FOOD & DRINK RECENT OPENINGS
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STOP THE CLOCKS You may happily lose time at this new Edinburgh Italian, suggests Hannah Ewan, where food and recipes come directly from the Italian foothills
F or 11 years, brothers Matteo and Marco Iacobelli have run a successful osteria in Casalvieri, central Italy. Persuaded by Scot-side friends to bring their Slow Food-affiliated, informal style to Edinburgh, they have transferred the Italian venue’s menu to Bruntsfield. Here, as there, it benefits from the brothers’ smallholding: cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, cannellini beans and olive oil all come from Iacobelli terra, but not to adorn pizza. The aim is to serve what Italians are eating now, not what we expect time-frozen menus to deliver. The bolognese coating homemade pappardelle is an authentically thick ragu, and starters like potato sformato, a soufflé- like potato flan encasing cured meat and cheese, are a welcome introduction to what we’ve been missing out on. It’s not flawless: the pasta in seafood lasagne is a little over-soft, and pomodori stracolmi – tomatoes stuffed with egg and parmesan – could take more punch from the cheese and spices, but surrounded by stopped clocks and with a well-chosen wine list, it proves easy to obey the name and lose track of time.
OSTERIA DEL TEMPO PERSO
208 Bruntsfield Place, Southside, Edinburgh, EH10 4DE 0131 221 1777, osteriadeltempoperso.co.uk
Ave. price two-course meal: £10.90 (set lunch) / £18 (dinner)
The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Prices shown are for an average two-course meal for one. Glasgow
GORDON STREET COFFEE
COFFEE SHOP & CAFE 79 Gordon Street, City Centre, 0141 221 1367, gordonstcoffee.co.uk, £8 (lunch/dinner) The latest addition to Central Station, Gordon
Street Coffee is advantageously positioned at the main exit in the eyeline of thousands of commuters. Owned by the firm behind Waxy O’Connor’s, it has the feel of an independent – and for the company’s first venture into coffee it must be applauded. Kitted out in metal, tile and marble with huge sacks of coffee stacked on shelves, it feels like stepping into a bygone era. Coffee is roasted on site, which means there’s more than one blend on offer. An attractive range of cakes and filled rolls completes a compelling offer.
POMMES FRITES TAKEAWAY CHIPPY
476 Sauchiehall Street, City Centre, pommesfritesuk.com, £2.65 (reg. chips, salt & sauce) It’s amazing it has taken this long to get a gourmet chippy in Glasgow. Long-standing Mr Chips has given way to a shack-effect shop serving up Belgian-style chips, with transatlantic influences from a similar operation in New York. Chips come in a paper cone with a befuddling choice of salty seasonings, such as fajita, garlic Parmesan or chipotle, and sauces to smother them in, such as pesto or garlic mayo or barbecue sauce. Twice-cooked and crisp is the law for
pommes frîtes and these get close: a tad crisper would be closer.
CLOUDS & SOIL BAR, BISTRO & RESTAURANT
RIVERHILL COURTYARD BISTROS & BRASSERIES
26 West Princes Street, Helensburgh, 01436 676730, riverhillcafe.com, £15 (lunch /dinner) Riverhill’s successful café-deli in Helensburgh was followed by a great coffee bar in Glasgow, and now their all-day diner in the Clydeside resort town answers many locals’ prayers for a quality, attractive and rather hip place, whether for a brew and cake or a full evening blow-out. Housed in a B-listed former warehouse, the Courtyard is beautifully restored – skylights illuminate a large mezzanined space, filled with sounds of a busy kitchen and happy diners hubbubbing. Imaginative and well-prepared food ranges from breakfasts to sandwiches, top-notch pizzas and tantalising steaks cooked up on a Big Green Egg ceramic barbecue. A great dining experience, which wouldn’t be out of place in any major city’s must-visit eateries.
Edinburgh FLEUR DE SEL
FRENCH CREPERIE
61 Frederick Street, New Town, 0131 225 7983, fleurdesel-creperie.co.uk, £10.90 (set lunch) / £14 (dinner) From the waiting staff’s welcoming ‘bonjour’ to the buckwheat flour and cider that’s imported directly from Brittany and the handful of ‘formules’ (set menus), this new crêperie is as French as it gets in Edinburgh. It offers a range of (savoury) galettes and (sweet) crêpes, alongside salads, omelettes and a few daily specials. Many fillings are typically French – ham and emmental, for example, or lemon and sugar – but there are also Scottish leanings with smoked salmon and even haggis. Children have a set menu of their own, as well as a formule designed for after-school children to pop in for a crêpe and hot chocolate or juice for just £4.
4 Picardy Place, New Town, 0131 629 2728, cloudsandsoil.com, £6.95 (one-course lunch deal) / £18 (dinner) Tucked in near the new tram terminus on York Place, this venture from the guys behind Leith’s Bond No. 9 packs a bar, restaurant, events space and four overnight rooms into a townhouse at the top of Broughton Street. If the clouds refer to the airy views from the upper rooms, the soil aims to underline the rootedness of chef Scott Brodowski’s menu of steaks, sliders and fish served in contemporary style across bar, lunch and à la carte restaurant menus, with meaty and veggie sharing boards also available all hours. Cocktails are a strong suit too, with their own inventive list and tie-ins with brands including Hendricks.
MILK AT COLLECTIVE ARTS VENUE COFFEE BAR
City Observatory, Calton Hill, 0131 629 6022, cafemilk.co.uk, £6 (lunch)
It may have the simplicity of a pop-up, but the outpost of Haymarket’s Café Milk that opened this spring as part of the Collective Gallery’s takeover of the City Observatory on Calton Hill probably has claim to
the finest views of any establishment in Edinburgh. OK, you may have to take your paper-cup flat white to the slatted garden furniture seat outside for the widest panoramas, but on a good day there’s none to beat it. If not, the rough-and-ready picnic tables sheltered by corrugated perspex will have to do, but a more-than reliable range of coffee, tea and lunchtime sandwiches make it a nook worth knowing.
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 36 THE LIST 12 Jun–10 Jul 2014