost the plot. The men outside, on the other hand, were already guttered by 10pm and fighting in the queue for the cashline. A sober Asian man standing at the bus stop looked slightly alarmed.

You would be forgiven for getting the impression that, apart from him, every male within a 100-metre radius was dangerously inebriated.

There are, of course, many stylish-looking restaurants that rely on female business, which usually means loads of cocktails and cloying puddings based on sugar and chocolate. But the Olive Branch is a more adventurous operation, with a thoughtful menu that steps out of the modern bistro comfort zone and tunes into a more mature foodie zeitgeist: seasonal ingredients, sustainable fish, thrifty cuts of meat, a reasonably priced cheese plate, courtesy of Iain Mellis.

So you don't get offered mackerel and coley from healthy stocks. There's rump as well as, or instead of, the usual beef fillet. Chicken is free-range. The side vegetables feature cabbage and kale, not those tedious air-freighted, shrivelled green beans and similar clapped-out global offerings. I sense an enlightened management at work.

The food is much better than your average bistro and its good intentions are only occasionally let down by simple mistakes that can be easily rectified. A reasonable pork and wild mushroom terrine served with a nicely homespun chutney suffered only from being slightly too cold. The same applied to a salad of butter beans and smoked chicken, with its roasted garlic vinaigrette.

I was mightily impressed that the kitchen had the nerve to put a rabbit stew on the menu. A brilliant ambassador for the culinary delights of bunny it was too: tender, bone and pellet-free, and infinitely tastier than most poultry. Its horseradish mash was too vinegary and sour, but the boldly stir-fried kale was a star. Braised rump of beef came in an interesting form; two substantial pieces flanked by sticky sweet potato mash and cabbage cooked with smoked bacon. The meat only disappointed because it was too dry. Slow-cooked shin with more fat on it might have been an easier cut to keep moist.

Desserts here shine. Cheesecake, which is more often than not a claggy or bouncy gelatine disaster, was highly edible and free from that been-in-the-fridge-for-a-week taste that dogs this pudding. A textbook crumble of apples and plums was more fruit than topping, its charms further enhanced by a vanilla-stippled custard. Ice-creams are homemade and natural-tasting: the chocolate one was especially good.

There's a buzz at the Olive Branch of an evening and even lunchtimes are busy. Staff are young, cheery and communicative. You don't get ripped off on wine here and the selection is better than at many more pompous establishments. Though a three-course meal on a Saturday will mount up, there are currently bargains to be had on weekday nights, with two courses for £10.95 or three for £13.95. At lunchtime, two good courses, featuring dishes that also appear on the evening menu, cost £9.50. You can't complain about that.

© The Sunday Herald