What a difference a year makes…This time last year I reviewed Stac Polly on Dublin Street with my friend ‘Stressed bride-to-be’. Fast-forward to April 2013, and now I’m the one with a wedding a but a few months away. A leisurely (and ideally slightly boozy) lunch with my sister was called for and so I scheduled a visit to Stac Polly’s recently launched brasserie, gin and wine bar.
And what a great transformation of this formerly rather gloomy ground-floor space. There’s a traditional but colourful element of ‘Scottish’ in the form of Bute Fabric’s tweeds in the upholstery and fun light shades, arty arrangements of stag antlers, alongside the townhouse’s original features such as ceiling roses, fireplaces and exposed stone walls.
My sister and I started with one of their house cocktails, a luscious raspberry gin fizz, and checked out the suitably concise daytime menu. From the choice of three sharing platters, we decided to tuck into the ‘Meat’ option at £12.95. Presented on a slate, we hungrily picked through the selection of tender home-smoked and spiced duck breast, Rannoch smoked chicken and a very delectable Aberdeen Angus carpaccio which was perfectly enhanced by a squeeze of fresh lime. With spot-on little touches like tangy caper berries and the perfect salad peppered with micro-herbs, the only letdown was the generic blonde baguette which didn’t quite match the calibre of the rest of the ingredients.
Following in the theme of threes, the mains are divided thrice into three sections with three choices each. So from ‘fish’ my sister chose the fishcake (£8.95) and from ‘meat’ I had the wild pigeon and Stornoway black pudding dish (£7.95). The fishcake was crisp on the outside, uber-fluffy from the tatties and flavoursome from salmon, scallions and great seasoning. The pan-fried pigeon breasts were gamey and juicey, and the soft black pudding provided great backup in the meaty department.
Desserts -all £4.95- were a tad overindulgent (did you expect this gourmande to be on a pre-wedding diet?) yet blithely we shared the silky chocolate ganache which came with zingy strawberry sherbet icecream, and the food equivalent of a cosy duvet in the form of bread & butter pudding with custard.
Stac Polly have made this a really appealing space, and I reckon this’ll be a choice pick for many lunches to come.
Stac Polly
29-33 Dublin Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6NL
Tel: 0131 556 2231
Lunch in The Brasserie Mon-Sat 12-2pm
Brunch Sun 12:30-3pm
Dinner 7 days
Oh that looks delicious. I’ll have to make it along.