An offer worth pondering...

If like me, your interest in doner kebabs and all of its various interpretations is of paramount interest and if you are in or around Edinburgh City Centre, perhaps with a friend, the following promotion may be of interest to you:

The image is from Pizza Paradise (George IV Bridge). This is, in my opinion a pretty respectable though not incredible kebab establishment. It also means that you can have a kebab for breakfast, lunch and dinner, on the cheap - this is can only be a good thing. I recommend you all try this at least thrice and I look forward to hearing about your ridiculous doner frolics in the near future.

Doner Kebab, Pizza Paradise (George IV Bridge), Edinburgh

Offering: Doner Kebab

Establishment: Pizza Paradise, Edinburgh (George IV Bridge)

Date and time: 24th January 2017, 16:23

Price: £4.90 (Concessions)

Seating: Over 15 seats

For quite a considerable time, in 2013 I would visit Pizza Paradise during my then 20 minute lunch break for a nice slice of the their delicious pizza. It was a rich affair, 6 days a week I would wire into this £1.90 lunch time treat, and if the mood was fitting I would order doubles. After some time I felt I could no longer carry on such an unhealthy obsession and by then my work circumstances had changed and suddenly I was treated like a normal human being with an hour long lunch slot. I do still go into this fine establishment but often for their reasonably priced burger and chips, and just as a treat.

In those dark days, the bespectacled football obsessed chap running the show would only serve pizza, burgers, pakoras and a few other casual treats - it wasn't until 2015 that these guys bought the real nutrition to the game. That's right, they only started to serve the rotating feast a few years ago and it resulted in the house prices in the area sky-rocketing. Grown men were bought to tears, they divorced their spouses for they had witnessed one of the greatest moments in Pizza Paradise history!

Much esteemed city mayor, Donald Wilson was the first person to tuck into Pizza Paradises pleasurable slithers of lamb in 2015.

It would be 2017 when I would get round to enjoying one of their doner offerings and may I say, it was an experience worth undertaking. When I go for a doner, one of the main attractions is usually a feisty, spicy and not overly sweet chilli sauce. There was none of that on offer today. In fact, the doner served was seriously lacking in spice. If you get upset by doner kebabs not having a hot chilli sauce then Edinburgh, let alone Pizza Paradise is not the place for you. If you can however deal with a seriously mild and creamy kebab - almost as if it was tailored to Polish tastes, the Pizza Paradise wrap (they don't do pita breads) is going to be an enjoyable practise. The creaminess of this doner is probably it's biggest characteristic so I would advise that if that's something you're not into - it's well within your right to withhold the garlic sauce. Be warned though, you might not be in for the most flavoursome orgy.

It is a small offering though it's not particularly expensive if you work nearby you can ask for a concession. At £5.50, I would be slightly disappointed but at £4.90 (the price I paid), it is an economical choice. The size would be complimented with the choice of some chips on the side, this would definitely give this kebab a higher mark - unfortunately, they would only offer an entire portion of chips and charge you full price for that portion which to me seems a bit greedy for all involved parties.

There was a salad surprise in this kebab - a sliced gherkin! This is the first time I've had a gherkin in a doner and it adds a certain revered crisp not normally associated with the doner salad family. Normally, a pickled chilli would be considered a standard accompaniment and it would be devoured with passion however the gherkin added a slightly contradictory associate. Some may find it the true fore bearer to the pickled chilli pepper but I think the gherkin would have worked better in a spicy kebab and not one so mild. It was however still a pleasing and rare addition and I'm glad that there are establishments thinking outside the box, albeit ever so slightly.

This kebab is slightly smaller that the offering in Zenobia. It is also quite comparable in quality, from the bread to the meat. The meat tasted almost identical to Zenobia, save for the savoury cheese style seasoning. This kebab never had the oily green chilli sauce that's a main feature to the Zenobia offering either. The bread on this kebab was really nice and soft though - it was toasted but it didn't contain the crisp associated with the khobz wrap bread.

If you go into Pizza Paradise often enough, the staff do remember you and this is always a great indication of service.

When it comes down to it though, the doner in Pizza Paradise is not the finest offerings in Edinburgh. It's maybe just a bit too small for most people to be fully satisfied. It is a tasty dish though but it's underwhelming chilli might cause a riot one day.

Verdict: 6/10

 

*Please note, this Pizza Paradise is not the same as the eatery on South Bridge, that Pizza Paradise doesn't serve the quality of the GIVB establishment and, in my opinion isn't really worth visiting. 

Large Doner Kebab Sandwich, Zenobia, Edinburgh

Offering: Large Doner Kebab Sandwich

Establishment: Zenobia, Edinburgh

Date and time: 17th November 2016, 13:05

Price: £5 (concessions)

Seating: Many seats, primarily a restaurant.


Friends, I think I'm been followed. Not on this blog but indeed the real world. It would seem that my face is becoming a regular fixture in doner establishments - that would at least explain the discounts I get given randomly by familiar faces behind the counter. I'm not complaining, in fact, this is perhaps the only time I get a regular discount in any sort of establishment and I'm really grateful for it. Anytime you see the word concessions next to the price of the item, that is indicative of a delightful doner friend-ed discount, such establishments deserve your special attention for they have helped democratise the doner. They are friends of the people. The common man. 

I know what your thinking - the informer has went all posh, it was only a matter of time before the greedy bastard had his cake and eat it! May I remind you though, renting the plate cost nothing here - the cost of £5 for a doner 'sandwich' is indeed excellent value but how does the kebab taste.

Indeed, Zenobia is perfectly located for anyone near the bridges, the former MacDoners (well named but not a great doner!) is in such a busy thoroughfare, everyone that's ever been to Edinburgh is likely to have passed it at some point.

My first impressions are that the sandwich itself is quite small and the doner carvings do look quite pale and bland. This would normally be quite off-putting but remembering the price of this doner, I thought that there was very little to be expected.

The lift is tremendous - the kebab is marvellously constructed if quite oddly filled. The meat seems to take up two thirds of the sandwich itself whereas the salad, whilst delightful, with the addition of carrots, coriander, red lettuce and various other mixed herbs, is far too plentiful and it results in an uncommon crunch, something not normally associated with doner.

...gives a good solid burn and with the creamy sauce...

You would be forgiven for thinking that the sauces are absent in this doner, there seems be very little to show for them, however, when you take a bite, a pink creamy sauce oozed from the bottom as well as an oil-based green sauce (special requests allow for a double helping of this magical substance) that really gives a good solid burn and with the creamy sauce, it satisfyingly scratches an itch.

The doner within is unlike any other doner I've had before - the texture is reasonable and in some ways tastes like turkey (it;s lamb though, according to the menu at least). The seasoning of it though, it has an uncommon savoury cheese taste to it, making it amongst the most distinctive doner meat in this city. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a powdered cheese style ingredient specially seasoned to give that doner it's cheesy kick.

The bread is an Arabic khobz  bread; holds together very well and no sauce would ever seep through it but some with sensitive teeth might find it a bit hard to eat through.

The size of this sandwich is also quite small, not terrible at this price point, however, every time I don, I expect to be pretty filled up, regardless of the price - I was not as satisfied as I could have been and I would quite happily pay a little extra for a bigger sandwich - an option not advertised at the time.

It's all over. The fat lady has sung. All too soon, this doner was probably taken care of in a matter of a few minutes. Whilst I was really hungry, I can't help but feel that many who walk through those black painted, glass-fronted doors are probably going to leave this place unsatisfied, mainly due to portion size rather than the quality of food though.

Verdict: 7/10