Peckhams Underground

Great for picking up a healthy lunch on the go. The are usually two soups to choose from, go before 1oclock as there is usally none left after that. Theres a rewards card if you purchase soup and a sandwich together. handy.

Oh how disappointed I was yesterday when my Peckhams lunch was so so so much less than it was before.
I actually attempted to come to dinner here on Thursday and was (a bit rudely) informed that they’re not open during the week, and that the opening hours are on the door. Hum… interesting because I have eaten here during the week before…
Well, that combined with the abysmal meal we consumed, left me wondering if it is now under new management.
The menu has changed completely and it appears that if you want lunch or dinner, you have to buy into their two or three course set menu.
I don’t really like eating a lot of courses, but can handle it for dinner… not for lunch. All I really wanted was a panini with a side salad but had to order two courses of very sub par scran.
My starter was fish cakes, while the man had tomato and rocket soup. The fish cakes were mostly potato and the bits that were actually fish, were a) smoked (an important detail to include on the menu) and b) undercooked. I know that fish doesn’t have to be cooked through, but when it’s in a fish cake, you expect it to be. My man’s soup didn’t taste like it has been seasoned. It was as though tomatoes and rocket were blitzed together and heated up.
For my main I originally ordered the Thai Green Curry with sweet potatoes and noodles (it sounded a bit strange, but I love green curry so wanted to try it) but they were out, so I went with chicken. The man had a lamb burger. My chicken, while well cooked, was literally swimming in a mustard sauce which completely masked the flavour of the meat and made the whole dish just taste like mustard. It was accompanied by (again) un-​seasoned and poorly roasted new potatoes, and some odd sloppy looking artichoke hearts and roasted bell peppers. The man’s burger apparently tasted a bit strange, and his oven chips were a bit under done.
My man is the least picky eater in the world, and he actually sat across from me and said «this food is pretty crap, isn’t it?»
We both agreed that it was like we’d been given posh canteen food.
To add to this, the restaurant was full but it is small enough that with two waitresses working, we should have gotten much better service. Our waters were never re-​filled, it took ages to catch someone’s eye to get the bill, then ages for them to come pick it back up again to give us change.
The kicker was that two courses set us back £22 — £11 each. Locanda de Gusti, which has been called the best Italian in Scotland, offers a two course lunch for £11.95, which we know would never be compared to glorified canteen food.

Oh Peckhams, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Upstairs, your shop floors abound with tempting delicacies, delights and mouthwatering treats. Pricey you may be, but delectable and therefore worth my pretty pennies.
But for this review I turn to your restaurant, Peckhams Underground. What a cosy little cave this turned out to be.
Plush red velvet booths allowed me to recline in the lap of luxury (well, minus the big tear on one of the chairs that couldn’t help but irritate the perfectionist in me).
Friendly waitresses who put up with my indecisive, order-​changing mood… twice. with a smile.
Romantic, cosy and perfect for a date, or as I did, dinner with some lovely lady friends.
The menu full of delicious dishes, left me stumped for a few moments (and as I said, required me to change my order.) Platter to share? It’s there, abound with venison, salmon, cheeses, deli items, roast veg. Little nibbles? You bet, there’s smoked salmon and pates galore. Or a bigger, heartier meal? Yes please. Make mine the chicken breast with sweet potato mash.
Yes, still a little pricier than a pub-​dinner, but oh it was worth it. The food really was delicious, prepared wonderfully, seasoned to perfection, I can’t really complain about anything.
And the desserts, chalked up on BOTH sides of the chalk board. Theres little treats (tray bakes, scones, mince pies) and then the larger desserts (banoffee pie, cheesecakes and more). All 4 desserts my companions and I sampled induced those *eyes to heaven* moments, and made my taste buds literally tingle.
Yes Peckhams, you may have left my wallet a good few pennies lighter, and my waist line a good inch wider, but you were worth that sacrifice. Next time I want a cosy date, or a tete a la tete with some good friends, I’ll be sure to look you up.

I love this place… this place has all delicious food, and I lived just above here, so this place was like my huge gourmet fridge. I still miss it!

This is a safe and tasty choice for lunch or dinner, if you’re in the area and want something decent and substantial, but you don’t want to sit in that slightly posing, minding what you’re doing way that some restaurants make you feel like you have to do.
Peckhams is well established in Edinburgh as one of the top delis of choice for lovers of fine cuts of salami, tubs of plump olives and hunks of cheese you don’t get in the supermarket. The tastiness and far better than average quality of the fare served up in Peckhams Underground is similar to the standard and type of food on offer at the deli, with a classic, fairly straightforward menu for night and day scoffing, plus some indulgent looking desserts. It’s pretty moody and dark down here, with the red seating and dimmed lighting, so it could be a good call for a bottle of wine and some dating skills, plus it’s laidback enough so that there’s never too much pressure on your dining experience.

Unlike my previous late night dessert and coffee encounter with Peckham’s Underground (of which was a thoroughly satisfying affair) I decided to opt for the lunch menu during a wet, boring day in Edinburgh.
A roasted vegetable pie with a tangy chutney, a couple of fishcakes with a similar chutney provided some decent but not amazing homely grub.
Peckham’s Underground seems to fully excel in the coffee and cake category but is hindered somewhat by its mediocre lunch offerings.
Still, I will be back.

If you follow me on Unilocal,you will notice the glowing review I gave to Peckhams of Lenzie, stating that it is probably one of my favourite shops in the world. This branch, in Edinburgh, is my new best friend, and regular Peckhams with a twist, and I love it.
This Peckhams is underground. Well, the deli and shop is upstairs, but walk down the steps into the dimmed lights and cosy décor of a small café/​bistro area where you can sit and enjoy a bottle of wine from Peckhams own vast booze range, and some of the awesome beyond awesome cakes that they sell, on a plate, right in front of you, ready to indulge. Heaven really is a place on earth, and this is it.
I love the white chocolate and lime cheesecake, the chocolate lovin’ spoon cake which has lots of different layers of different types of chocolate, mousses and choc chips which is totally full of sugar and gooeyness and all things that I love to eat! I was kind of miffed that corkage for BYOB was £4 though, considering you have to buy the wine from the Peckhams shop anyway, but apart from that, my darling Peckhams can do no wrong!