Amber

Castle Hill, Edinburgh

visited 2/10/08

I wasn't planning to go to Amber but found myself here on a work-related dinner. It's in the "Whisky Experience" in the heart of Tourist Edinburgh--the market to which it caters. And it does a pretty good job with none of the short-cuts taken by many Royal Mile establishments. A smooth continuum of staff escorts you from the street down to the restaurant bar. A profusion of single malts awaits you, sadly eschewed by all our party. Happily the house wines are fine. We had booked on 5pm.co.uk (a genuine good deal at this restaurant) and got a a glass of house wine with a limited but thoughtful prix fixe menu (none of the dull chicken that tends to show up on this sort of menu).

I had mushrooms in a rather gloopy sauce I've already forgotten. Mushrooms in this season should be a wonderful dish in their own right, not masked by a bland, creamy sauce. But it did come with an excellent potato scone, and some of the best bread I've had in any restaurant. Next I had duck, which was fine in a generic sort of way, with some simple vegetables. It was all fine but a bit dull. Then in a general circuit of puddings I tried a cranachan--usually my favourite pudding, but this one was too sweet with a whisky liqueur instead of the real thing, and not enough oatmeal.

All in all, there was nothing to object too. Amber has fantastic service and is a nice room with big, widely-spaced tables. Personally, I found it all a little characterless. It's in one of those tall architectural spaces between the Royal Mile and the Grassmarket/Victoria Street, but has less character than the similarly-located Grain Store. It all looks a bit corporate and I had to touch the over-cleaned and polished stone work to reassure myself it was the real thing.

I might give Amber another go to check out the whisky and the full menu. But I'm left with the impression that it's mainly the sort of place to take clients/fellow tourists/your parents to.