A friend told us about a restaurant in the lower level of the Balmoral Hotel on Prince’s Street in the new old part of Edinburgh. We found it interesting that parts of Edinburgh, as a city, can be traced back to around 1100. About the time William the Conqueror came across the English Channel (1088).
We stayed in the Old City on the Royal Mile, which runs between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood, one of the working palaces of the Royal Family. The old city was built out in the 1500-1600 era. The new old city was built in the 1700s and each surround ring of development can be traced to roughly a hundred-year epoch, each with a different descriptive title.
The Balmoral Hotel was likely about a mile from our second floor flat. That took a bit of getting used to. The flat did not have an elevator. We carried our luggage up a circular staircase that had deeply worn steps. A bit tricky to maneuver, but worth the experience and convenience. All other restaurants we visited and the Edinburg castle were within walking distance.
Number One is an elegant dining experience. Head Chef Mathew Sherry crafts a three-course and a seven-course meal option. We chose the three-course option. Each meal was custom tailored to allergies and preferences. Four of us dined together and no two people had the same meal.
We started with a shared Scottish whisky, based on the beverage steward’s recommendation. Light and lively, it opened our palates for what was to come. The first course was a choice of roasted duck liver, beetroot and pistachio or cured salmon, cucumber with coastal herbs and coriander. We chose a special third appetizer that evening, the Isle of Skye langoustine, with mooli (a daikon radish) and sea beat.
This was followed by a choice of Shetland halibut, artichoke, red pepper marmalade and courgette, or Hopetoun Estate roe deer saddle, celeriac and roscoff onion. We all chose the halibut. While the deer was a specialty for this restaurant, none of us are game lovers.
Desert was a choice of a selection of artisan cheeses or a Maracaibo 65% chocolate, hazelnut and chocolate ice cream, or Orange cake, pineapple tapioca, passion fruit with blood orange sorbet. Karen had the option of a sticky toffee pudding souffle, which looked great but had ingredients for which I have an allergy.
We paired this meal with a Boffalora Runco de Onego Sforzato della Valtellina 2020. The Sommelier described the wine as a cross between a Borolo and an Amarone, in that the producer uses Nebbiolo grapes, but dries them like an Amarone, to concentrate the flavor. We had never had this particular wine before, but found it wonderful with this meal. The evening ended with a second Scottish Whisky, this time a richer and more full-bodied selection one member of our group liked very much and specifically asked for and chocolates.
We all left Scotland with a much better understanding of its history and place in the United Kingdom, filling in our interest, piqued by the television series Outlander.
