Toast'd is opening in Cowgate, in a building synonymous with food - it was Topo Gigio for many years and more recently Embe, which closed last year.
From Friday (14th) it will be open for breakfast offering croissants, muffins and bagels - which point towards the American influence on some of the food on the menu.
After 11am, toasted baguettes and ciabattinis will be stacked with a whole manner of fillings - pepperoni and mozzarella, chipotle chicken caprese melt (I tried this; great tasting filling with a toasted crunch) and smoky buffalo chicken melt - again displaying a somewhat Italian-American slant.
Look out also for chicken burgers and beef burgers and some house specials - I was won over by the creamy and super cheesy broccoli cheddar soup - and even fish and chips.
The gourmet sandwich venue will have seating for around 40 people, but a takeaway service will be be in operation.
Businessman Basanta Bhattarai bought the building last year and Toast’d, on the ground floor, will be run by his wife Sangeeta.
The opening is the latest piece of good news for Cowgate with Taste of Thailand having opened in the former Pizza Parlour premises before Christmas. And later this month, on the junction with Cross Street, Kathmandu Lounge – a Nepalese and Indian restaurant and bar – is to open.
