Date Night in Edinburgh at Restaurant 21212
Having returned from a fabulous trip to Rome I wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel and resign myself to staying put all winter. Luckily there was only two weeks until my next escape which was to the gorgeous city of Edinburgh.
Royal Mile in Edinburgh @liakadatravel
We arrived early friday evening and headed straight to The Glasshouse Hotel where we were upgraded to an unbelievably amazing suite, perfect start to the trip!
The Glasshouse Hotel Edinburgh @liakadatravel
After a bit of freshening up we walked 5 minutes around the corner to 21212, a one star michelin restaurant opened by Paul Kitching.
Ready to Eat @liakadatravel
21212 is located in a Georgian townhouse in the city centre and is actually a boutique hotel as well as a restaurant, presumably so that when people are so full from all the good food they need only to make it up the stairs to find their bed.
21212 Edinburgh
The menu changes weekly and the price varies depending on the day of the week. Five courses on a Friday or Saturday will set you back £69, not cheap but good value considering as many as 10 high quality ingredients are used to create each course.
Love this Champagne Glass @liakadatravel
The idea behind the name ‘21212’ is that there is a choice between 2 starters, followed by 1 soup, 2 choices of main course, 1 cheese board, and 2 desserts. We seemed to beat the system as when we went there was 3 choices for starters, mains, and desserts… I guess 31313 doesn’t sound as cool?!
Menu of the Week @liakadatravel
My favourite part of Michelin dining is the mini bites they give you before you start on the real deal. I completely forget about whatever hefty bill that is about to come and think ooooo free stuff!
Even when I realised this particular amuse bouche wasn’t exactly a generous present it was so delicious that it would have been impossible not to be happy.
Amuse Bouche at 21212 @liakadatravel
After happily sipping the amuse bouche and nibbling far too much bread (classic mistake, why can I never save myself for the main meal??) came two exquisitely presented starters.
Mr Armstong’s Smoked Salmon @liakadatravel
The use of so many flavours made eating a thought provoking event. I found myself analysing the combination of a certain vegetable mixed with a certain spice. In my mind this is what michelin dining is all about, turning the average porridge eating citizen into an auspicious food critic.
Lamb Curry @liakadatravel
Next came the soup which was wonderfully light and frothy. This was perfect for a tasting menu as the last thing you want in a five course meal is to be filled up with a creamy blend.
That wine glass you see in the background may have belonged to me, it also may have been one of 5 glasses of wine we had as part of the wine pairing. In fairness the idea behind a wine pairing is to have a small taste of different wines that are selected to accompany each course, the fact that there would be more wine in the glass than soup in the bowl was not taken into account . Though I can hardly complain, each wine was superb and who doesn’t appreciate a generous serving?
Go Spar @liakadatravel
For the main course we selected the chicken and the roast beef. I enjoyed the food and loved the experimental flair of the meals. My only criticism would be it was rather on the small and flaky side, there seemed to be a lot of little bits of things and nothing I could really get my teeth into, but I supposed having a small taste of everything is what tasting menus are about.
Roast British Beef Ploughman’s @liakadatravel
I was extremely impressed with the cheeseboard, there was such a wide variety of cheeses and each cheese was described in exact detail. Also there was no out of the box cream cracker here, out come a selection of toasts and crackers for ideal cheese chowing.
I was bursting at the seams after the cheeseboard but I somehow managed to squeeze in a bit of dessert … tough life I know!
LT X 21 @liakadatravel
The LT X 21 had that tangy lemon taste and was light and refreshing, very much needed after much eating. The inside was almost liquid and perhaps could have been a bit firmer but the flavour easily made up for it.
Turkish Delightful Brulee @liakadatravel
The Turkish Delightful Brulee was fabulous. It was crunchy and carmel like on the top and the mouse was just the right consistency with the hint Turkish delight giving it a unique flavour.
Happy and Oh So Full @liakadatravel
21212 was a success!
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