Balli's Indian and Mediterranean Restaurant
89 Hanover Street,
New Town
Edinburgh, EH2 1EE

Phone: 0131 226 3451

Sun-Thur:15% discount off food only

Yup, you read correctly: this is both Indian and Mediterranean food. It seems an unlikely mix, but the driving force behind the unusual combination is to offer a more diverse menu to please large parties and families. Indian cuisine, though, is the team's obvious specialty (they opened Balli's in Edinburgh 20 years ago). All the popular Indian dishes are here - the vegetable pakoras are tasty, crispy fritters, and the karai gosht has a rich, spicy sauce with chunky onion and green peppers, complemented by crispy garlic naan. On the other side of the menu, by Mediterranean they mean Italian and Greek, so expect popular staples such as marinated olives, pizzas and pasta. The owners have attempted to keep abreast of trends in Italian menus by including such dishes as creamy baked aubergine and mozzarella, and using gorgonzola in their gnocchi. It is the concept, though, that keeps repeating on you, with two such different cuisines side by side on the same menu. But if you don't mind the quirky mix of cuisines, and don't mind your Italian food lacking some expertise, you'll surely be grateful for the freedom of choice, the central location and the eager-to-please attitude.