![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.leilappetit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/bite4.jpg\" "\\"bite\\"")
<\/a>This article was written for the January 2012 edition of Bite Magazine, and can be found here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\nIf you\u2019re planning to do a \u2018stellar\u2019 job on December\u2019s food and drink consumption, the pennies left in the coffers for January can be a little tight. Many of the city\u2019s fancy eateries will be offering discounted dining to get you through their doors, but it\u2019s also nice to find a little spot for a bite, perhaps a wee coffee and pastry. Forget the follies, foie gras and fine wines of the previous month; it\u2019s time for easy eats.<\/p>\n
Caf\u00e9 Renroc can be found just off the beaten track on Montgomery Street, a few minutes from the top of Leith Walk. It\u2019s a quirky little place, combining a health and beauty salon (perfect for a massage to kick the January blues), a neat caf\u00e9 and larger bistro in the basement. It\u2019s one of my fave pit-stops on the way to work, as their morning fare is tops. A flaky almond croissant, freshly squeezed orange juice and latt\u00e9 to go will set me up for any winter\u2019s day.<\/p>\n
At lunch, there\u2019s Panini and quiches, but the Silver Fox and I recently stepped in to try out their evening fare. The menu is a concise mix of continental nibbles and some heartier Scottish fare. We started with the antipasti sharing platter (\u00a36.95), which was a generous plate of salami, Parma ham, olives, addictive stuffed peppers and sweet sun-dried tomatoes and chunks of brown bread. As the man said, you can\u2019t fail with that many tasty things on a plate!<\/p>\n
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Main courses include haggis and stovies however, we went for the Euro-esque mousakka and lasagne. Cheap eats, (both at \u00a36.25) including a side salad and a wee bowl of nachos. Like layered twins, the dishes were quite similar. The pasta dish with minced beef, creamy b\u00e9chamel and a tomatoey sauce, and the mousakka a variation on a theme with aubergines and sliced potatoes. Whilst neither dish was going to set the world alight, they provided filling hearty fare. Annoyingly, both dishes (and the fresh side-salad) were liberally sprinkled with generic dried herbs which were retro in a wrong way. Perhaps if that extra seasoning had gone into the sauces at the cooking stage, it would have worked.<\/p>\n
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We finished with a slice of cake each, a couple of great coffees and the satisfaction of a bargain-finding job well done.<\/p>\n
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