Food&Drink News&Reviews
Squaring the circle Edinburgh’s Sheraton Grand has emerged from the mother of all spring cleans as the company’s UK flagship hotel. For locals, the exciting bit about this is One Square, writes Hannah Ewan
+ Five-star service with an eye for detail
- A side of three mushrooms for £3
O ne Square not only describes a location that takes up the full western side of Festival Square off Lothian Road, but it’s one of those neatly vague names that provides an umbrella for various interlinked functions: café, brasserie, terrace, bar and private dining room, while deliberately not mentioning the hotel and spa it resides within.
The party line is that inspiration for One Square has been drawn from the grand cafés of Europe, and this may well ring true in summer, when gin infusions and strawberries are served on the terrace against an Edinburgh Castle backdrop. In fact, it feels more styled and stylish than that: dark wood, bright chairs and generous space throughout draws comparisons with London fashion playgrounds such as Shoreditch House. The food is where the venue’s newness shows most clearly. In tune with infl uential London venues and the more discerning TV food shows, a running theme of great British classics is core, with head chef Malcolm Webster achieving a robust and appealing menu with recourse to neither easy fi llers, such as pasta and risotto nor Scottish cliché – a giant starter of Macsween haggis with fried duck eggs is about as far as you can get down that line.
For all the apparent robustness of dishes such as
52 THE LIST 17 Nov–15 Dec 2011
Tarbert crab cake or potted ham hough, some fl avour depths are lacking – the former needs a citrus injection, for example, and good quail Scotch eggs would be even better with punchier sausage meat. Objections, though, are surface-deep, because basic principles including sourcing are solid, and the delicate balance between hotel dining room and city destination is thoughtfully managed. The ‘tour of Scottish blue’ plate is a notable success: cheese foam, Lanark Blue with truffl ed honey plus Blue Monday on toast impress for quality and sheer value-added care. This effort extends to the bar, where over 40 gins have had their botanicals matched with one of four tonics and a unique garnish (look out for grated tonka bean), surely winning them an unrivalled corner of Edinburgh’s drinks scene.
ONE SQUARE
1 Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9SR
0131 229 6422, onesquareedinburgh.co.uk Sun–Thu 7am–10pm; Fri/Sat 7am–10.30pm.
Ave. price two-course meal: £18 (lunch) / £23 (dinner)
SIDE DISHES NEWS TO NIBBLE ON
COCKTAILS ARE MUSCLING THEIR WAY ever more forcefully onto the Edinburgh
bar scene, with late-night lounge Pepper launching at 12 Picardy Place, underneath Steak and featuring the Secret Garden outdoor enclave, while down in Stockbridge the Last Word Cocktail Saloon from the guys behind Bramble takes over from The Saint on St Stephen Street.
GLASGOW IS SEEING some tapas action with 1901 at 1534 Pollokshaws Road opening
up Boqueria Tapas Bar while Brutti ma Buoni has a new sister operation in Virginia Court in the Merchant City called Brutti Compadres.
SETTING ITS SIGHTS
on summer is the Taste of Edinburgh Festival in the Meadows in Edinburgh on 6–8 July. Recently announced new initiatives include free entry for under 12s, chefs and producers from Orkney, and the recently re- launched Road Hole Restaurant in St Andrews joining the line-up. tasteofedinburgh.co.uk
DEUCHARS RECOMMENDS
THE CALEY SAMPLE ROOM 42–58 Angle Park Terrace, EH11 2JR, 0131 337 7204 Recently Hitlisted as the gastropub that others should be aspiring to, and consistent finalists at the Scottish Restaurant Awards, The Caley will be an excellent place to eat whilst watching the European Championships in June. Obviously hand in hand with a classic Deuchars IPA or craft beer.