Fishmarket Close, Edinburgh
visited 13/5/09
This place has been around for a while but I hadn't been because of a suspicion of places too close to the Royal Mile. This one is pretty secluded however and is a popular place so it was time to try it. I booked for 6 people and they accommodated 7 of us despite being full (on a Tuesday), so although we had to wait a long time for the food they were pretty helpful.
The restaurant is an attractive warren of low-ceilinged spaces upstairs, and a basement where they seem to seat larger parties. We got the basement. The menu is kind of French, but mainly staples of British restaurants (duck, steak, seabass, chicken). Starters all looked nice. I had some well-cured salmon and purloined some clams (fine, if unadventurous) and quail stuffed with merguez (adventurous and excellent). Then I had duck becuase I was hungry and wanted a glass of red wine (actually, several). It was OK--tender and well-cooked in a slighty boring reduction. I helped myself to some sea-bream tempura which was again excellent--I probably should have been bolder in my own choices. We had the cheapest house wines: a light sauvignon blanc and a fruity cabernet, both from the South of France and absolutely fine. For pudding I shared a prune and calvados tart which could have had sharper flavours.
This resto deserves its popularity and is very reasonably priced. I will go again, sit upstairs and try a few more things from the menu.
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