WHITE HORSE OYSTER & SEAFOOD BAR, EDINBURGH

Opening in one of the oldest inns on the Royal Mile, the White Horse Oyster & Seafood Bar is the latest venture from the team behind the city’s Chop House Bar & Butchery. After a complete refurbishment, exposed stone walls, leather banquettes, cast-iron radiators, a green marble bar and cool lighting including a ‘buck a shuck’ light box make for a cool setting for some of Scotland’s best seafood.

Choose from the two-tiered full-house seafood platter – laden with half a lobster, pickled mussels, clams, king crab legs, oysters, scotch bonnet salmon, tuna tartare and dressed crab, served with salt and vinegar fries, and bread with seaweed butter – or a selection of small plates. Monkfish satay, on our visit, had just the right amount of bite, while chargrilled octopus was surprisingly tender and smoky, straight off the grill. Fillet steak with salsa verde, and cheeses from local cheesemonger Iain J Mellis were delicious, too, but the seafood is the real star.

Oyster happy hour, Monday to Thursday, holds true to its promise, and you can get an oyster shucked, from nearby Loch Fyne (or Northumberland or Ireland) for £1 a pop. Be sure to order a seaside gin cocktail while you do – mother’s ruin made here in the city is mixed with manzanilla sherry, sea salt, pickled samphire and seaweed mist. The salinity goes incredibly well with all the shellfish. (Words by Hilary Sturzaker)