The unembellished dining room, the minimal styling of the tables and a decor palette barely a notch warmer than monochrome – so much about this restaurant is understated.   Even the dishes are served without unnecessary adornment.  Rather, the beauty of the restaurant lies in the food, in the freshness and quality of the ingredients and in skilful, often quite simple cooking. There is a beauty too, in the location of the restaurant. Its floor to ceiling windows not only flood the dining room with light but afford views of Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Service is quiet and understated too but there’s warmth in the faces of the staff when they engage with diners in conversation.

I’ve eaten here several times and I’ve enjoyed every meal. These are a selection of my favourite Ondine dishes:

Appetiser:

Little cheesy gougères, so light they are like puffs of air in your mouth. Forget the rest of the meal, I’d be happy with a bowlful of these! They are sublime.

Starter:

One of the simplest starters I’ve eaten at Ondine is their home-cured salmon. Silky textured, iridescent, richly flavoured and balanced with an accompaniment of pickled ribbons of cucumber.

One stand-out starter, however, was a very softly set and intensely rich and creamy mousse of smoked eel topped with shards of crispy ham hock and compressed pickled cucumber. I’m not entirely sure it was the wisest decision to eat something so very rich at the start of a meal and especially when it was accompanied by toasted, crunchy and absolutely delicious sourdough bread but I’m so glad I opted for it. The recommended wine pairing was spot on, having enough acidity to stand up to the saltiness of the dish.

Main Course:

Brown Shrimp and Butternut Squash Risotto. This dish wouldn’t win any beauty contests – mid orange-brown, brothy rice is not particularly visually appealing – but the flavour was just outstanding. At the same time sweet and savoury, rich, unctuous and earthy – this is surely my ultimate comfort food.

It would be remiss of me to fail to mention the spectacular “Fruits de Mer” and Hot Shellfish Platters which are served. I haven’t tried one, but they really do look spectacular and I’ve observed plenty of them being tackled with much enthusiasm by fellow diners.

Dessert:

Cheese and biscuits. Every time. One of my favourite food indulgences. I sometimes wonder, though, if my habit of skipping a sweet dessert and heading straight for the old cheese and biccies means I miss opportunities to sample the range of skills of the kitchen team. On one memorable occasion, I was able to do both.

The dish on the menu was described thus: “Hebridean Blue, Brioche, Caramelised Onions, Radicchio and Walnuts”. Sounded pretty much like a variation on a theme of cheese and biscuits to me. Well, there was more to it. What arrived was a construction of warm and compressed brioche topped with onion marmalade and blue cheese, sharply flavoured grated radicchio and walnuts so finely shaved they almost floated on top.

(There’s something about grating or shaving foods so finely which intensifies the flavour to a seemingly disproportionate degree. I have a feeling there must be a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Answers on a postcard, please ……… )

The accompanying wine choice was inspired. Not port – nothing so intense – but instead a much lighter red wine though still a very sweet one. The combination was outstanding.

So there it was. My cheese and biccies – but looking like something crafted by a pastry chef.

Wine:

Wine recommendations have been excellent – every time – and I’ve concluded that the sommelier has been concerned about achieving the right food/wine match as opposed to indulging in an ‘up-selling’ exercise.

Accessibility:

This is a first floor* restaurant which is reached by a flight of stairs but there is also a lift from street level to the dining room. Bear in mind, though, that the surrounding streets are hilly. Wheelchair accessible taxis are readily available in the city and it might be worth noting that Edinburgh operates a taxi “hailing” system. If you need a taxi at short notice or find your route is further than you’d thought, you will be able – in most circumstances – to hail a cab for immediate use. (* The term “first floor” in Britain refers to the second storey of a building.)

Comment:

I’ve long advocated the excellent value to be had in restaurants in the form of set lunch menus. Ondine’s A la Carte menu is available at lunchtime but the value of the fixed price lunch menu makes it an attractive choice. That said, staff have been flexible in accommodating a ‘mix and match’ approach to the menus, in that they have accepted my choice from a two-course set menu but added a third course from the A la Carte list. (Please check with restaurant staff about the types of menu being offered whilst Covid-19 measures are in place.)

Under normal circumstances, guests can choose to eat in the main dining area or perched at the Oyster Bar. As I understand it, the bar seating arrangement is a little different at the moment while “social distancing” measures are required. I’d normally comment, too, about opening hours but I suspect these are details which are constantly being monitored and adjusted in this Covid-19 pandemic era. It would be wise to check Ondine’s website for details or telephone with any queries.

Price Guide:

The set menu offers two courses for £21.95 and three courses for £25.95. A la carte main course dishes range from £16.50 to £48.00.

Summary:

This restaurant places a strong emphasis on the use of fresh Scottish produce which means that very good quality fish and shellfish are offered and these are cooked skilfully and without ostentation.

Chef Patron: Roy Brett

Details:

Ondine Restaurant
2 George IV Bridge
Edinburgh EH1 1AD

Telephone: 0131 226 1888

Website: ondinerestaurant.co.uk

amaziliapeacock