61-65 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2NH
0131 225 5979
It’s not often that I visit somewhere twice for a review, but I absolutely adore mussels so when Lunch Quest Edinburgh invited me to accompany them on their review to the Mussel Inn, I couldn’t possibly say no; even although this post was sitting in my draft folder gathering dust.
You can read all about how I got on with the Lunch Quest over on their blog; but here I’m going to talk about my very first visit to Mussel Inn!
Tasty Katsu chicken (and yucky noodle soup)
119 Lothian Road West End, Edinburgh EH3 9AN
0131 466 9888
Much has been written about the opening of Wagamama in Edinburgh, but it’s easy to forget that there are some great Japanese and Oriental fusion restaurants within walking distance. I think it’s a shame to neglect these independently run businesses in favour of a massive chain, so I’ve managed to avoid Wagamama thus far and will continue to do so until circumstances force me through those doors.
One place that I’ve been meaning to try for years is Izzi: up on that lovely stretch of road that includes quite a few strip clubs and also the much beloved Illegal Jacks.
This is another post wine tasting review: as it was one of the few non-Italian eateries that that stays open after 9pm on a Monday.
After living in Scotland for all of my life (almost 26 years now) I’ve only recently begun to realise how beautiful my country is. When I saw a great deal on 5pm for a two night stay at a boutique hotel in Skye, I jumped at the chance to see more of Scotland. Until 2008 the furthest North I had been was St Andrews, and I’d never visited the West Coast. On deciding how to get there, we settled on a road trip.
There are a few routes from Edinburgh to Skye: the quickest is via Perth, but we decided to take the scenic route past Stirling, through the Trossachs, and on to Fort William. The drive itself almost felt like a holiday as we watched the Scottish landscape transform before our very eyes.
Duisdale House Hotel
Driving to Skye, there was one worry on my mind: and that was the hotel. I’d booked it via one of those popular group buying websites, and after being poorly treated once when I visited a nice restaurant with a voucher I was left feeling somewhat scarred.
All of my stress melted away however once I stepped into the lobby of the beautiful Duisdale House Hotel. When we checked in the receptionist, David (the nicest man on the planet) gave us a quick tour of the hotel. He also upgraded us to a four poster room- which made me happy because I’ve always wanted to sleep in a four poster bed.
Excitement has slowly been building over the past few months for the grand opening of Edinburgh’s latest gourmet steak restaurant, the aptly named Steak. I was lucky enough to be given an invitation to the press launch. I hummed and hawwed about which steak loving friend to bring. I settled on James, however, and I’m glad that I did because… well, to be honest, there wasn’t really any steak.
Well, unless you were lucky enough to get a seat at the sharing table: but the queue was mahoosive!
I felt like a bit of a killjoy when I sloped off at half 9 to buy a bottle of vinho verde and order a curry, but when I logged into Twitter this morning I found out that I wasn’t the only one that left peckish:
Now I don’t want to sound like an Ungrateful Ursula, I really appreciated the opportunity to be there on opening night. The thing is, the party was held right over dinner time: 7pm-10pm and only four types of canape seemed to be in rotation: none of which featured on the menu. Although the black pudding and haggis balls were rather orgasmic.
I understand that it wouldn’t be economically viable to give every blogger and journalist and their plus ones a full sit down meal, but if the canapé’s were made of dishes actually served in the restaurant then I could tell you a little more about what to expect from Steak. I might even have booked a table to try a man-sized version.
A bite sized portion of chateaubriand, a small pot of cottage pie, some beef wellington, heck maybe even some lobster mash (it was a fish-tank smash, I heard) would have made all the difference.
I can tell you though that the restaurant is gorgeously decorated, the menu looked very interesting, they’re open until 2am (truffled macaroni & onion bread: exactly what one wants after a night partying in CC’s) and the head chef Jason Wright seems so enthusiastic and lovely that I can only hope these qualities are transferred to his food.
There, I said something nice. Now I don’t feel like a complete bitch!
I’ve noticed a lovely trend recently where bloggers publish a list of their favourite posts from the previous week. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and when better to start sharing the love than Valentine’s Day?
I studied public relations at university, so please enjoy this Valentine’s Day post as I tenuously try to link my favourite Edinburgh food blog posts of the past week to the most romantic of holidays!
1) Total Food Geeks – All I Want for Valentine’s
This lovey-dovey post by Edinburgh Foody laments the lack of hand delivered romantic goodies for surprising loved ones on Valentine’s Day – or any day for that matter – in Edinburgh. I’m a big romantic at heart so would definitely love a service like this: last year I sent cards to my platonic friends (and even made a rather stunning mug for one thanks to Moonpig).
2) The Broughton Spurtle – Red Velvet Cake Recipe
This recipe for the Red Velvet layer cake (arguably the most Valentine-y of all cakes) is written by local domestic goddess Fiona Harvey of Made By Fi fame. The rich red colour of the sponge provides a beautiful contrast to layers of white butter cream. One to try if you want to impress your other half tonight.
3) Edinburgh Cake Ladies – Tealicious Edinburgh Pops Up Sunday 4th March
Pop up restaurants and supper clubs are all the rage in Edinburgh at the moment, so it’s with great joy that the Edinburgh Cake Ladies announced the launch of a pop up afternoon tea, Tealicious, run by two local cake ladies Katey (of Edinburgh Eats) and Michelle. Tickets for the first event have gone on sale, with the promise of floral treats aplenty (rose petal jam; YUM!).
4) Edinburgh Eats – Baking Sunday: Chocolate and Raspberry Mini Cakes
If you can’t make it to Tealicious, you can always try Katey’s recipes at home. This recipe for chocolate and raspberry mini cakes is just begging to be tested in my own kitchen. I’m not a massive fan of cupcakes, so having a wee mini layer cake all to myself would be far more preferable. There’s just something so evocatively romantic about pairing soft, red, fruits with rich, dark chocolate…
5) Regular Wino – Valentine’s Day Wines
I may be slightly biased because he’s my boyfriend, but I genuinely did chuckle at James’s round up of crazily names bottles of wine that would make, er, “creative” Valentine’s Day presents. Bubbly Bitch rosé and Fat Bastard Shiraz, anyone?
6) MyMonkfish – Beer and Food Matching
For those who aren’t into wine, you can still have a romantic Valentine’s Day meal with a perfectly matched beer. This guide from The Monkfish recommends some very tasty Innis & Gunn beers to match with cheese. It’s a very informative article, but I’m excited about things to come: Monkfish promises further beer matching ‘tails’ so this post is one to watch!
7) Budget Traveller – 6 Movies That Made Me Fall in Love With Europe
I noticed this quirky post this morning on Twitter and couldn’t post a round-up without mentioning it. Indian born travel afficionado Kash runs through the films that encouraged him to pack his backpack and really see Europe on a budget. I have to admit there’s quite a few films on his list that I haven’t seen- although I’m surprised that Trainspotting isn’t on there. Surely Ewan MacGregor’s toilet diving scene would encourage anyone to come and move to the ‘burgh?
That’s it for my first blog round up! If you like heart shaped cakes (for some reason I really associate cakes with Valentines Day: perhaps because I bloody love them?!) then check out my Valentine’s board on Pinterest.
And if I’ve missed out any ace posts, please feel free to leave a link in the comments!
I’ve recently read Dave Gorman’s book, America Unchained, in which he attempts to travel across America without visiting any chains. This sparked an interesting discussion with my other half: what exactly constitutes a chain? Is Brewdog a chain? The bars are all owned by the small, independent brewery, but there are bars in most major cities. Is the Montpelier group a chain, although they only have premises in Edinburgh?
It’s something we pondered on as we wandered into Montpeliers in Bruntsfield for a quick bite to eat before wine tasting.
12 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3JT
0131 557 0952
Everybody loves Mark Greenaway. Ever since his restaurant on 12 Picardy Place opened last year, I’ve heard nothing but gushing reviews. He was even awarded three AA rosettes last month. After hearing so many good things about him (and his restaurant) I wondered if it was a case of truly amazing nosh or a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes.
I don’t tend to dine in fancy places very often. I like to think of myself as a down to earth blogger, working as a resource for ordinary folk in Edinburgh who might not be able to afford a meal priced at £50 per head; like some kind of gluttonous superhero. This probably explains why I get sent super hot hot sauce and packets of mysterious crisps to review.
Restaurant Mark Greenaway often makes itself accessible by offering deals: and for January that deal was pay what you want (PWYW). I thought that sounded rather bold, and since James and I haven’t been on a proper date for ages, I booked us a Friday night table.
97 Hanover Street, Edinburgh
0131 623 1934
Note: I’ve just heard some very sad news. As of 12th February the Hanover Street branch of Tapa will be closing its doors forever. But don’t fret too much: their Leith restaurant, which has the same brilliant menu, will remain open. You can find it at 19 Shore Place, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6SW 0131 476 6776
Ladies and gentlemen, I have recently discovered Primark. I feel so dirty. I know that the £10 cardigans were sewn by Indonesian orphans with no hands getting paid half a penny per hour, but they’re a tenner. A tenner! I’ve spent less on my lunch.
Okay, I know. I’m a disgusting, horrible, hypocritical, excuse for a human being.
But if I’m going to Hell, I’m not going alone: I dragged my mother along with me last week for a spot of late night shopping.
After wandering the four floors of low price, low quality clothing, we decided to grab a bite to eat. I love tapas, and my mum does too. I decided that we’d done enough damage by visiting Primark so instead of heading to a massive chain like La Tasca, I suggested we go to Tapa instead. They’re a local business, with one restaurant on the Shore and one on Hanover Street.
January’s over, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to toss healthy eating aside with our running shoes. We may have failed to stick to our low carb diet plans (two weeks I lasted. Two). but who cares when there are much better options out there? One of those options is The Cake Diet, devised, pioneered, and currently being tested by Edinburgh business woman Lorna Pellet of Love Pure Cakes.
Lorna has been tickling Edinburgh’s tastebuds since setting up Patisserie Florentin in 1989. In 2010 she launched a new endeavour, healthy cake purveyor Love Pure Cakes. I’ve been lucky enough to taste one of her gluten free healthy chocolate and orange cake concoctions, and let me tell you that it beat its unhealthy brethren hands down.
As soon as I got wind of The Cake Diet, I had to know more. So I caught up with Lorna over a cup of herbal tea.
A few words about Lorna before we start: she’s vivacious, funny, savvy, and bursting with energy. One part business-woman, one part earth-mother: she slips effortlessly from discussing online marketing strategy to telling you when to avoid weighing yourself during the moon cycle (full-moon, as the gravitational pull on water will make you heavier).
Her conversation is lively, exciting, and peppered with anecdotes. My favourite: she was asked by one of Britain’s largest bread companies to let them mass produce her cakes, under their label. When she refused, and stated that she wanted them to retain her brand, they scoffed and asked her where she expects to be in five years. Her response? “Fighting with you for shelf space, I’d imagine.”
At the moment I'm based in Edinburgh, which means a focus on reviewing the best restaurants Scotland's capital city has to offer. I also like to share recipes, and news about exciting foodie goings on.
You can find out more about me and get in touch via the 'About' page.
For the latest Edinburgh restaurant reviews, foodie news, and general adventures in food and travel delivered straight to your inbox:
