This place was such a delight today!! My friends had been there before thrice so it came with high…read moreexpectations, and it did live up to those!! The waiter was excellent: friendly, attentive, courteous, helpful! The nan breads could be cooked a bit more, and their kitchen extractor fan was loud (we shouldn't have sit so close to the kitchen entrance) . The baklava was nothing special - just like the ones bought from shops. Apart from the above minor points, the food was Really Really good!! I was so jealous I couldn't try the lamb chops (trying a meat-free month for a while) but my friend assured me they were delicious and cooked perfectly, soft and proper charcoal cooked! The lamb dish with the vegetables and the tomato sauce was massive and well cooked too! I tried the spinach with chickpeas, herbs and rice as a side. Delicious! As a drink I chose the yoghurt drink: they add a bit of salt, helps digestion too :-) I even tried their mint tea: they do have fresh mint leaves which they add apart from the standard peppermint bag. You should definitely try it if you're into Kurdish / Middle Easter cuisine!

Set the wayback machine to November of 2013. I am on a two-week journey in Edinburgh for reasons…read moreunrelated to food. However, being a food blogger, I made a point to have at least one restaurant experience each day for the purposes of my reviews. I figured that considering the amount of walking I'd been doing, I shouldn't have had any problem keeping my weight down. By the end of the two weeks, I had gained ten pounds. I blame restaurants like Nawroz for that. Is this a critical review? Not in the slightest. I'm only saying that with nearly every restaurant I've been in, I've never seen more generosity in service and portions than businesses specializing in Middle Eastern cuisine. Okay, perhaps I would put them on a tie with the Greeks, but I would much prefer large portions of Middle Eastern cuisine than of Greek. Yeah, I know, I'm going to get murdered for that one. I'm not saying that Middle Eastern cuisine is better than Greek cuisine. I'm saying that Middle Eastern cuisine is...clearly better, how can anyone argue with that? I've said that certain cuisines become gateways to other cuisines; they stimulate your culinary curiosity while others are gastronomic thunderdomes. Which would I put in the latter category? Obviously American and westernized Chinese. Even sushi is starting to fall into that category. But gateway cuisines? Indian definitely, French and maybe Dutch to lesser degrees, they all open our minds to new ideas, leading to other possibilities. From Indian, you may try Nepalese, Persian, or Moroccan. Of course, if one is talking technicalities, these countries are only lines on a map, and when addressing nutritional anthropology, what you get are hundreds of tribes migrating through history across Africa and Asia, sharing their ideas and techniques. Comprehending that, suddenly calling a certain cuisine Indian makes no sense, as what classifies as Indian food is actually several different culinary methods which happen to occupy that region. What classifies as Indian changes depending on where in India you are? In fact, naming a cuisine not after a country but a people should be more appropriate. Kurdish cuisine encompasses Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. With that, there are quite a few foods which the average curioso will recognize. You'll find falafels, humus, flatbreads, baklava, and shawarma. So what should you do when given such variety? You order it all. Wait, what? Nawroz offers various dishes but one is a mixed collection of various starters. So the five of us ended up getting large mixed plates of starters with only two mains, allowing us to share in the traditional Middle Eastern fashion. You don't order a main and lift from it selfishly. You order a mountainous bowl of food and open the plates of the table to share. This is what you do. Nawroz should be experienced each time as a gathering of friends and family. Invent a celebration if you have to. Someone's birthday? A wedding? Christmas (which they celebrate at Nawroz ironically), or how about the traditional Iranian new year...which is actually called Nawroz. So the restaurant is named after one of the most boisterous events in all the Middle East; why wouldn't you take that opportunity? It's like a restaurant that celebrates Christmas all year round. The décor is perfect with what it attempts to convey: culture and tradition with mild compromises to operate as a functional restaurant. Red and black chairs over a tiled floor, raw brick on the walls with hanging rugs, tapestries, and paintings. Various regional iconographies rest upon the bar. I can feel the pride of the owners in their culture by the décor of the restaurant and the quality of their food. Even the hummus is molded into a fan, topped with olives. The flatbread is fried, a new first and favorite. The mixed starters ranged from contemporary to intimidating and I devoured each and every one. Even though we had ordered mixed starters for five with only two mains, we couldn't squeeze another plate of food onto our table. Everything was good and we still had dessert waiting for us--three types of baklava with Turkish delight. I'll reiterate my previous point. The various cultures of the Middle East know how to make people welcome and this is reflected in their restaurants. Their food is munificent, huge portions at reasonable prices. With Shezan and Nawroz being so close to each other (walking distance) I know that any future domiciles in Edinburgh would have to be in close proximity to this region so when I entertain visitors, I always have a place to go. I am happy that my small home town has a Persian restaurant--so at least my absence from this cuisine would be short. DECOR: 9 PLATING: 8 SERVICE: 8 FOOD: 9 VALUE: 10 OVERALL: 8.8 out of 10

First timer (Edinburgh, Scotland)…read more My dad lived in Marruecos and he always talked about the food. I finally got a chance to try it. I went with a friend from Mallorca and we had a wonderful dinner experience. We had: Maroccan (lamb) meatballs- 5 stars. Very well seasoned and balanced!!! Chicken tagine- 5 stars. This thing was so scrumptious and tasty. Well seasoned and flavorful!!!! Lamb tagine- I do not eat lamb but this dish deserves 5 stars for making me a believer!!!! Very well seasoned and tasteful! Bread- 5 stars. I had a wonderful dinner experience in terms of food tasting :). Service was good but it could have been better.

Souq makes entertaining look easy! - There were 19 of us and we had a private booking in the…read moredownstairs area and we felt very well looked after for the evening. Souq is inviting and exotic from the outside. I've passed by on the bus and been intrigued. And, finally, I got to visit this Moroccan delight. The restaurant just as beautiful on the inside with dazzling hanging lamps, giant rustic vases and bejewelled fabrics adorning the walls. We are welcomed warmly and our hosts entertain us, ensuring vegetarians are catered for and that drinks are flowing. - After all, we were celebrating! Everything is delicious. - Flatbreads and hummus, stuffed vine leaves, halloumi fries and crispy bread to start. Then vegetable tagine with couscous or rice. My carnivore friends had good things to say about the meat offerings and I really enjoyed the vegetable tagine. Finally, Turkish delight and baklava to finish. Mmm! The added surprise: a live belly dancer who entertained us and even gave us a short lesson. What an experience! And if you're intrigued, there's belly dancing in Souq every Saturday. This was a first for me; a unique and fun experience for the whole party. Oh, and belly-dancing isn't easy. But I definitely had fun trying!

Clearly, they don't get many vegan visitors. I was so excited to see numerous dishes marked as…read morehaving vegan options upon request, but I have to say that the shakshuka is not the move. To "veganize" it, they simply remove the eggs, cheese, and yogurt, leaving behind a bowl of tomato sauce with toast, for exactly the same price. The side of mushrooms I got saved the day, which were genuinely delicious; lightly charred and topped with chives, there was a variety of portobello, shiitake, oyster, and more. The cafe is cute, definitely dressed for Instagram, and there are colorful and/or glittery drinks to complete the picture. Just not exactly as vegan-friendly as advertised.

Cute brunch spot! Very kind staff. The pancakes were quite small but tasty. Definitely worth…read morestopping by for a bite.

We all enjoyed our food here , tasty , not too expensive . Good service . Fish & chips were ok …read more Majority of us ordered Mediterranean food and we were not disappointed.

Best Mediterranean food I've ever had! Lots of options to share, perfect for groups. We loved the…read morefalafel, the mixed grill, and stuffed mushrooms. Definitely get a side of tzatziki while you're at it. This isn't a place you want to miss out on!

It took me ages to find this considering I used to live next door…read more It's a sweet little Moroccan style place which does serve traditional British meals but it has that little bit of difference because of the owner's unique style of cooking. Everything was reasonably priced and generous portions (I managed some of my steak before going into food coma). I'm always a big fan of the BYOB malark because I'm a cheap skate. Even though movie posters aren't the most original of decor, it suits the location and the crowd that dine there. I attempted to try things I haven't before; I fell in love with the Moroccan mint tea but my bowels didn't.

We are on our first day in Scotland and I wanted to find something with fresh veggies and spice…read more We'll be having enough traditional food in the Highlands. We loved this restaurant and enjoyed all our dishes. The good thing about small plates, at modest prices, is if a member of your party doesn't care for a dish it's no big deal. The salads, the kebabs, the dips, the seafood... everything was first rate as was the service. Only dish that faltered (and we had 10 among four of us) was the moussaka. Terrific meal! They need to pay more attention to their Yelp listing - there's a full bar, excellent cocktails, and they take credit cards - despite the Yelp listing.

There is very little I could fault about this place. It's spacious. The food comes pretty quickly…read moreand the service is fantastic. As I get further into my twenties, I've found that restaurants have an increasing tendency to play their music very loud. I'm sorry, and call me old fashioned, but one of the main things about going out for dinner is that you are there to have a conversation with the person you are with. I'm not there to get my groove on. Anyway, I digress. I really enjoy Greek/Turkish and Middle Eastern Food which is what this place specialises in. We chose some mezze plates including the chicken souvlaki, soutzoukakia (meatballs), the Moroccan Chicken Tagine and the Loukaniko. It was mouth watering. It was great value too, the portion sizes were manageable and we left very happy customers.

Where do I begin? What a fabulous hidden gem of a restaurant. If you want a great meal experience…read morethat's a bit out of the way this is the place for you. The food was phenomenal. There was not a single dish we did not enjoy here. Each and everything that came out was flavorful and delicious. The sangria and all of the drinks we ordered were fabulous. There was a summer special for the gin spritz's which are incredible. The staff were all very friendly and professional. Dan the owner of the restaurant also took time to chat with us and tell us a bit more about the restaurant too. On Friday nights they have live music which was really nice to experience. As well as the decorations throughout the restaurant were unique and fit the atmosphere perfectly. I'd highly recommend anyone and everyone to come here!

I have been to a few Tapas restaurants and this by far was the worst. Most of the things that we…read morewanted to order on the menu they told us that they did not have... Therefore there was not much we could choose from Small plates are expected, but this was ridiculous! I ordered scallops and got one lonely little scallop in a huge shell for €8.75........ yep you read that right only 1 little scallop! Tapas plates are supposed to be sharable but I couldn't even share this with a mouse. The anchovy dish had so many bones in it that I could use them as toothpicks...... I was too scared to finish the tiny plate in case I choked on a bone They were out of the pork rinds, but offered us something instead... And bought us a packet of crisps!!!! Very disappointed in what you get for such high prices would not recommend and I definitely will not go back!

Server: May I start you off with some drinks? Us: …read more.. [flipping around the menu, spotting non-alcoholic beverages and wine] Server: ... We also have Peroni- Us: Yes! That's exactly what we need! What can we take away from this experience? Good things come to those that wait: in this case, a frosty bottle of refreshing beer that isn't immediately apparently available based on the menu. And like Chris and Jenny reported, the chicken and chorizo stew hits the spot on a chilly, drizzly, gray evening. The steaming goodness with a few slices of crostini on top is just the right portion to be filling without leaving you feeling like you need to go temporarily bulimic to compensate. Do note that the storefront is currently hidden behind a hideous scaffolding. I attribute the odd emptiness of the café to the fact that it's not readily visible from the street. Don't let that deter you from dining here, though - delightful food and the pleasant folks who work here await you!

Hula is a great wee cafe across the road from Theatre Royal and just round the corner from the…read moreConservatoire, so it's ideally situated to cater for the artistic crowd and to be fair, it does so very well. The do lovely soups, fantastic take-away choose-you-own salad boxes, sandwiches to order, a fish stew to die for, and lots of other goodies. If you're a regular and know what to ask for, it's great. If, on the other hand, you haven't been before, it can be a little confusing as to procedure. There's a sign saying 'counter service', but there are menus on the table so you have to sit down first. Then the counter layout is a bit weird so it's not exactly clear where you need to order from. They could do with a bit more signage in that department. The service has always seemed very hit and miss to me, it really depends who you get on the day and how busy it is. You'll either love or hate the laid-back bohemian atmosphere, depending on how much of a hurry you're in. It has great comfy sofas and lots of nice rustic wooden tables, and the mezzanine area when it's open is great for hiding out of the way. They have free Wi-Fi (always a bonus), and a drinks licence. The coffee isn't the best, but it's better than most. Some people love the chilled vibe, but I'd really prefer them to be a bit quicker off the mark. They could also do with redesigning the counter area, and maybe think about putting up a better take-away menu?

Really cool and unique spot in Glasgow. This was part of my regular rotation while at University…read more They have an insanely wide assortment of teas, and their sandwiches are delicious. The inside is very homey, as if sitting in Bilbo Baggin's crib in the shire! They also have sheesha which can be smoked outside! Really laid back and amazing ambiance. 5 stars.

Tea anyone? This is thee place for tea, some tea and more tea. I ended up here as part of the UYE…read moreWest End Wander organised by the lovely Sara T. It was our first stop so, what's best that getting a good cuppa in before our walk?! I'd been here before many years ago with Angela B but had the memory of we didn't like it. The place is very very hidden in the West End, you've got to know or plan how to get to it as it's down one of the many Glasgow's West End's hidden lanes. When I arrived it was puzzling me why didn't we like it, then my man reminded me they do the shisha pipe and they used to be able to smoke it indoors before the smoking ban. Ahhhhh!!!!! Now I remember. They fortunately now take the shisha outside in their wee tea garden. As it is a very small venue, it makes me think of a student's living room, it's that small. I think Angela and I being non smokers it was too smoky for us while trying to enjoy our tea and I hadn't really enjoyed my choice the last time either. This time though was much better. Yay!!!! With guidance from Sara I choose the Turkish Apple tea which was absolutely delicious. I would definitely have again. Slurp! I still find it too cosy, I know that sounds weird but maybe because it's very cluttered with stuff, lots of trinkets and just stuff. There's also lots of soft furnishings so not short of cushions and blankets but for some reason I'm not the biggest fan. Maybe it's just me and I just find it too claustrophobic, especially if it gets very busy. I still say it's somewhere worth popping into if your out visiting the West End for the experience.