SCOTTISH
list.co.uk
EDINBURGH
knowledgeable staff keeping it relaxed and convivial. In tune with its Waterloo Place sister venue, this is a restaurant working hard to keep just the right balance of quality and cost. + Popular pitstop for well-prepared Scottish fare - The kitchen isn’t overstretching itself
Howies at Waterloo 29 Waterloo Place, New Town (Map 1B: C6, 47) 0131 556 5766, howies.uk.com | £9.95 (set lunch) / £20 (dinner)
Bright, airy and high-ceilinged, Howie’s Waterloo Place incarnation still offers a refreshing burst of unpretentious and assured cookery. Its pale wooden flooring, muted tartan seats, high windows and walls bedecked with blackboards and antlers match the contemporary with the traditional in a way that has defined the brand since opening this site in 2001. Starters put a spin on locally sourced ingredients, with squash, carrot and Orkney cheddar croquettes crisp on the outside, and oozing with melted cheese within. Mains include a herb-crumbed Shetland salmon that is served piping hot, rich and juicy, topped with a salty pink peppercorn butter sauce and resting on a small mountain of roasted potatoes. The Scottish dry-aged ribeye steak is everything you could hope for – chargrilled and served simply with fresh fries and a salad. It might be foolish after all that to go for the signature banoffee pie, so perhaps try instead the lighter, piquant rhubarb panacotta. + Location and venue make this a very ‘Edinburgh’ experience - Generous portions make a post-lunch snooze inevitable
4 The Kitchin 78 Commercial Quay, Leith (Map 5A: C1, 3) 0131 555 1755, thekitchin.com | Closed Sun/Mon | £28.50 (set lunch) / £50 (dinner)
Refurbished in early 2015 and now twice the size, Tom Kitchin’s original Leith site continues its impressive evolution while the approach remains consistently on-brand, promising ‘from nature to plate’. The new surroundings reflect the natural approach, being artfully artless, allowing diners a view of the kitchen but otherwise keeping things simple and focusing attention on the food. A chilled beetroot and horseradish velouté is a sharply appetising amuse-bouche, but the following starter of rolled pig’s head steals the show – rich, sticky and earthily spiced, it’s such a bold opening gambit it rather overshadows the mains. The selection of Highland lamb is an expertly chosen, contrasting medley of texture and flavour, resting on a creamy bed of macaroni. Desserts offer a coffee soufflé that demonstrates admirable technical expertise, and is as light as a cloud and gently flavoured. The revitalised bar provides a relaxingly muted backdrop to petit fours including the likes of crumbly, chewy and tart sea buckthorn macarons. + Despite the revamp, it still retains The Kitchin vibe - This is destination dining, but there’s not much else to do when you get to Commercial Quay
Kyloe Restaurant & Grill The Rutland Hotel, 1–3 Rutland Street, West End (Map 4: B1, 19) 0131 229 3402, kyloerestaurant.com | £31 (lunch) / £31 (dinner)
Choice is king at Kyloe. While the restaurant’s proposition is pleasingly straightforward, with the emphasis firmly upon meat, there is no shortage of options on how you can have it served. There’s the opportunity to be introduced 98 The List Eating & Drinking Guide
Forth Floor Restaurant (page 96): confident cooking in a high-end setting with some cracking views
to the cuts of meat, and questions are rewarded with real enthusiasm and knowledge. Once you’ve chosen your cut, there are the choices of AberdeenAngus, the ‘steak of the week’ or 60-day-aged sirloin. Then there’s the range of sauces, the additional toppings, the combination of sides. So, until it arrives, enjoy a starter of smoked fish: salmon, trout and mackerel are sharp, tart, rich and joined by caviar and crostini. Alternatively, the pulled pork and chorizo is a tiny, densely flavoured and rewarding parcel, accompanied by earthy black pudding and a dainty quail’s egg. To the steaks then, and they’re a pretty flawless example of the art – charred and crisp on the outside and rich and juicy within, these are sizeable cuts and well worth the anticipation. To finish, the milk and dark chocolate pavé is deliciously rich, meltingly soft and, frankly, huge. + You’re in the hands of experts - Dessert could be the definition of too much of a good thing
The Magnum Restaurant & Bar 1 Albany Street, New Town (Map 1B: B4, 64) 0131 557 4366, themagnumrestaurant.co.uk | £12.95 (set lunch) / £22 (dinner)
The Magnum has occupied the same New Town corner premises for more than 30 years. Part pub and part restaurant, it spreads across three smart adjoining rooms where its muted decor and low lighting give it an elegant appearance and intimate feel. A changing menu containing what could be described as ‘the usual’ Scottish ingredients sees them used in surprising and creative ways. A starter of haggis fills a crisp spring roll and is served with a smoky-sweet hickory relish, while a main of venison haunch is accompanied by a triumphant trilogy of broccoli and blue cheese purée, parsnip dauphinoise and redcurrant jus. Desserts follow
the same out-of-the-ordinary trend, with chocolate truffle cake containing star anise and served with elderflower and gooseberry ice-cream, and an assiette of apple turning out to be ‘apple umpteen ways’, including tarte tatin, panacotta, purée, sorbet and crisp. The cooking here is confident and the whole experience leaves you feeling like you’ve been in the hands of an experienced and competent team. + ‘The usual’ Scottish ingredients used in surprising and creative ways - Not being able to try a little bit of everything on the menu
McKirdy’s Steakhouse 151 Morrison Street, West End (Map 4: B2, 52) 0131 229 6660, mckirdyssteakhouse.co.uk | £13.95 (set dinner)
The McKirdy family have been butchers in and around Edinburgh since 1895 and have sold their meat directly to diners at their eponymous Steakhouse since 1999. When you eat at McKirdy’s you meet McKirdys, with fathers, brothers, uncles and sons working side by side to serve up locally sourced and reasonably priced rump, ribeye, sirloin, fillet and T-bone steaks, which are pan-fried or chargrilled to order and arrive with your choice of fries, mash or baked potato. The muscular menu is fleshed out with other meaty cuts such as ribs and racks, homemade sausages, burgers, black pudding and haggis, and there are even a few fish and vegetarian options. The restaurant feels reassuringly oldfashioned, which some might view as outdated, and the steak sauces and desserts hint towards some bought-in shortcuts in the kitchen, but the quality and price of the steak here is what keeps the carnivores coming back. + A family-run steak restaurant where the staff know and care about their meat - Less rigorous sourcing of non-meat products
Michael Neave Kitchen & Whisky Bar 21 Old Fishmarket Close, Old Town (Map 2A: D3, 87) 0131 226 4747, michaelneave.com | Closed Sun/Mon | £11.95 (set lunch) / £25 (dinner)
When Michael Neave opened his eponymous restaurant in 2012, aged just 21, he had a recipe for pleasing the demanding Edinburgh diner: a relaxed restaurant serving great Scottish produce at reasonable prices. The pace is laid-back and the service warm and friendly, encouraging diners to enjoy a drink or two in the extensive whisky bar upstairs before claiming a table (yours for the night) in the restaurant below. Despite its location on a steep close off the Royal Mile, the building is modern and boxy – a tricky space to create atmosphere. However, the menu has plenty of local colour, replete with west coast scallops, Borders lamb, Gilmour steak and bonnet goat’s cheese. Neave puts this wonderful produce centre stage, pairing complementary flavours in sides and sauces. Earthy beetroot purée and candied walnuts bring out the gaminess of pigeon carpaccio; venison harmonises with carrot and whisky jus, and a truly pillowy raspberry soufflé gets tang and texture from lemon shortbread. All in all, it’s a recipe for success that’s quietly building him a well-deserved local fan base. + Lunch deals offer incredible value - Anonymous decor lacks ambience, especially at night
Monteiths 57–61 High Street, Old Town See Bistros & Brasseries
The Mussel and Steak Bar 110 West Bow, Grassmarket, Old Town See Fish