REVIEW : EAT - Brewhemia, Edinburgh
It conjures up imagery of fun and late nights; bright colours and laughter; live music and glitter.
Brewhemia, Edinburgh’s largest live entertainment venue reopened at the end of August with a focus on food and drink. The menu has been overhauled and heavily influenced by Oktoberfest’s (coming next month) hearty fayre like Bavarian Ploughmans and German Pretzels. As for the beer it gets no better than beer tanks that house Budvar, Staropramen and Schiehallion (Scottish).
REVIEW - FOOD AND DRINK AT BREWHEMIA, EDINBURGH
As with most of Edinburgh, Johnnie Walker just keeps on walking…. sponsoring terraces, bars and restaurants across the Burgh and Brewhemia is no exception. Their wonderful intricate floral entrance is sponsored by Johnnie Walker and you’ll find plenty JW behind the bar - it does make for a bloody great highball!
Staropramen was our beer tank choice served in great solid proper beer mugs. The beer was fresh and ice cold. They went down an absolute treat.
Cocktails are a must and we choose to have these with our food (beer was for the menu perusal and at the end of the evening).
Das Kino - sold at the mention of popcorn, this cocktail is Spiced Rum, Koko Kanu Coconut Rum, Caramel and Lime. Very smooth and very moreish.
Pineapple Gin Fizz - Tanqueray Gin, Pineapple, Lime, topped with soda. Fresh and sweet in all the right places.
There are so many great sounding dishes on the menu that it really was a struggle to choose. We both really wanted the Camembert (which is a sharing dish) but we also wanted the Mozzarella. So being foodies, we ordered both. Why the hell not?!?
The Baked Camembert Sharer - warmed in the oven, drizzled with honey truffle oil and walnuts, served with sourdough bread for dunking and onion chutney on the side.
By far the best dish of the evening. Soft and gooey, warm and cheesy. There is nothing more comforting than this. Plenty of sourdough toasted fingers and the onion chutney is seriously good. The honey and the walnuts were lovely little jewel bonuses, that when scooped up brought momentary peaks of extreme foodie joy.
Check out my video of the Baked Camembert here
Buffalo Mozzarella - garnished with charred peaches, crispy prosciutto, and a balsamic reduction. I feel this would benefit more by being Burrata but it was still delicious. The combination of creamy, low flavoured cheese with smoky crispy prosciutto and sweet peaches is just downright dreamy.
Mains was an even harder choice than starters. This is comfort food full stop and you can almost feel the hug coming out of the menu and wrapping you in foodie warmth.
I licked my lips at Mac n Cheese using 3 cheeses served with garlic bread; my eyes sparkled at the thought of the Weiner Dog on a brioche roll with sauerkraut, sweet mustard, crispy onions, hausmade sauce and haus salad and the Cheese and Beer Candied Bacon Burger nearly made it onto my order but it was the Schnitzel that won.
Haus Schnitzel - breaded chicken breast pan fried with garlic and thyme served with a zesty salsa verde and parmesan aioli. Tenderised, flattened chicken breast retaining plenty of juiciness. It was underseasoned but easily fixed with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Sloe Gin Venison Stew - Scottish venison cooked overnight in sloe gin, with seasonal root vegetables, herbs and a hausmade cheese scone. Great choice of Scottish ingredient but this dish was a let down. The scone was slightly undercooked and although tasty, the venison chunks were small and scarce. For £17 this was not a dish I would choose again.
The desserts sounded tasty and we ordered the
Apfelkücherl - Battered apple slices rolled in cinnamon and sugar, served with ice cream. These transported me to a German Christmas market.
Fruit Tart - with seasonal berries along side a sweet lemon curd. This was a little back to front as it was a sweet lemon curd tart with seasonal berries.
I’ve always thought of Brewhemia as more of a drinking partying entertainment venue. I know that every hospitality venue has had to rethink how they do things in order to keep the business afloat and keep people employed.
This is a gorgeous large venue serving up 5 star drinks and beer. The food is nice, comforting and hearty which lets be honest, when you’re out drinking, this is the kind of fayre you want to be tucking into.
Regarding Covid - the staff all wear masks, track and trace is in place and the tables are well distanced. I would have felt a little happier had there been a member of staff cleaning railings and dedicated points of touch but there are hand sanitizing stations so its easy to keep yourself sanitized plus I always keep hand sanitizer in my bag!
Brewhemia, 1A Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DE. Tel : 0131 2269560 www.brewhemia.co.uk
My Spoon Award : Silver Spoon 8/10
I was invited by Brewhemia to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.