For more food and drink visit list.co.uk/food-and-drink

Edinburgh KYLOE

SCOTTISH STEAKHOUSE The Rutland Hotel, 1–3 Rutland Street, West End, EH1 2AE, 0131 229 3402, kyloerestaurant.com, £10 (set lunch) / £35 (dinner) Kyloe is Gaelic for ‘highland cow’ and it’s beef that gets top billing at this self- styled ‘gourmet steak restaurant’ in the Rutland Hotel. This ain’t your 70s macho steakhouse, however. From the op-art cows on the wall to the cowhide-upholstered booths, the L- shaped room with stunning Castle views is thoroughly modern. There’s welcome theatre in the informed, attentive service: a board of steak cuts is presented and explained to help you decide. When it comes, the food shows Chef Dave Haetzman’s deft touch with ingredients like grass-fed Aberdeen Angus steaks and Shetland crab.

WAGAMAMA

NOODLE BAR CHAIN 1 Castle Terrace, West End, EH1 2DP, 0131 229 5506, wagamama.com,

£14 (lunch/dinner) The long tables, big bowls of slurpy noodles, upbeat East Asian tempo and cool branding have been a prominent part of High Street eating in Britain for nearly 20 years. It had almost become an indictment that a city of Edinburgh’s dining status was without its Wagamama fix, a gap now filled in a convenient former bank on Lothian Road. The chain’s many followers dig the slick efficiency of operation, the positive attitude to kids, vegetarians, lone diners and hungry appetites. With huge servings of curries with rice, soupy noodles or griddle-flashed teppan, and no shortage of fresh, lively ingredients, there’s little denying its zestful appeal. Just a pity that flavours can be absent in key areas making some dishes rather one-dimensional.

UNION OF GENIUS SOUP CAFE 8 Forrest Road, Old Town, EH1 2QN, 0131 226 4436, unionofgenius.com, £4 (large soup) In modest, racing-green surroundings on Forrest Road, Union of Genius has six daily offerings promising good local ingredients, imaginative recipes and lots of flavour. On any given day you might get Cullen skink alongside Lebanese lemon, lentil and spinach or blood-red borscht, served with artisan bread from Viewforth’s Dough-Re-Mi. Six sit-in seats allow you to sup from pottery tureens; takeaway tubs and cutlery are compostable and non-plastic takeaway tubs and cutlery by Vegware (suitably, also Edinburgh based) in fact, loyalty points are won not for each purchase, but for each composting bin deposit.

Independent write-ups on all the restaurants worth knowing about in Glasgow and Edinburgh are available on our online Eating & Drinking Guide at list.co.uk/food-and-drink Prices shown are for an average two-course meal for one.

EVENTS GLASGOW Queen’s Park Farmers’ Market FREE Sat 17 Dec, 10am–2pm. Queen’s Park, 520 Langside Road, 287 2500.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party & Film Sun 18 & Mon 19 Dec, 6–9pm. £35. The Grosvenor Café, Ashton Lane, 0845 166 6028. Includes a themed murder scene to ponder, two-course meal and the latest Sherlock Holmes film.

Mansfield Park Farmers’ Market FREE Sat 24 Dec, 8.30am–12.30pm. Mansfield Park, 5 Hyndland Street. Note Christmas Eve early opening hours. Hogmanay Feast of Meats Sat 31 Dec, 7.30pm–2am. £55. The Butchershop Bar & Grill, 1055 Sauchiehall Street, 339 2999. A four-course meat-lovers’ menu.

EDINBURGH Edinburgh Farmers’ Market FREE Sat 17 & 24 Dec, 9am–2pm. Castle Terrace, 652 5940. Note no market on Sat 31 Dec, returns on Sat 7 Jan.

Weekly Food Market FREE Sat 17 Dec, 10am–2pm. Out of the Scotch Whisky Distillers’ Fair Thu 29 & Fri 30 Dec,

Stockbridge’s new Sunday food and craft market lays on some extra sessions over the festive season.

Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. Quality ethical food, drink and household items, all sourced from within 100 miles. Note no market on Sat 24 or 31 Dec. Stockbridge Market FREE Sun 18, Fri 23 & Fri 30 Dec, 10am–5pm; Thu 22 & 29 Dec, 2–8pm; Sat 24 & 31 Dec, 10am–4pm. Saunders Street, Stockbridge, 551 5633. See main pic.

Wine & Dine Sun 18 Dec, 1pm. £52 (children £34). Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 225 9846. Upmarket Scottish cuisine in the splendid surroundings of the Jacobite Room, with spectacular views across Edinburgh. Price includes Castle admission.

10am. £12. Scotch Whisky Experience, 354 Castlehill, The Royal Mile, 220 0441. Learn a little of the ancient craft from the experts.

Hogmanay Dinner Party Sat 31 Dec, 8pm. £80. Whiski Rooms, 4, 6 & 7 North Bank Street, 225 7224. Enjoy a four- course meal and drinks, then pop outside to join the street party (wristbands are included in the price) at midnight. COMING UP Kingussie Food on Film Thu 2–Sun 5 Feb, kingussiefoodonfilm. co.uk. Food-related film festival with something to eat at every screening.

For more Christmas markets, many of which involve food, go to the ‘Fairs and Markets’ sections in Around Town

15 Dec 2011–5 Jan 2012 THE LIST 57