Have a Taste of Edinburgh

Edinburgh. It’s as delicious a destination as any you’ll find. With five Michelin Starred restaurants and an increasingly aware and sophisticated foodie scene continuing to grow, Edinburgh offers not just some of the best top end dining in Scotland but the whole of Britain as well.

Among the cream of the Edinburgh crop is chef Martin Wishart, whose Restaurant Martin Wishart in Edinburgh’s Port of Leith has been wowing fine dining fans since opening in 1999. With a current Michelin star, four AA rosettes and 8/10 Good Food Guide score, it seems to have made an impression upon the critics too. With experience under kitchen kings such as Albert Roux, Michel Roux Jr, Marco Pierre White, Nick Nairn, John Burton-Race, Marc Meneau and Charlie Trotter, it’s easy to understand why Martin’s cooking is such a hit.

Since establishing his Leith restaurant, Wishart’s gone on to open a cookery school as well as another restaurant, this one at Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond. His latest offering is The Honours, a city centre brasserie in the heart of Edinburgh. And everything about it is gorgeous.

With a focus on seasonality and what’s available on the local market, The Honours takes advantage of as many local ingredients as possible along with a few exceptions where the “ingredient itself is of a quality that you can’t find better elsewhere.” On the locally sourced side of things, main dishes like the brasserie’s fillet of warm smoked Loch Duart salmon with citrus, fennel and hollandaise are delectable, while brought in from further afield, a 200 gram presentation of presa steak acorn-fed Iberico pork cooked medium rare with red wine sauce is a drool-worthy import.

But it’s not just about the main event! Lock Fyne crab Marie Rose with white radish, espelette pepper and wheat cracker is a delicate starter suggesting just how much attention to detail goes into each dish. And beginning one’s meal with Wishart’s caponata with aubergine, red peppers, tomatoes, capers, pinenuts, and raisins equally inspires the palate with its mélange of flavors. A Black Forest gâteau freshly churned in The Honours’ own Carpigiani machine with artisan vanilla ice cream, chocolate sponge and Griotte cherries finished with a warm Valrhona chocolate sauce (£6.75) ensured fancy-schmancy dining can still be a lot of fun.

The thoughtful menu alone makes The Honours well worth a visit. However, it should be noted that the elegant art deco feel of the restaurant, along with some of the most impeccably gracious service you’ll probably ever come across in the UK add layers of “oh yeah” to any visit. And what may first seem like a compromise, I can attest that dining at the bar is a great way to enjoy The Honours. The bar staff are incredibly friendly, full of Scottish charm and stories and most certainly know their spirits and their vino. Waiting staff are just as attentive and aware of those elbowed up as they are of their table-seating patrons.

Book a flight to Edinburgh today and experience the goodness!

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photo: Chris Osburn