Bodega — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Food was small and pricey for the size, but yummy, frosty atmosphere and rude waitress.

My celiac friend was visiting me from down south and we decided to come to Bodega last night. She was so excited about having a truly gluten free menu.

We arrived just before 9 and the blonde waitress advised us that the kitchen closed in 5 minutes but we decided to be quick and order anyway. We did find this weird as we'd read the restaurant closed at 11pm.

Firstly, My friend had noticed that the music was far too loud and mentioned if I'd manage since I have sensory issues. Not a big complaint but maybe one to be mindful of.

We quickly ordered from their small menu, our server was lovely, very smiley, chatty and very kind.

The food came out within a good time frame. Initially we were confused though as we weren't told which of the dishes had something removed for us and the brunette with the tattoos was confused as to why I was asking which also seemed strange.

We enjoyed our meals, loved the potato stick side the most. I found the taco bread itself to not be very tough and both broke on picking up. But otherwise the food was nice, very small portions though and not particularly cheap for the size.

Anyway, our real complaint - The brunette with the tattoos came to us with the card machine and was pretty rude, no thank you, no how was your meal? And on paying, went straight back to the pass and, within earshot of us, told her colleagues that we hadn't tipped.

My friend was shocked by this and brought her back to the table to ask what the problem had been, we received no apology or explanation for the rudeness of it all and I'd asked if it were standard practice to relay if a table had tipped back to the kitchen but she told me it wasn't, so I'm not sure why it was for our table.

We left feeling really disappointed and it had ruined our night out together and our impression of the restaurant.

We had noticed on our leaving, the blonde and the brunette with tattoos seemed to find the whole situation hilarious and seemed to be laughing at us on our way out.

Thanks to the one lovely professional server, but we won't be coming back. That's not how you treat customers.

Tips shouldn't be expected and customers should not be treated differently regarding this either. (This is coming from someone who has also worked bars and restaurants around the world, and not once have I...

The chicken wings starter was very tasty and the margaritas really nice. Unfortunately the rest of the meal was very disappointing and went downhill from there. The guacamole starter is very small (half small avocado) and lacked any real flavour. The chargrilled pork belly tacos were very dry as if they had been sitting under a hot lamp for a long time. The beef barbacoa was nice, but lacked seasoning, the same with the ox cheek special. The pork ribs were dry and could have done with more sauce/glaze. The desserts were all as disappointing. The churros were quite hard. We also had the cheesecake, you know your dessert may not be the best when the waitress feels compelled to tell you "it doesn't look the best but it tastes better than it looks". It did indeed look bad. The cheesecake was plain and wasn't mixed properly, with lumps of cheese and sugar through it. The dulce de leche wasn't mixed through the cheesecake, just dolloped on the side with a fruit syrup on top. Your time in that place is timed, and the waiter will make sure you know when that time is up. They swapped our dessert plate with the bill without asking. It was then followed very shortly by the waiter and his card machine. We definitely felt under pressure to leave. Overall,  I wouldn't recommend. Your time and money will be better spent...

I really like Bodega and would go here more often but that would require booking in advance. They do take walk ins but even trying this midweek is a big risk.

This tempting taco oasis is popular not just because of its location high up Leith Walk, great for pre theatre and cinema meals, but because the food is great.

This is boutique Mexican rather than cheap and cheerful street food. It's date worthy tacos with a menu that has starters, sides and dessert. Who can resist churros?

Tip: Bodega is a good place for solo eaters, with table service and the right sort of seats.

The portions are not giant and you're encouraged to order two pairs of tacos per person. I find it works with a starter, double main and dessert about perfect.

[Jan 24 update] Took advantage of a special offer, booked (booking still recommended) and enjoyed some more fantastic food. I could have eaten twice as much and still wanted more. Bodega therefore remains on my "I'm feeling rich enough to treat myself" list but what a...