Balmoral to serve up new venture for Roux dynasty

● Father and son team will transform flagship site at luxury hotel

Edinburgh’s iconic Balmoral Hotel is to join forces with the Roux culinary dynasty to open a new £3 million venture.

Father-and-son team Michel and Alain Roux will oversee a total transformation of the site at the corner of Princes Street and North Bridge.

The spaces currently occupied by Hadrian’s Brasserie and the Balmoral Bar will be turned into a 210-cover restaurant and bar before the yet-to-named venture opens in May.

The hotel, part of the chain spearheaded by Sir Rocco Forte, already boasts one Michelin Star-rated restaurant, Number One.

The new eaterie will be the latest boost to the booming culinary scene in the city’s east end, which has seen a host of recent new arrivals on and around St Andrew Square.

The Balmoral’s new restaurant will also mark the first joint venture between the Roux and Forte families.

Michal Roux and his brother Albert shot to fame in London in the 1960s with their restaurant Le Gavroche, where the likes of Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay worked. The Roux brothers went on to found The Waterside Inn, in Berkshire, where Alain Roux is current chef patron.

Richard Cooke, The Balmoral’s general manager, said: “I’m honoured to welcome Michel and Alain Roux to The Balmoral and the wider Rocco Forte family. Michel’s role in developing British gastronomy has been felt over the course of several decades and his experience and guidance is immeasurable. Alain, who continues to develop his father’s culinary evolution, brings impressive talent and vision to this exciting project.

“The new brasserie concept will be the perfect complement to our existing culinary offering, and completes a fiveyear refurbishment plan. Our guests will truly experience five-star dining and service in every corner of the hotel.”

Michel Roux said: “The new brasserie marks a unique alliance between the Roux and Forte families. As leaders in our fields, our families are committed to excellence, impeccable service and promoting the next generation with my son, Alain leading the restaurant.

“We are thrilled to be opening in Edinburgh, the epicentre of Scottish culture and a thoroughly modern city. We’re fascinated with its proud past and delighted to be part of its vibrant future as we join forces with the award-winning and iconic Balmoral.”

Alain Roux added: “This exciting new brasserie will be defined by a seasonally changing menu rooted in French bistro dishes, in the classic modern style, irresistibly simple, delicious food.

“We’ll be led by the fantastic array of Scottish ingredients and flavours to include beautiful seafood platters and tasty

0 Michel and Alain Roux, inset, are to add to the Balmoral Hotel’s food offering with a new restaurant sharing plates at the bar. I want to serve the dishes that I love to cook myself at home and seek out with family and friends when we go out to eat. It’ll be an exciting menu, informed by my French heritage but totally inspired by Scotland.”

Marketing Edinburgh chief executive John Donnelly said: “We’re seeing more and more businesses selecting Edinburgh as the city for their next venture and it’s exciting to hear that we’ll be welcoming yet another first-class dining experience.

“We’re proud to live in a city that’s constantly evolving and each month we’re seeing new developments and openings that offer something fresh for visitors and residents alike.”