With Courier-country being increasingly blessed with new posh restaurants like Castlehill, The Tayberry & The Newport, readers like me probably don’t feel the need to venture far from the policies to push the boat out occasionally.
I confess then, this week’s restaurant choice wasn’t mine, but Mr Kerry’s, who decided to splash-out by before he confined me to my nest for the last few weeks of pregnancy. I was therefore delighted when we arrived for the surprise booking at Castle Terrace, Edinburgh.
Fine dining often comes at the cost of conviviality, but despite fabulously elegant surroundings, the welcome and service was personable without a hint of sniffiness; even the Sommelier was incredibly approachable and helped me to select a non-alcoholic drink to accompany my meal. Maybe to my old-fashioned eye, other diners took the relaxed air too far with jeans and hoodies – I quite like getting dressed up occasionally and was proud that I had managed to stuff my swollen trotters into my classy stilettos.
Chef patron Dominic Jack has partnered with Tom Kitchin, taking his philosophy “From Nature to Plate” to a new level of fine dining that I’ve only experienced very rarely, hardly ever outside of places with coveted Micheln stars before, and – dare I say it – at Kitchin’s own restaurant.
The a la carte menu was inviting with varied but accessible choices, but Mr Kerry pushed us toward the tasting menu. Bravely, it offered no detail in the selling, other than there being eight courses and was called ‘Chef’s Land and Sea Surprise’. Other than checking if there were dietary requirements or strong dislikes, you accept you’re in the hands of the chef, before the adventure begins.
I try to be articulate when I bring these meals to life for you, but the best I can muster from my keyboard is… wow. The taste, presentation, insane creativity and utter delight at what came out was not borderline genius, it was genius.
The ingenuity was Heston-like and the presentation akin to standards at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir, but somehow the whole thing was served without pretentious pomp – the food spoke for itself.
The reason for the ‘surprise’ billing was because, when written down in advance, it can’t prepare you for the visual, aromatic and taste bombshells that arrive, plate after plate.
For example, braised shoulder of pork with chickpeas sounds pedestrian, until you’re presented with the most perfect re-creation of a mini hamburger you’ve ever imagined, the bun of which was crafted from the chickpeas, the ‘ketchup’ was a tomato reduction jelly, the ‘Swiss cheese’ was a sliver of elegantly sliced turnip complete with holes and the burger itself was chorizo infused shredded pork, seemingly held together by culinary magic.
The fish course was similarly bonkers; although I can tell you that the literal content was gently poached flakes of hake with a brown crab bisque & minestrone of vegetables, typing it like this is like saying Andy Murray is ‘handy with a racket’.
Eight courses seems greedy, but well-paced it somehow worked, all in the interests of research you understand. Describing the rest is like telling you the surprise ending of a magical film before you’ve seen it.
Find a birthday, anniversary or any excuse to treat (or be treated) ….hell – get pregnant if that’s what it takes because, although this sounds ridiculous, £75 really can be good value and even worth stretchmarks.
Info
Price: Chef’s tasting menu: £75 per person; a la carte menu: 3 courses for £65; set lunch menu: £29.50 for three courses.
Value: 9/10
Menu: 10/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Food: 10/10
Total: 48/50
Info: Castle Terrace
Address: 33/35 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2EL
Tel: 0131 2291222
