Now that we’re back from honeymoon and suitably rested it’s time to get back to visiting and reviewing lots of lovely Scottish food. This week we found ourselves at No11 Brasserie and Hotel. We visited on Wednesday evening after work and spent most of the afternoon before browsing the menu and deciding what we were going to have. Now No11 has been here for a wee while, since 2012 to be exact, but we had never visited. Even when we lived in that part of town we never made it along, thankfully tonight that was all put right. The Brasserie has a menu that’s bursting full of seasonal flavours from the best Scottish produce – mainly beef, game, fish and seafood.
Head Chef Willie Lonnie, whose skill and passion for the finest ingredients, is successfully establishing the venue as a ‘hidden gem’ amongst food lovers who travel from far and wide to taste his unique interpretation of Scotland’s larder. An advocate for fresh, local and seasonal produce, Willie turns premium produce into a masterpiece on a plate . The menu is designed to fit with the customers’ dining preferences – from tapas style lite bites, a pre-theatre menu to an impressive taster menu.
On arriving at No11 we found ourselves entering a beautiful Georgian Town House designed by the famous architect William Playfair. The interior of the dining room showcases the magnificent Georgian Architecture and features associated with the buildings fascinating history with lovely high ceilings and a fantastic mural depicting the key Edinburgh buildings and Characters associated with this time, painted by local artist Nicola Cairns. Trying not to get too distracted by the mural we browsed the menu and with so much choice we really did struggle with what to have. We also couldn’t help but notice given that it was a Wednesday night the restaurant was filling up pretty quickly, this was a good sign!
With so many of our favourites on the menu for starters we eventually settled on Haggis Filo Parcel with spiced turnip puree and whisky sauce and Slow Roast Beef Rib Bon-bons with sweet chilli dip.
Slow Roast Beef Rib Bon-bons with sweet chilli dip
Haggis Filo Parcel with spiced turnip puree and whisky sauce
The slow roast beef bon-bons were absolutely delicious. The meat was full of flavour and very tender, the 3 bon-bons quickly disappeared. Had there of been 13 on the plate, i’m pretty sure they would have disappeared at the same speed. My haggis filo parcels were equally as delicious. The filo pastry was lovely and crispy no soggy bottoms here. The only minor negative was the haggis in the parcel, I prefer a much spicier haggis but it definitely didn’t stop me enjoying them. The whisky sauce was lovely and worked well with the haggis parcel and the turnip puree. With such lovely starters we were very hopeful for our main dishes.
For the main course we opted for Roast Red Pepper Gnocchi with buffalo mozzarella and black truffle oil and lamb rump, red wine jus and sides of mascarpone and parmesan mash and garlic buttered greens.
The lamb was cooked to perfection remaining pink just how Mr E likes it. The red wine jus packed a good punch and only added to the flavour of the lamb. We had a small delay in the arrival of our sides, which was meant our dishes were a little cooler before they arrived. But again it didn’t spoil the overall course. The mascarpone and Parmesan mash was a great mash, good texture and taste but we struggled a little to taste the Parmesan and it could have done with more in it. When my gnocchi was brought out, I was very pleased. There were lovely aromas drifting up and the plate was beautifully presented. No11 prides itself in making everything in house which is why I ordered the gnocchi. Having just come back from Italy I was intrigued to see if it lived up to what we had become used to, and I can tell you it did. Well seasoned and just the right density. Both dishes were a success.
Now we couldn’t leave without trying dessert orders of dark chocolate cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream were eagerly awaited.
Honestly dessert lived up to the same standard as the previous two courses. The sticky toffee pudding was well cooked, lots of sauce and the poached pear on top was lovely. Mr E loved his cheesecake although felt it was slightly more milk chocolate than dark. Presentation of both dishes was fantastic.
We honestly had a lovely evening. The service was good and with a nice break in between each course. We would definitely recommend booking ahead as on a Wednesday night the place was fast filling up. I’m not sure if this was a usual Wednesday night as there were a few tables who looked like they waited maybe a little longer between courses than normal and the staff had been caught of guard a little but we had a lovely time. The menu is definitely a winner, with a great mix of dishes to cater for everyone, even the fussiest of eaters would be hard pushed not to find something on the menu to eat. We’re already planning on coming back with family for that very reason.
No11 Brasserie & Boutique Hotel | 11 Brunswick Street, Edinburgh, EH7 5JB | Tel: +44 (0) 131 557 6910 |
Twitter: @No11Brasserie
Facebook: No11hotelandbrasserie
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