On our travels back in January we also headed up to Scotland with our friend SW. He wanted to go climbing in the Cairngorm mountains, which sounded terrifying to me. More so because, on the train to the airport,...
North Sea Coley, Shetland Blueshell Mussels, Largo Bay Cockles, Smoked Bacon, Leeks, Pink Fir Apple Potatoes (£22)On our travels back in January we also headed up to Scotland with our friend SW. He wanted to go climbing in the Cairngorm mountains, which sounded terrifying to me. More so because, on the train to the airport, he proudly showed us the new ice pick he bought. Any sort of climbing that involves an ice pick probably isn’t for me…
I have been to Edinburgh before – years ago with SLW. I wrote a couple of blogposts back then and was pleased that some of the places were still around when we went this time! The Edinburgh Larder
http://www.talkandspoon.com/2013/08/05/the-edinburgh-larder-cafe-edinburgh-scotland/ was a lovely breakfast spot the first time round, and DS and I went back again to this time to find it still super popular and packed with locals.
DS was super excited to head to Edinburgh because it was right up his alley in terms of its history, particularly around philosophy and the Enlightenment. He’d also done some foodie research and found CAFE ST HONORE. He sold it to me as a restaurant that has traditional foods with a focus on organic and local produce, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed!
Our Cure Belhaven Organic Smoked Salmon, Pickled Cucumber, Pink Fir Apple Potato Salad, Fennel Fronds (£13.50)
Our Cure Belhaven Organic Smoked Salmon, Pickled Cucumber, Pink Fir Apple Potato Salad, Fennel Fronds (£13.50)
The setting is absolutely stunning and just what you want when you’re in Edinburgh. The restaurant is tucked in a back street of the New Town. It has dark wooden furnishings that add to an old-world atmosphere. The service was not at all stuffy, though, and everything on the menu looked approachable and delicious.
As an entree we couldn’t go past Our Cure Belhaven Organic Smoked Salmon, Pickled Cucumber, Pink Fir Apple Potato Salad, Fennel Fronds (£13.50). Belhaven is just East of Edinburgh, right on the North Sea coast. I couldn’t help but be amazed at how fresh this salmon was. It was presented simply with nothing particularly unusual in terms of flavour pairings. But it didn’t need to be paired with anything else. We just wanted to taste the salmon itself, and it was spectacular.
North Sea Coley, Shetland Blueshell Mussels, Largo Bay Cockles, Smoked Bacon, Leeks, Pink Fir Apple Potatoes (£22)
Burnside Estate Sika Deer, Organic Pumpkin & Crowdie Tortellini, Cavolo Nero, Chestnuts (£26)
North Sea Coley, Shetland Blueshell Mussels, Largo Bay Cockles, Smoked Bacon, Leeks, Pink Fir Apple Potatoes (£22)For our mains, you also couldn’t get past the local produce. DS had the
North Sea Coley, Shetland Blueshell Mussels, Largo Bay Cockles, Smoked Bacon, Leeks, Pink Fir Apple Potatoes (£22). Coley, sometimes known as pollock, is a fish we really don’t get in Australia so it was a treat to have that. The Mussels were from Shetland, the islands further north of Scotland and closer to Norway. Largo Bay is just north of Edinburgh across the water. All this produce was sourced within a few hundred kilometres of where we were eating it – how cool is that! This was a warm and filling meal, perfect for a cold wintry night!
I had the Burnside Estate Sika Deer, Organic Pumpkin & Crowdie Tortellini, Cavolo Nero, Chestnuts (£26). I’m not quite sure where Burnside Estate was but I’m sure it was close to Edinburgh as well. In this dish you can see the use of organic vegetables as well. This dish was a rather interesting combination of deer and tortellini. I must admit that I enjoyed the tortellini much more than the deer. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of game meat but I thought I should try it. The cavolo nero and chestnuts added some interesting flavours and textures to balance out quite a heavy dish.
Sticky Toffee Pudding, Vanilla Ice Cream, Toffee Sauce (£8)We were pretty full by the end of the meal, however there’s a few desserts that DS can never say ‘no’ to and one of them is sticky toffee or sticky date pudding. This Sticky Toffee Pudding, Vanilla Ice Cream, Toffee Sauce (£8) was so delicious and perfect. I’m glad it was served simply with vanilla ice cream. You can tell when it’s good vanilla ice cream when you can see the vanilla bean seeds on it! This is such a classic dessert – you’ve gotta get it if you’re there!
What a wonderful meal and I just loved the concept of CAFE ST HONORE. Please go and check it out if you’re ever in Edinburgh! I’m sure the menu changes frequently and you’ll get to try some very local and amazing product.
CAFE ST HONORE
34 NORTH WEST THISTLE STREET LANE
EDINBURGH, EH2 1EA
SCOTLAND
http://www.cafesthonore.com/
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