Secret Edinburgh : Making the most of Marchmont's Sweet Melinda's with Alistair Barrie

Tim Clark7 August 2012

We needed a good foodie recommendation at the Fringe, especially as like most people we survive on chips and the odd baked potato for the month of August.

So thank god Alistair Barrie was able to point us to the excellent Sweet Melinda's in Marchmont for his top culinary choice. Read on...

Every time I play the festival I stay in Marchmont as it is close to everything, but that little stretch of Meadow means you feel separated from the madness, and is also perfect to walk/dance/cry/sing/laugh/stagger across at any time of day or night.

Marchmont is also home to Sweet Melinda’s, which I discovered thanks to a chance recommendation in 2004. It’s not a secret at all, but it is everything a neighbourhood restaurant should be. They’re next door to the brilliant Eddie’s Seafood Market, which the chef visits every morning, and the food and service are superb.

I’ve eaten there with friends, colleagues, my parents and Rolf Harris, and have already booked a table this year for the team behind ‘No Pressure To Be Funny’, as we are all massive champagne socialists who require fine dining in order to turn in a good show.

As I write a restaurant blog called Food Ponce – see alistairbarrie.com - Sweet Melinda’s can expect a write up sometime after the 18th, which will probably be the sort of review most performers would sell their grandparents for. My grandparents, incidentally, are no longer with us, but remain very much available to the highest bidder.

Alistair Barrie’s new stand up show ‘Urban Fogey’ will be at the Underbelly Bristo Square from 1st – 26th August for tickets go to www.edfringe.com

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Alistair Barrie

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