It was a big weekend for Edinburgh. 2011’s ‘other’ The Royal Wedding was taking place, the old town was mobbed with tourists and flag-waving wedding well-wishers. Louise and I were in town and had a lunch date at Ondine. Heading up the staircase away from the madness of George IV’s bridge, walking into Ondine was like escaping into a perfectly cool, calm other world. From our vantage window table in the elegant dining room, we could keep an eye on things ‘down there’ at street level. The words from Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me came to mind, as this place most definitely exudes a rarefied air.
Ondine’s heading towards its 2nd Birthday and has been a runaway success from the time of opening. Head Chef Roy Brett arrived back in Edinburgh (his home town) in the Autumn of 2009, ready to offer a slick seafood-orientated option for the city’s diners. This was my second visit, and I was looking forward to a relaxed lunch with my buddy, particularly after what had been a rather exciting morning of wedding dress shopping.
I’m a fairly recent convert to the world of sub-aquatic munchies, and indeed five years ago you wouldn’t have been likely to step inside a fish restaurant, nevermind recommmend it for lunch! Nowadays I’m loving fish teas, but the ethical dilemmas regarding over-fishing of stock and the dreadful resulting discards also leave a few questions on how ‘into it’ I want to get. Recently Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight has put pressure on European Parliament regarding the fishing allocations. Ondine, is a supporter of the campaign , as well as being committed to only serving MSC certified sustainable fish. This is a good thing, as once you’ve had a taste of what the kitchen can offer you’ll be, ahem, hooked!
The dining room had a gentle buzz, and the front of house team who looked after us offered that perfect combination of immaculate service with a genuine friendliness. The lunch menu is just shy of £20 and although doesn’t offer any of the fresh shellfish that the place is known for, it does present a classic 3/3/3 table d’hote. As is our custom (I’m nervous about calling it a ‘habit’) , Lou and I ordered a bottle of Prosecco which was a particularly bright and lovely bottle of the bubbly stuff. To start I went for the potted salmon with cucumber jelly, which was must-have because I’ve just brought back a jar of cucumber jelly from Québec and was hoping to pick up an idea of what to serve it with! The texture was a smooth, luxurious whipped mousse, flavours were creamy and ever so delicate, pepped up with a squeeze of lime juice and contrasting brilliantly with the crunchy walnut toast. And as for the cucumber jelly, the perfect fresh finish to every bite.
Louise went for the smoked haddock rarebit might have easily won the ‘ dish of the day’ crown. It seemed so simple, flavourful smoked haddock mixed in with cheese and Hix’s pale ale, seasoning, grilled and all meltingly-lovely on a thick chunck of sourdough toast. It’s the kind of dish with a moreish quality that instantly evokes thoughts of wanting to return, even before you’ve paid the bill. I could really see this as being the ultimate winter comfort food.
My main course was another hit, the classy version of fish ‘n’ chips, giant goujons of cod, clean tasting, perfectly cooked , a crispy panko crumb outer, and dreamy with the caper mayo which accompanied it. The chips, though. Legend has it that Ondine cook their fries in beef dripping and certainly that could go some way to explaining why these thin hand-cut bad boys were literally the perfect specimen. Crunchety-crunch-crunch! Louise struggled slightly with her brown prawn and samphire risotto. She presumed that the broth to make the risotto was made from shellfish (which would make sense given where we were), which unfortunately just imparted a bit too much of a strong flavour through the dish. On the plus side, the little prawns were very tasty and surprisingly juicy given their titchy size.
The desserts on offer were a simple affair, which is no bad thing! I chose a dish of sweet local (Fife) strawberries, with meringue and clotted cream. Louise had a punchy Mull cheddar (erm yep that’s more cheese!) which was served with quince jelly and home-made rough textured oatcakes. Our bottle of bubbly *just* about lasted us through the meal, and after nibbling our wee chunks of tablet, we reluctantly left the calm of Ondine to head back out into reality and the buzz of the city.
The Bill: An exceptionally reasonable £64.90.
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