Home comforts
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MC“: NEW VFNUE
HOME BISTRO
41 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, 0131 667 7010
he intuitive, cosmopolitan restaurateur is beginning to sense that
Simplicity is what works best in the competitive dining-out market.
People want something baSic. It can be a tricky line fOr a restaurant to toe. however. Make it too Simple and even their less discerning diners might decide they may as well have stayed home and cooked it themselves.
HaVing opened in mid-April, Home Bistro has the balance jUSt about right. The menu of chef Richard Logan is conCise: three starters. three mains, some speCials and few puddings. His buSiness partner and front-house manager Rowland Thompson credits New York for inspiration. For example. the chicken paillard: a well-flattened and grilled boneless breast of chicken. served atop a fresh hand-made potato salad With some Wilted spinach. While commonplace in Manhattan, it is the type of comfort food rarely seen here.
Home Bistro prides itself on buying in very few things. Bread is made on the premises: loaves of saffron, rosemary or cheese and chive. Home-made orange marmalade With the grilled goats cheese starter makes a critical difference. In the future. they hope to make their own ice cream, too. Prices are resonable. Two course lunch for $37.95 and dinner at $214.50.
The Edinburgh-born duo bring some diverse experience to the operation. Thompson knows the SouthSide area well from his years at Nicholsons and Black Medicme Coffee Company. Logan has cooked at Maison Hector and Cafe Rouge. The two worked together at PlaiSir du Chocolat before striking out on their own. The 22-seat restaurant is sparsely decorated With a couple of quirky touches such as a goldfish bowl, books in the loos and a pair of slippers next to the fireplace. Well it is Home. after all. (Barry Shelby)
BAR-RESTAURANT THE LIGHTHOUSE
‘Let us save you from a sea of mediocrity,’ proclaims the banner on the Lighthouse website. But at first glance, this new style bar-restaurant, located right on the waterfront in Leith, seems to be the exact opposite - all clean lines, contemporary design and stripped pine floorboards. Yet, ever since its opening in May, it has been overwhelmingly popular on almost every night of the week, with crowds of people spilling out onto the pavement from the huge glass doors that line the front of the building.
The owner. Robert Orr, who is responsible for such city-centre haunts as Gaia and Rush, has gone for a very different market with this venue. It is pure quality and caters for the after-work crowd, who flock from the numerous new businesses that have sprung up in the area. With an extensive bar menu of cocktails, branded spirits, vintage champagnes and ports, this is clearly a place aimed at the upper end of the market. It is the funky, upbeat bar that has been missing from the shore.
Inside, the layout is appealing - the light, open bar area leads into a darker, more secluded drinking section - while the restaurant is set on a mezzanine floorMeals are served until 10pm, with nothing over 27.25. (Rachael Street)
I Open Ham—1am daily. 32—34 the Shore, Edinburgh. 0731 554 9465
Food & Drink
'Hic finest aged whiskics blended with licarthcr honey. herbs and spices
5pm
Eat out for less
Check it out
New lunch Menu
Two Main Meals For The Price Of
One
i‘x‘u’iiiday- Friday 12pm - Tspi'ri
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3-1.7 Jul 2003 THE LIST 1 13