More fine dining… and maybe Michelin Stars for capital foodies to savour
◆ As February looms, we look forward to a few big announcements in food and drink, writes Rosalind Erskine
February sees the 2024 Michelin Guide launched and announcements for the Stars of the year – basically who’s won, lost and retained stars for this year – plus there’s the top 50 UK bars. All in the same week.
It must be a hard life being a Michelin inspector or one of the industry insiders who get to choose the best cocktail bars. If you’d like to emulate that lifestyle, you’d do well to head to Edinburgh, as the capital is the home for a range of new, fine dining restaurants.
This March, celebrated Scottish chef Tomás Gormley will launch Cardinal; an intimate, fine dining restaurant on Eyre Place. At Cardinal, Gormley will present his take on modern Scottish dining, with a whopping 13-course tasting menu served in the evening, and a shorter, more concise offering for lunch. Each dish on the regularly-changing menu will highlight the bounty of Scotland’s natural larder, with the team working closely with local suppliers and producers to celebrate the best of the seasons. If you recognise Gormley’s name, it’s because he was awarded a Michelin star at Heron in 2023. He is also chef-patron of Skua, which opened in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge in spring 2023. Cardinal is his first solo venture. Of the launch, Gormley said: “Cardinal gives me and the team an opportunity to showcase something we don’t think anyone in Scotland offers people yet. It’ll be fine dining for sure, but we want things to feel exciting and fun at the same time. Expect a lot of the same energy you experience at Skua, just in a longer, more detailed tasting menu format”
Another new capital restaurant is a somewhat unexpected one. Avery Edinburgh comes from celebrated American chef, Rodney Wages, who fell in love with the city while on holiday. This prompted him to shut his Michelin Star Avery in San Francisco late last year and move operations to the site of the former Stockbridge Restaurant, which sadly shut down in summer 2023, and sold in the autumn of the same year. Preview dinners are being held now, so an opening date is expected soon.
While it’s too early for Tomas and Rodney to celebrate another Michelin success for their latest ventures, Stuart Ralston might be, as his restaurant Lyla – which opened on the site of 21212 in 2023 – is gaining critical praise. Dishes at this elegant restaurant include N25 caviar with wild bream, black radish and sea buckthorn as well as Isle of Skye langoustine, bonito emulsion and burgundy sorrel followed by Chawanmushi with razor clam, fermented white asparagus and laminated brioche with cultured butter and whipped macadamia. Could it be the latest Edinburgh restaurant to gain that coveted star? Watch this space. Until then, it’s never been a better time to visit Edinburgh for a brilliant slap up meal.