Eating
Owl.Bee.Eating in Japan
In February we went to a Japanese restaurant. We shared a lovely meal with friends in one of Maki & Ramen’s locations in Edinburgh. The food was great, and even though the place in Fountainbridge was full to the brim, as we couldn’t have picked a busier night (we went on St Valentine’s Day), it came quickly and was delicious!
The traditional tatami tables make the experience very authentic and it feels very different to the rest of the places to eat in the city (get ready to take your shoes off when sitting at the table!). The live sushi section is also a great idea, as we could see our food as it was being prepared. All the different colourful sticky notes are left by customers and add a nice touch to the restaurant’s atmosphere, they make them easily recognizable and memorable. Maki & Ramen say on their website that they are secret messages left by customers, but in our section of the restaurant we could only find fun drawings of food, animals and some lovely reviews. Let me know if you find one when you visit!
In terms of pricing, it is not expensive, there are some very affordable dishes and a few a bit more pricey, but for the size of the portions that you get I think it is very well priced. The food on the menu is varied and there are plenty of options, vegan ones as well. My vegan bowl was huge and I couldn’t finish it!
Now, about what we ordered: I had a vegan black garlic tonkotsu, consisting of vegan tonkotsu broth topped with vegan bacon and greens, and my boyfriend picked a chicken ramen, a classic chicken karaage on a bed of homemade noodles, paired with a lightly spiced miso broth. We shared a salmon teriyaki roll which was filled with avocado and grilled Scottish salmon on top (he ate the most of it, as I didn’t enjoy grilled salmon in a sushi roll as much).
The only downside to the whole experience was the lack of a vegan dessert. We are usually too full to order anything at this stage, but it’s always nice to know we have options to maybe share something sweet. There were different flavours of mochi, though, and I know there are vegan ones, too, so maybe that’s an idea? To be fair, I think Maki & Ramen have different menus on offer at each location, and they must have vegan desserts somewhere, so I’ll let them get away with it. 🙂
I’d recommend Maki & Ramen if you’re looking for an affordable and pleasant lunch or a night out to try the Japanese cuisine in Edinburgh!
In case you need me… #owlbeeeating!
