Review of The Edinburgh Larder Bistro

It’s a little backwards to start a restaurant review with an apology, but that’s precisely what I owe both the owners of this new star of the Edinburgh restaurant dining scene, but to this blog’s readers too.  I’m sorry not that I’ve been lucky enough to eat here twice in the past month, yet that I’ve taken so long to get around to writing this and telling everyone about it.

A couple of years ago I wrote a Gourmet Girl column for Bite Magazine about the ‘original’ Edinburgh Larder café and deli at Blackfriars’ Street in the Old Town. The over-riding ethos has always been to provide tasty home-cooked food, made from seasonal ingredients which have been l0cally-sourced where possible. If you’re after a cup of tea and scone, or  a sharing platter and glass of wine with a friend, I can’t recommend the place highly enough.

To our great benefit, the demand has evidently been that we ‘burghers wanted MORE, and this call has been answered in the form of their new Bistro. On Alva Street, it’s in the basement premises of the old Howies restaurant. Gone are the gloomy crimson walls, and they’ve been replaced by the much cheerier blueish-green which is the Larder folks’ signature hue. Add in some blonde wood and it’s a much brighter prospect altogether.

The restaurant launched in June, in perfect time to coincide with UK Slow Food Week , and rather than having to run a special menu, it’s a major credit to the restaurant’s chef and the producers he works with that their ‘normal’ menu fits effortlessly with the movement’s ‘Good Clean Fair’ guiding ethics of how food lands on our plate in restaurants. 

The first night I ate there was a ‘soft opening’ and the food was really good, but on my return visit two weeks later that ‘really good’ had been upgraded to ‘amazing’. The menu features loads of local, seasonal Scottish fare, seafood and some really imaginative and tempting vegetarian options. There’s a bit of a Scandinavian twist in many of the dishes too, so the appealing flavours, textures and colours marry in things like the soused vegetables and foraged ingredients like elderflower.

My starter of hot-smoked salmon and heritage potato salad with watercress was as fresh a dish as you could hope for, the potatoes sporting  just enough of their crème fraiche dressing. A plate of food which pleases so much that when lunchtime rolls around the next day, you wish the ham and cheese sandwich in front of you had powers of transformation and that flaky salmon would suddenly appear. Mum’s meaty terrine with toast and soused veggies was so much better conceived than the ubiquitous pâté and chutney starter. 

On a menu that features dishes like Peelham Farm pork belly, skirt steak, hake, the fact that I opted for one of the vegetarian dishes is interesting. But listen to this description..’Spelt risotto, asparagus, foraged herbs, goat curd and lemon rapeseed’.  Trigger words, anyone? It was delicate, it was creamy, it was aromatic, it had texture, it was fresh. It was near enough perfection. Sadly, it really didn’t photograph particularly well, so I’ll spare you that one! Mum tucked in to the hake fillet with chunks of chorizo (again, I presume the Larder’s own version made down at Peelham Farm?) on bubble and squeak with salsa verde. Perfectly cooked fish, didn’t stick around for long, and played nicely with the Pinot Blanc.

As you may know, desserts are a bit of a sticking point for me, so the simplicity of the seasonal poached strawberries with meringue and lemon curd managed to be sweet and satisfying. Mum opted for the chocolate and salted caramel tart with malted ice cream. The rich, smooth chocolate filling was not for the meek, and respect to chef for the malted ice cream which wasn’t crazy on the sugar and had almost a savoury tang. The pastry (on both visits) needs some work by being thinned out and crisped up a notch, as its current version is a little ‘worthy’. A minor point, really.

Drinks are by no means an oversight either, so you can expect Scottish craft beers, a varied yet affordable wine list including my current crush, that  Alsace Pinot Blanc. Stupendous teas such as ‘Bloomin’ Marvellous’ from Eteaket are served in elegant tea pots. From  mum (an amiable yet ‘no punches held’ kind of dining companion) and I, the verdict is an effusive thumbs up.

Massive thanks to Eleanor, Joanne and Stuart for looking after me so well on both visits, and best of luck with The Edinburgh Larder Bistro!  Apologies for the horrible ‘filter effect’ iphone photos- sadly I forgot to bring black beauty with me for this assignment.

 

The Edinburgh Larder Bistro, 1a Alva Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4PH. Details at www.edinburghlarder.co.uk/bistro