Kweilin, Edinburgh

Encouraged by some complimentary reviews I had read about the Kweilin I was happy and organised enough to telephone in advance of our long weekend stay in Edinburgh to book a Saturday evening table for two. I wish I hadn't. The ambience and surroundings were tired and second rate but nevertheless it is the food that is important, isn't it? However, even the simplest of dishes proved a great disappointment. Egg fried rice with little trace of egg and of an unpleasant consistency, lemon chicken with a 'synthetic' flavour and crispy chicken that was completely soggy instead of crisp, all meant that this was not a occasion or a meal that we want to repeat. The disappointment was certainly not alleviated by a waitress knocking over a full glass of wine on the table. Accidents will happen I know and as she and colleagues fussed around I assumed they were about to replace the table cloth, reset the table and so on. But no. Within seconds and without a single expression of regret or comment the wine was mopped up with paper napkins and they were gone. It was then I realised the table cover was plasticised. Maybe they knock a lot of wine over! We did not stay for a third course and will never return. When paying, we were told the water we had was complementary because of the wine lost.