Needing to find somewhere to get away to for a couple of days at short notice I was trying to find a good restaurant, in an interesting part of the country (that I'd preferably not been to) with an available table. The Kitchin pretty much ticked all of these boxes (I had been to Edinburgh before but not since I was little). After a short flight up to Edinburgh, settling in to a very nice apartment and a bracing walk up to see the Castle we were in a taxi on our way to the port of Leith.
I became aware of Tom Kitchin earlier this year when he was on a TV show called "The Protege" with Michel Roux and Theo Randall. He seemed like a nice guy cooking interesting food and his restaurant has the reputation of being one of the best in Edinburgh.
We eventually found the entrance after realising we had been dropped off at the back of restaurant and consequently doing a bit of walking. The restaurant was dimly lit and tastefully decorated (apart from slightly out of place vegetables on shelves). There was a large (sound proofed) window that allowed a view into the kitchen, with the head chef visibly working away.
We opted for the "Chef's Land and Sea Surprise" menu and managed to get them to let us share the matching wines between two of us. First they brought us some crudities (breadsticks and raw vegetables) with pretty strong blue cheese sauce, then came some lovely, warm, sourdough bread. The first course was jellied game consommé (I have to say I'm not sure anything savoury should be that consistency). I'm not really sure what to say about the "Shellfish Rockpool". The problem is I like some shellfish but after a previous bad experience with mussels psychologically I struggle to eat them, and can't understand why oysters are considered such a delicacy. I did like the langostine, prawns and crab, but overall the "bouillon" was too salty (and similarly to "Sound of the Sea" at the Fat Duck it brought back memories of accidentally swallowing seawater when I was little).
Artichoke with cod cheek was simple but very tasty. Then came the course I'd been expecting (based on reading reviews) but really hadn't been looking forward: Pigs head and scallop. I tried not to think about which bit of the pig we were eating and it actually just tasted like pulled pork, with the additional hint of curry, but I'd have been happy with half as much. Next was nicely cooked John Dory. Probably the best dish was venison with potato terrine. A palate cleanser of sea buckthorn sorbet was a little strange and the desert of chocolate/pumpkin tiramisu was a little bland.
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