{"id":1663,"date":"2016-04-10T15:50:28","date_gmt":"2016-04-10T15:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leilappetit.com\/blog\/?p=1663"},"modified":"2016-04-10T15:50:28","modified_gmt":"2016-04-10T15:50:28","slug":"review-of-cafe-marlayne-for-bite-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/?p=1663","title":{"rendered":"Review of Cafe Marlayne for Bite Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a few years since I last reviewed this branch of Caf\u00e9 Marlayne (its sister \u00a0is located on Thistle Street) and I was relieved to see the solid standard of bistro fare was not only up to scratch, but had evolved a little too. <\/span><\/p>\n

The stark white walls of yore are warmer, welcome in what is quite a cavernous place, and the new d\u00e9cor (striped wallpaper, mix-match furniture) are fairly symbolic of the menu\u2019s new direction. No longer \u2018simply\u2019 French in its remit, the menu has gone on a mini-world tour and has arrived back with fresh ideas and flavours.<\/span><\/p>\n

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To start, a basket of mixed breads dunked in oil & vinegar, a bone-dry Breton cider for mum and a bottle of Stewart Brewing Hefe for me. My starter (\u00a34.50) of caramelised figs & oranges, fennel seed, rocket and creamy goats cheese contrasting with the honeyed fruit was a summery tour of the Med on a plate. Quite welcome on a bleak January night. Mum went for the charcuterie option (\u00a35.90), featuring sweetly salty Serrano ham, and drily savoury venison salami. Built around the meats was a wintery salad of earthy roasted red beets, pumpkin seeds and leaves. Boldly-satisfying flavours all round.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mains were successful riffs on bistro favourites. Pan-seared duck breast (\u00a313.70) was juicy, pink with an edge of fat \u00a0just-so. Drizzled atop was a rich jus of cherry beer, studded with salty smoked bacon, served with saut\u00e9ed potatoes and soy and chili-spiked kale bringing a bit of zing to the dish.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mum\u2019s rib-eye steak (\u00a314.50) was a left-field variation on the familiar steak & chips, the garnish elements a little over enthusiastic in their quantities plonked atop the steak. The mature well-flavoured beef was cooked medium as requested, but served under a blanket of braised onions & sultanas making the overall impression more of a stew than steak frites. A home-made horseradish sauce was well balanced between cream and tang. Fries, crisp and golden were tasty however the salt-baked walnuts mentioned on the menu sadly didn’t make an appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As befits a place that does a roaring trade during the daytime as a caf\u00e9, the selection of teas and coffees is superb. A cup of jasmine green tea accompanied by a slice of their ever-popular lemon polenta cake – zesty, toasty and light – was a classy finish to an altogether enjoyable meal.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Cafe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a few years since I last reviewed this branch of Caf\u00e9 Marlayne (its sister \u00a0is located on Thistle Street) and I was relieved […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,1],"tags":[54,53,28,32],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1670,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663\/revisions\/1670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leilappetit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}