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I decided to give First Coast a try while on the hunt for a ‘good dining – low budget’ venue during one of my visits to Edinburgh. Overall the experience was very agreeable.
 

First Coast offers a fairly limited menu and a few daily specials for each course (including 1 or 2 vegetarian options). However, what’s on offer all sounds appetising and many of the dishes have a twist.

First Coast: sticky pork belly salad starter (7/10)

For instance, my sticky pork belly salad starter (7/10) offered a nice combination of texture and flavours (traditional savoury pork belly with sweet Asian salad dressing). However, I wish the salad would be a bit bigger. Also the pork belly was slightly overcooked and as a result the meat was not as juicy as I would have liked it to be. The pork crackling skin on the meat and crunchy fried onion did however provide a nice texture to the dish.

 
For my main dish at First Coast I opted for the slow braised shoulder blade of beef (8/10), which had been braised for over 8 hours. As Anthony Bourdain says: “the longer the meat is cooked and rested for, the more flavourful the dish” and it showed with the dish at First Coast. Because I wanted to avoid eating carbs that day I decided not to go for the leek and mustard potatoes that normally come with the dish, but they sounded interesting.
 

First Coast: slow braised shoulder blade of beef (8/10)

For my dessert at First Coast I decided to try the daily special cheese platter (7/10).
 

First Coast: cheese platter (7/10)

First Coast also has a limited but nice selection of wines on offer and many of the wines are available by the glass. The service is very attentive and pleasant at First Coast and the decoration and ambiance cosy and warm. In total my dinner at First Coast £37 (including 10% service charge and a glass of wine).

 
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a good bite to eat in Edinburgh, but don’t want to spend too much, First Coast is a good alternative.
 
Overall rating for First Coast: 7/10