Wedgwood

Canongate, Edinburgh

visited 22/11/08

There's been quite a buzz about this restaurant so I was looking forward to it. We went at 9.30 on a Saturday when it was busy but not full. It's a nice room (don't go if you can only get a table in the windowless basement though) but they need to fix the door through which a freezing wind blew if not closed properly.

The menu is very enticing and well judged. I had a tian of crab, salmon and avocado. The crab was very good but the dish need something to pick it up (the other 2 ingredients made it slightly bland). Next loin of lamb rolled in black onion seed and pistachios which was very well executed indeed (although personally I thought the lamb was a bit springlike--you can get tastier lamb in November). This came with a puree of gingered sweet potato (which needed gingering up) and a dish of those pointless veg that less ambitious restaurants tend to give you. Then we shared a very good chocolate chocolate cake.

We had a glass of excellent Argentinian Pinot Gris (a house wine) and a nice, spicy strawberry Mud House Pinot Noir from NZ from the excellent and reasonable wine list.

Service was OK but it took a long time to get the first course when we were hungry and then they didn't give us long when we asked for a pause to finish the wine.

All this only cost £84. So although I didn't think Wedgwood was quite the stellar arrival of repute, it was extremely good value.