HALL OR NOTHING

Not one to let the grass grow under her feet, this year’s Great British Menu finalist and former Breakthrough Chef winner at the Food and Travel Reader Awards, Roberta Hall-McCarron, isn’t content with opening a new incarnation of The Little Chartroom in a different location this month. Next month also sees the launch of Eleanore, an entirely new restaurant, with her partner Shaun.

Edinburgh’s The Little Chartroom is moving, literally, just around the corner, but Roberta is evolving the offering into a space that offers more covers than the original (which had just 18), and leaving the six-burner gas stove behind – instead, she’ll be using state-ofthe-art equipment to maximise the flavours of Scotland’s finest surf and turf produce. A concise menu will offer three options for each course, according to the seasons. Sample dishes include smoked eel, beetroot, apple, horseradish; cod, squash, broad beans, fregola, clams; and strawberry bourbon iced tea savarin, ricotta ice cream.

The space left by The Little Chartroom at its former address will be taken by Eleanore, a restaurant and wine bar that takes its name from a boat owned by her family. With this one, she’s going counter-dining, serving small plates from an open kitchen, again using the best Scottish produce.

Chefs Hamish McNeill and Moray Lamb (formerly of Little Chartroom on the Prom, their lockdown pop-up) will run the pass, bringing their own culinary influences to Roberta’s creative thinking. Dishes on the menu are set to include barbecue pork neck, chicory and quince; flatbread with sunflower seed dip; and oysters with fermented cucumber, sweet pickled apple and horseradish oil. thelittlechartroom.com