Le Passepartout

What a strange evening. Good food, tiny, hot venue, disorganised but friendly staff.
We arrived and were offered a table ‘downstairs’ — ie in a wee, dark, empty room with a TV screen covering one wall.
«It’s the Rolling Stones!» said our waitress.
We said, em, can we see upstairs?
Which was bright and full of people. Very bright and very full — it’s a hot, pink, tiny cave (make your own analogies) and we had to limbo dance into our seats but, so far so good.
We ordered, and sat chatting. And sat.
45 minutes later, the waitress admitted they’d forgotten our order, and were just putting it on now…
Man. So. We were a bit fed up by this point.
Eventually, they did bring some food, and it was delicious — squid, lamb kofta, and some chorizo and bean stew to start. And while we were still eating those, our shared lobster main arrived.
Is it so odd to want a clean plate, when my starter was a runny, spicy stew? Apparently.
The lobster was tasty. I haven’t had a whole lobster before, so it was quite a challenge! But fun, and we just got stuck in and messy, and enjoyed it, then ate the delicious noodles it came with. The food really was pretty good. And in the end, they took the wine off our bill as an apology for the wait, so we had three starters, a lobster and a bottle of wine for £27, which is not to be sneezed at!
But too hot and pink and bothersome for me to go back.

Cozy and trendy…
A global experience!
Sensory Escape.

Le Passepartout was simply amazing. We walked in to a little oasis that is tucked away off the Royal Mile on Old Fishmarket Close, and we were welcomed to this fantastic new restaurant. The main dining area is cosy and has beautiful, bright-​coloured pink walls and simple tables with lovely pillows and decorations. It feels like like you are stepping into a lovely Moroccan restaurant or a Southeast Asian restaurant — it is a mix of both and a fantastic fusion of cultures (and of course foods!).
The menu is short but overwhelming in deciding what to choose because there are so many fantastic choices. You can either have many starters as tapas or a main that is a sharing platter for two. There are no mains for one, for for one you could go tapas-​style or have a very big dinner. For an odd number of people like when we had three tonight, it was perfect sharing a variety of tapas starters and one main sharing platter.
For the starters (£1.95, £2.95, or £3.95), there is a fantastic pulled pork, an excellent Moroccan chicken, chili chicken strips, marinated minted lamb (only £1.95!), jalapeño cream cheese fritters, deep fried squid and chorizo and spiced bean stew. We had six and they were each amazing! They are small but at great prices and are absolutely delicious!
We had the perfectly exquisite whole Scottish lobster with Thai green chili sauce and Singapore-​style noodles and vegetables. The dish was large and plentiful, and it was to die for! For £19, it was one of the more expensive main (for two remember) but still a great deal for how much there was and how fantastic it was to have a whole lobster cooked so perfectly. My only quibble with it was that it was quite messy and also very hard to manage the lobster that was somewhat cracked into pieces but could have done with lobster cracker as it was difficult and hard on the hands to get all of the tasty meat out!
Other mains included slow-​roasted lamb (£12 for the sharing platter for two is a great deal!) and a Scottish T-​bone steak (£19). Desserts were good but very cream oriented and few chocolate options. I had the chocolate mousse drenched in ice cream and whipped cream, while the others had a liquid dessert of espresso coffee ice cream with cognac and crème de cacao.
The environment here is lovely and relaxed with candle-​light tables low ceilings. There is a special alcove for two to snuggle in while they dine, and a great downstairs area for a different but also lovely atmosphere, and it is also great for groups! I love this place and will definitely be back! It is a fun place with friends and also perfect for a romantic date!