I have Gordon Ramsay to thank for helping me find this gem. I find it hard to believe I hadn’t already discovered it by my own efforts and even harder to believe that I must have walked past it on more than one occasion without taking note. The position of the restaurant may explain how I became blinkered to its existence. La Garrigue looks out onto one of Edinburgh’s most recognisable scenes: Calton Hill with its famous monuments silhouetted against the skyline. With my eyes diverted to the left when walking from Waverley Station’s Market Street exit and towards Jeffrey Street, I’d failed to see La Garrigue and its neighbours on the other side. I can only offer Chef Ramsay my utmost gratitude for drawing this bistro to my attention in his Channel Four TV series Ramsay’s Best Restaurants.
Stepping across the threshold of La Garrigue feels like leaving Scotland behind and being whisked away to rural, southern France. The colourful interiors, rustic furniture and vibrant artworks have an up-lifting, cheering effect.
Once inside and with the menu options in front of me, the lunchtime set menu seems such incredibly good value that it feels almost excessive to even consider the a la carte list. Consider it I do, however, as the a la carte dishes’ descriptions are too tempting to rule them out without due thought!
On each of the occasions that I’ve visited La Garrigue, I’ve either been minded to limit my spending or there have just happened to be dishes that really appeal to me on the set menu. I’ve always chosen the modestly priced option and I have never been disappointed. These are a selection of the dishes I’ve enjoyed:
Starters:
This slice of quiche and modest salad garnish may look uncomplicated, but its apparent simplicity is deceiving. The pastry base – and it was really good pastry – held fine slices of roasted summer vegetables: red pepper, aubergine and courgette. The vegetables were meltingly soft and sweetly flavoured and these alone would have made an excellent filling. The addition of a thin layer of pesto lining the pastry base along with a rich savoury custard topping elevated this dish into something truly outstanding.
Baked, rolled fillets of white fish on a bed of spinach and served with a shard of very crunchy fish skin. I’m not sure how appealing that descriptions sounds – I only wish I had a photo to illustrate how attractive it looked – but this was another very good example of simple ingredients concealing depth of flavour. (The waiter could have left me with a half bottle of Picpoul and a bowlful of those fish-skin shards and I would have emerged from the restaurant entirely satisfied! Don’t let my dull sounding description of “fish skin” deter you from trying this crunchy savoury treat!)
Main Course:
Chicken leg, casseroled and served with olive oil mashed potato. Tender, deeply flavoured chicken, fragrant sauce and silky smooth mash. This, for me, encapsulates what rustic cooking is all about: unfussy presentation and all of the chef’s thought and effort going into producing depth of flavour. It was just delicious.
The simplest of all the main courses I have eaten here must surely be pork chops served with pommes boulangère.
Eating this dish whisked me back in time to the days when I lived in the south of England and used to go to France very frequently to do a day’s grocery shopping. We regularly made a point of stopping off in a local bistro and eating the simplest of meals. The food was always prepared from fresh, quality ingredients and cooked with skill.
Dessert:
I’ve confessed previously to not being much of a dessert eater, but I know this means I miss out on exploring the range of skills of the kitchen team. It is almost always the case, too, that when I do order a dessert I thoroughly enjoy it!
And so I ordered meringue with blackcurrants and dark berries served with Pastis ice cream. Despite my protestations that “I’m just not a dessert person”, I left La Garrigue convinced that this was my favourite dish of the meal. It was delightful. Meringue is so sweet, but it was just the right element to counter to the sharpness of the fruit. The aromatic, aniseed-flavoured ice cream was sensational. This was a perfectly balanced dessert and every element was just right.
Wine:
The choice of wine at La Garrigue really is very impressive, in fact it is award-winning. Jean-Michel Gauffre’s links to the Langedoc region put him in an enviable position to source superb wines.
The most recent time I ate at the bistro, I did the opposite of ordering food and asking for advice as to which wines would provide the best match. Instead, I chose Picpoul and asked for food recommendations to go with it. That sums up the wines for me – such good quality and so, well, interesting, that my menu choice will be guided by my wine option.
In my opinion, the wines are priced very reasonably.
Accessibility:
This is a ground floor restaurant. It’s only a few minutes walk from the Market Street entrance of Waverley Railway Station where there is also a taxi rank. The only thing I’d advise to watch out for is the very small step into the ladies’ toilet.
Comment:
On their website, La Garrigues‘ description of their food is “French country cooking” and “rustic family style cooking. My own description would be “rustic food with finesse”. The depth of flavour of the food and the balancing of well-sourced ingredients demonstrate that skilled chefs are behind this homely, interesting and authentic menu.
The situation with the pandemic means that the restaurant is currently closed but La Garrigue is offering a take-home menu for collection and local delivery. Lucky Edinburghers!
Price Guide:
The set menu offers two courses for £19.50 and three courses for £24.50. A la carte main course dishes range from £16.50 to £26.50. Evenings bookings attract a 10% service charge.
Summary:
Traditional dishes of the Languedoc region cooked with fresh, quality ingredients and with imagination and care. This authentic French restaurant offers delicious food and wines and very good value for money.
Chef Patron: Jean Michel Gauffre
Details: La Garrigue
31 Jeffrey Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1DH
Telephone: 0131 557 3032
Website: www.lagarrigue.co.uk
© amaziliapeacock : 25 February 2021
Photo Credits:
Calton Hill, Edinburgh: Photo 96552128 © Attila Jandi – Dreamstime.com
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