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What I have to say about this place will not go down well with some folk especially those who like Paul Kitching's previous venture, Juniper, down Manchester way.

I did not enjoy this meal, in fact I was relieved when it ended, and thats not happened in a long time. Call me old fashioned, call me a philistine, insult my intelligence but I failed to see the point. The Emperors new clothes perhaps.. I tried all of the many ingredients seperately, I tried them all together and I was not bowled over by either the individual quality or provenance of the ingredients, nor the techniques involved. As far as experimental goes I have had more interesting meals at Sat Bains or Maze, and certainly in Barcelona. At no point did I say mmh with delight or close my eyes with pleasure. This meal was not about good mouthfeel or happy tummy taste. It was about having to refer to the menu repeatedly to figure out what I had just eaten and wonder why I had been made to eat it.

The positives were the environment, a lot of money had been spent on the refurbishment and it showed. The staff were very helpful and friendly and maybe it was my imagination but I thought they were a little embaressed at having to explain why there is no wine pairing (too many flavours therefore too difficult) or why the coffee comes in paper cups(ranging from the chef is quirky to it retains heat better(!)). Katie was there and she is very personable but thats about all the positive I have to say.

Apologies for the photos they were taken on my iPhone.



The bread with no butter or olive oil for that matter. Fruit and curry paste essentially, and it wasn't even warm.



My first course of 'tender spicy pork fillet,smkoed bacon and sage,babyglobe artichokes, cauliflower and hazelnut oil, pinenuts, sweetcorn, carrot confit, mangetout, peas, HP fruity and dried orange' was not hot or warm but cold with some warm bits. I didn't know if that was intentional or not. It had been cooked sous-vide and cut up into cubes to match the cubes of carrot. The other annoying thing was the bowl it was served in, which made it difficult to cut up the food and to eat it. The portion size was also on the small side but given the fact I didn't enjoy it, wasn't a bad thing. The problem with it was the overwhelming taste of Sharwoods curry powder which I hate. Given the myriad of spice avaialable thee days and the potential versitility of pork it seems lazy and not retro to use this pedestrian flavouring.



HI's first course was 'creamy smoked risotto of gruyere cheese, smoked haddock confit,caviar and smoked salmon,cucumber,figs, brazil nuts,saffron,fresh dill and argan oil sauce' The haddock itself was creamy and again quite pleasant by itself but together with the rest of it was, meh?

HI had opted to have the soup course which worked out at £10 for a very small bowl of soup. Again it had about three layers of cream of celeriac with asparagus foam and something in between but although it was quite pleasant it was not different to any other asparagus veloutes that we have had.



My main was 'very tender fillet of beef with apricots and walnuts, white asparagus, button mushrooms and onions, blue cheese kebab, boiled rice sweet potatoes, with a sauce of spinach ,nutmeg and garden pea cream.' Indeed this sounds like not one dishes but two. The first half is quite a traditional combination of beef friendly ingredients but the second half? A gourmet version of a drunken visit to the kebab shop?
Again the meat was sous-vide which although gives a tender result makes it curiosuly devoid of any character, and again was cut into cubes. Which were to be eaten with this curiously bovine implement.





HI had the 'slowed baked fillets of young pink trout,tomato and melon confit,pasta twirls, almonds, parsnips, black sesame seed, kidney beans, grated courgette, parmentier potatoes, meaux mustard cream sauce,garlic mayonnaise, fresh mint'

I can't tell you what he thought about it becuase he said nothing about it which is never a good sign.



I had the cheese course and I guess I have been spoiled by the cheese trolly at Martin Wishart because I don't like having my cheese picked for me.


Having said that the portions were generous and the dried apricots were nice.



Then there was the cow with the porridge milk with lavender which was pleasant but tasted like my son's breakfast.

On to the puddings which were the best course of the meal.



I had the 'crispy baked lemon curd with ginger nut crunch, granny smith, soft vanilla sticky rice and sultanas and crabbies giger wine eggy anglaise'
The lemon curd was very good creamy and tart at the same time. This would have been enough by itself but was spolied by the additional sticky rice which unfortunately looked very similar to the bolied rice of my main course.



HI's 'layered classical italian trifle,marscapone cheese, summer soft red fruit puree, bananna,vanilla sponge, praline, coconut, oatmeal, kahlua and baileys white chocolate anglaise' was very good and had a bit of an alcoholic kick which by this point HI was in dire need of.

Suffice to say we shall not return. This is of course only my opinion as there were two men there who had been for lunch only the week before. However, I could not get the thought out of my mind that this was someones idea of a joke-lets give some folk who have foodie inclinations a mish mash of ingredients in some annoying crockery and sit back and laugh whilst they try to make sense out of it and give it praise.
Not for me.

Martin Wishart

My friends will tell you I think highly of this place.

We have managed to go there at least two or three times a year for the last couple of years, sometimes for special occasions, sometimes just because we can.
I can't remember why we went the first time round, or what the occasion was but I do remember it would have been at a time when my foray into the world of fine dining had just begun. I think restaurants with stars and aiming for more can sometimes be intimidating the first time round, and if you are not treated well, can put you off the experience completely.
So, I think that Martin Wishart is such a favourite due to the way they make us feel at home, something that they do if it is you first visit or fifth. The main exponent of this is the maitre'd Stephen. He is a major asset, he is always on top of his game, unfailingly polite, chatty and obliging. No request is too difficult, not even from me. Then there is the cheese man, whose name I do not know yet but, who is very knowledgeable, who once upon a time handled my very drunken requests for Maury and truffle honey with good grace.

The restaurant is located in Leith a place which seems to be a culinary hotspot these days. I think they were here first, then joined by Tom Kitchin and the Plumed Horse, which unfortunately lost it's star this year.
The chef himself in comparison to mnay other chefs, keeps a low profile. Having said that he still has a cook school and a new cook book which was so hot off the press that he had not had time to autograpgh them. However, I appreciate his decision to keep a relatively low profile as I think it is evident in the quality and consistency of the food, something which can be affected if the chef is spread too thinly between NY, London and Paris and the various TV shows one can find them on, these days. It is good to see however that he does get recognition in the broadsheets. I noticed on this occasion the influence of the current vogue for modern methods that seems to be the stick with which Pru, Mathew and Oliver seem bent on hitting any number of chefs over the head with. There was an espuma, a number of foams, a powder and in the rhubarb pudding the transmorgification of one simple ingredient into four different incarnations, all of which worked.

It can be a lovely place to come on a sunny day, with the sun hitting off the water. The restuarant itself is light and rectanglar with about 14 tables varying from twotops to sixes. The decor is a luxe mix of, muted greens and yellows with textured wallpapers and moroccan-esque lights.

I had requested to sit at right angles to each other and we were given table eight which to my mind is one of the best as it gives you a good look at the room. Others might find its location to the kitchen entrance a bad thing, but I quite liking hearing the bustle.
We started off with an aperitif, a Kir Royale for myself and a martini for HI.
We opted, as usual for the tasting menu, subtituting the monkfish for black truffle risotto for HI, as this is his all time fav dish (alright, second to chili). I almost did the same, as I have had some bad experiences with Monkfish, but Stephen re-assured me it was delicious and in that most charming of ways, offered to pay for it out of his own pocket and give me the John Dory instead, if I didn't like it. Of course, I would never take him up of the offer but it's moments like this that count.

By the way Ronnie Corbett was there, with a lady I assume to be his missus and
being the nosey parker I am, I also overheard that table 3 had a vegan at it, and had menu had been created for them.

The meal started off with some canapes



then an amuse bouche of horseradish cream with a beetroot tuille with beetroot powder.



This was excellent. I thought it could have been hotter but the sweetness of the
tuile cut against the savouriness of the horseradish and the beetroot powder was genuis.

wild garlic veloute with scallops, green raisins and grapes. Excellent, creamy, savoury.




Yum Yum

Smoked duck with langoustine



the salt of the duck contrasted well with the sweet melon and langoustine.

Evil Monkfish! Good Monkfish! Evil-- Noo!! Good!!



Heavenly truffle risotto




Roast loin and Civet of hare with Puy lentils and chocolate sauce, my favourite meat dish here.



cheese-can't remember what they were sorry, but they were all French. Oh yes and the lovely cheese man gave me the card for the fromagerie in Edinburgh where they get their cheese from







my three!! puddings, not an assiette mind you, but three separate puddings. How happy was I?



1 of 3 Rhubarb four ways jelly, espuma and sorbet with white chocolate foam



2 of 3 fromage frais foam and lemon curd



3 of 3 chocolate with praline



HI's apple and clavados souffle. I don't like souffle.




Petite four to go with our coffee.

.

All I can say is that four hours later, with full happy bellies and feeing slightly tipsy we wandered out into the sunny streets of Leith.