We visited One Square at The Sheraton Grand a couple of weeks ago to sample some dishes from their newly launched menu.
Following the recent promotion of Shaun Woodhouse to Executive Chef, the One Square menu has gone through an overhaul. “A firm believer in simplicity, Shaun has changed the One Square menus to showcase the best produce that Scotland has to offer.” Certainly, simplicity and quality produce were applicable to the dishes we sampled.
The restaurant set up makes for a relaxing dinning experience in elegant surroundings. Tables are well laid out with lots of space between them. Chairs are very comfortable and the decor has the odd nod to it’s location, tartan patterned leather seats with a view out across the square to Lothian Road and a corner of Edinburgh Castle in the background.
A powerful start!
Mrs E started off the evening with a lovely (and powerful!) cocktail – the ‘One Square Favourite’ which uses their own gin and I started with a refreshing mocktail as the designated driver. They have an excellent cocktail and drinks menu.
We grazed on some lovely bread and olives while enjoying our drinks. The bread was so good we ordered another round.
Some food for thought
The dinner menu is fairly compact but still has enough choice to cater for most tastes with a good range of options.
To start Mrs E went for the British asparagus, heritage potato and Parmesan puree with seasonal truffle and crispy chicken skin. While I went for the Scottish shellfish with Thistly Cross cider and shallots.
Both dishes were lovely and a perfect precursor to the mains. The asparagus was perfectly cooked and the crispy chicken skin and parmesan mash provided an excellent mix of flavours and texture that worked really well. The mussels in my dish were large and not an unopened shell in sight. The addition of the Thistly Cross Cider and shallots gave the dish a lovely sweet tang.
I couldn’t decide between carrying on the seafood theme with Orecchiette pasta dressed in saffron with mussels, fresh oregano and sweet cherry tomatoes for main or the Smoked and marinated Jacob’s Ladder beef short rib. Both sounded amazing and completely different but I eventually ended up (as I usually do) with the meat option.
We’ve got some serious beef
Did I make the correct choice? Absolutely! This was honestly some of the best beef rib I’ve ever tasted. The meat was so soft and smokey, marinated in an incredibly flavoursome and sticky BBQ sauce. The presentation of the dish was also fairly no nonsense which is what you want with beef this good. You don’t want any unnecessary distractions. The cress side salad did however have some crispy onions which I enjoyed.
I also ordered a side of fries cooked in beef dripping which were lovely; nice and crispy with a hint of beef and an ideal accompaniment to the short rib.
Mrs E opted for the Free range chicken breast and wild mushrooms on brioche toast with chicken hollandaise. Again this dish was a real success. The chicken breast was deliciously tasty and moist with a light crispy skin.
Both main courses definitely focused on simplicity with no over complicated flavour combinations or unnecessary ‘fluff’. All the focus was on delivering perfectly cooked and delicious food. Which is exactly what we got.
It would be rude not to
It was the usual conversation from us after ours mains about how full we were but it would be a shame not to look at the dessert menu. Maybe we would share something? So we had a look and decided no… we wouldn’t be sharing. Mrs E went for the Apple Tarte Tatin with clotted cream, ice cream and custard foam and I opted for the Pistachio and dark chocolate pot with rhubarb, pistachio and citrus. Both desserts were again really good. The rhubarb in the chocolate pot offset the sweetness perfectly.
We finished off with tea and coffee then made our way slowly back to the car! If you are driving there is a secure car park at the hotel and parking is free for dinners
We really enjoyed our evening at One Square. Not only was the food excellent but the service was first class also. We would highly recommend a visit if you get the opportunity.
Disclaimer: We were invited along for a complimentary meal in exchange for giving our opinion on our experience. However, as always, all our views are entirely our own.
One Square | 1 Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9SR | 0131 221 6422 | info@onesquareedinburgh.co.uk
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