The Basement

Lovely staff, food was surprisingly good and the place itself is worth an A+

With empty stomachs, and wet socks we climbed down the stairs to enjoy the offerings that the Basement had to after on a Tuesday evening. Not until after we tried to get in through the wrong door of course (it’s the furthest to the left by the way).
We were promptly seated and the staff were great. Not overbearing, but helpful enough and recommended a few dishes for us to try. We’d also read a few reviews recommending the guac, so ordered that first. I loved the fact that the guacamole was made right in front of us, and the waitress asked which ingredients we wanted. Obviously we had the lot, and although the guacamole was certainly fresh, it wasn’t anything special like I thought it’d be. I’m not sure how though, as we physically saw her put the spices in it, that should make it great?! Weird.
We Then moved onto a selection of tacos and small plates for us to share. We had shredded duck, cod cheek, steak tacos and then the ribs. Again, the food was good. Not great, but we scoffed the lot without there being any problem.
This all equated to a usual 4 star review. So why the 3 stars? The main reason is because of the price. With small tacos priced at £6.50 for 2, the bill was over £40 including 1 drink each. This meant that it was about the same price as an El Cartel and unfortunately the quality was nowhere near.

Drinks are quite pricey but it’s in town so that’s all that can be expected. Heated smoking area is fab.

I probably haven’t been in since about 2011, but popped in for a late lunch earlier this week.
It’s much lighter and brighter than it was before, and nice warm place to hide away on a rainy afternoon!
It serves Mexican food, it’s a fairly small menu, but has pretty much everything you’d imagine.
I had a chicken burrito with green rice (still no idea what green rice is and how it differs from regular rice), it was yummy. Large portion size, I managed to finish it, but only just! The prices were pretty reasonable, and now I’m wondering why I hadn’t been for 5 years!

First time I’ve had a chance to eat here since the refurb and I was pleasantly surprised as I was always more than happy with the food but the standard has definitely been raised. From our amazing server who greeted us as soon as we came in and was attentive but never intrusive, to the little extras like water for the table without being asked, to the revamped menu with lots of new and very tasty items and the zhuzhed up outside area. Prices still as good as ever only knocked a star off as the side of chips could of been a bit more generous and crisper. Seeing as this is pretty much on my doorstep I will be eating here a lot.

I love this innovative Mexican restaurant. Nothing I tried was run of the mill. The guacamole is made at your table. A variety of ingredients to add to the guac are brought to the table and you choose one or all. The results were great — I just added a bit of table salt. The chicken in the fajitas was perfectly cooked — nicely seasoned, tender and cooked to a perfect temperature. The homemade hot sauces were a perfect topping. I had a chocolate and chili brownie with a scoop of surprisingly delicious and complimenting house made avocado ice cream. The chili was just a touch that brought out the chocolate flavor in the soft, wonderful brownie. The candied, strips of hot pepper garnish was so good, I could have eaten a bowl of them! The homemade limoncello and tonic was a terrific addition! I highly recommend a visit — make reservations as it is quite small.

I really loved this little place, and kinda wish it was in Glasgow so I could visit more often! We only had drinks, so I can’t comment on the food, but we were out exploring a part of Edinburgh we did not know that well and found this bar on Unilocal (thanks Edinburgh Unilocalers!).
The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, busy– but not too busy to be annoying, and had quite a buzz about it. There were people of all ages here, from family meals to girly get togethers and mates nights out. The décor was really cool, walls of colourful artwork on a day of the dead theme, as well as lights made from recycled Tequila bottles, and a whole wall of drinks (on the way to the toilet and by a small dining area there is a wall which is lined with bottles of the spirits which they sell, I guess it is probably meant to be functional but it looks very aesthetically pleasing and would encourage me to explore new drinks.
Their drinks list was amazing, I do not know anything about tequila and mezcal so it was cool to see the range of things which they had, and have the tasting notes. I quite fancied the tequila taster option (flights of tequila… never seen that before, only beer or occasionally wine) but we were not out for ‘big drinks’, more for a nosy of a different part of Edinburgh so didn’t think shots of tequila would be that wise. We did have an interesting little soft drink shot, I wanted to get a little taste of chilli, and it did not disappoint! Apparently in Mexico people drink some palate cleaning juice between courses or even between tequilas– they have five flavours of ‘amigos’ to try– which come in a shot glass. There was sadly no mango flavour left (fresh coriander, mint, jalepenos, mango juice and lime juice) but we tried the tomato one which was tomato juice, orange juice, lime juice, grenadine, cayenne and chipotle. Mmmmmm. Only £1 too!
From the ten draught beers on offer we had dark keg London Stout, which was served in branded moustached glasses. They have 20 bottled and canned beers listed on their menu, as well as wines and soft drinks; they didn’t have Jarritos (my favourite Mexican soft drink) but I can forgive them for that as it was such a lovely visit. Will definitely be back, and they have a takeaway menu too which will be great for sunny and tourist-​y days or the odd day when I work in Edinburgh. Thank you ‘the Basement’, you’re a hidden gem.

3 words. Homemade tortilla chips.
Had what everyone raved about — guac :)
I know I’m from California so nothing compares and it doesn’t, but at least they had delicious chips!!!
Fajitas were good, tortilla not so much — would be better if it was heated up!
Don’t get the duck tostado or ceviche. Nothing what you would think.
Great and friendly service so the 4 stars along with the chips.
Did i say chips?

Really lovely little bar on Broughton Street. Beautifully decorated interior with a Mexican Day Of The Dead theme running throughout. Just stopped for one daytime drink at The Basement whilst passing. Service, wine and atmosphere being very good. I think it’s definitely a trendy, younger persons bar, however I loved the décor and the amazing Day Of The Dead artwork hanging on the walls. I would love to return to try out their Mexican food menu. I noticed a sign — «COLD BEER, MEXICAN FOOD, COCKTAILS, FREE WIFI» — which says it all about this individual little bar and restaurant. Nice place, which unfortunately could be easily missed as it is at basement level, however it’s well worth a visit.

Friendly staff! Great food and drinks, super cool atmosphere. I suggest the fajitas and the guacamole. They make the guac at your table, super fresh. Everything here is good!

I absolutely loved this place. It was probably my favourite bar that I visited whilst in Edinburgh.
Heading down the steps to the entrance, they have an adorable little smoking/​outdoor patio with fairy lights and a real cosy feel. Inside, you walk straight into what looks like a very hipsterish, modern, fun cocktail bar. The restaurant section is on the other side of the actual bar, so there is a very good degree of separation between the eating and drinking areas.
The bar area itself is quite spacious, with a mix of wall booths and high barstools. The cocktail list is fun and expansive, the prices reasonable (around £8 each). Really, really nice vibe in here.
It’s also just around the corner from a handful of gay bars for those looking to enjoy Edinburgh’s rainbow triangle!

After 2 weeks in the UK, I wanted a little taste of home and wanted to give this little place a try. Who goes to Scotland and has Mexican food? This girl! I am glad I tried it. Nice place, I made a reservation on Unilocal,got seated right away. Ordered the tableside made Guacamole, which was a little on the bland side, I had to add some salt and hot sauce to it to make it better. Also ordered the beef fajita, that was also ok, had a little more flavor. All in all The Basement had great ambiance, the food was just ok to hold over the craving. Staff was nice, although it seemed like only one girl was working.

Eine trashige Hipster-​Bar mit sehr zuvorkommendem Personal und äußerst fairen Preisen. Es gibt eine relativ große Getränkekarte (nur whisky und Bier probiert) und eine recht überschaubare Speisekarte (mexikanisch). Das Essen ist absolut empfehlenswert. Sehr frisch, hübsch angerichtet und sehr schmackhaft. Besonders Klasse: zum Essen werden zwei hausgemachte scharfe bzw. delikate Saucen gereicht. Klare Empfehlung!

The basement was by far my favourite bar that I visited on Broughton street. I know it does food as well, but I did not get to try any of that. So I can only comment on it as being a bar.
This is what I would call a hipster bar. Cool, dark and with a trendy crowd. They had ten interesting craft beers on tap and loads of bottles as well. I could have spent a good while drinking my way through the various options on offer.
Cool modern place doing good beer and I would definitely recommend going for a drink and I will hopefully be back to at some point.

We enjoyed a fantastic Mexican meal here after reserving a table via Unilocal and Open Table. Reservations are recommended as the place gets very, very busy and tables are at a premium.
The restaurant bar is downstairs in a very relaxed atmosphere with tables and small and cosy dining booths that you share with other groups of people.
The service was fantastic, with the staff making fresh Guacamole at your table, and the food and drink was top notch. I had the Chicken Enchilada, which was some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had!
There is a decent range of tasty cocktails too.
Great venue, Good food, good service. Highly recommended — but remember to reserve a table!

I’m giving this place 5 stars because if you live in the UK, you know Mexican food is hard to come by, especially GOOD Mexican food. I’ve been here for two years and this is the first and only good Mexican I’ve had.
Margarita is fantastic, had it on the rocks. I only wish it was larger!
Definitely order the guacamole, they make it right in front of you. You can opt to leave out any ingredients you don’t want. Avocados were so fresh!
I ordered two small dishes, the ceviche tostada and the special, a butternut squash Crustada. The ceviche was amazing and I don’t even really go for ceviche normally. It had a light citrus dressing. Highly recommend for the foodie in the mood for Mexican!

I think this place is great :)
We had no idea that it was Mexican. We thought we were just going into a super trendy bar-​type place for a cocktail, as I’d seen online that they were known for reasonably priced drinks. My friend and I were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find a super cute basement backyard which was all lit up, inviting us inside and a great menu with plenty of things to choose from.
We ended up ordering a few little dishes and a sampling a few cocktails, which were all perfectly yummy.
I’d definitely come here again, because you just can’t beat surprise quesadillas!

It’s had a style overhaul which is fair enough as it was looking a bit nineties but that was part of it’s charm. It’s managed to fit more seating inside which is a plus point and it’s better lit which I also welcome, I always thought it was too dark!
The food: As another reviewer mentioned about the burrito; I had one and it was nowhere near the size it used to be, you also no longer get a big dollop of sour cream on top, you no longer get the refried beans on the side or the rice. It’s just a smaller burrito with a bit of salad and I think it’s even more expensive.
My friend had the fish tacos which was really just 4 ‘goujon’s (fish fingers) with a couple of flour tortillas and a nice pineapple salad.
In a nutshell: It’s good but not as good as it used to be,

I got the burrito, and while it was very tasty, I thought the portion was incredibly small. Again I need to emphasise that it was delicious but for me it’s important not to leave a restaurant hungry and I’m not exactly a big guy and wouldn’t consider myself to have a huge appetite.
Basically if you have a very small appetite and like tapas size meals than this is the place for you, otherwise go in with deep pockets and order a few main courses.

Popped in for an impromptu dinner. Fab friendly service & delicious food at a great price. This was my second or third visit in the last few months and I think I’ve tried/​tasted most of the menu. There’s nothing there I don’t like. Good food at a good price.

Funky lower level bar with décor that looks like it might’ve been the brainchild of H.R. Giger, but in reality is made of Caterpillar treads and the like. Not the most comfortable, but definitely good conversation starters!
Nice barstaff, decent prices, and a very good drinks selection. We had some nibbles as well and they were quite tasty. I’d certainly head back on one of our many trips to Edinburgh.