Ask EADith: A student’s dilemma
Got a food dilemma? Need a killer rec to seal the deal? Or just want the inside track on Glasgow and Edinburgh’s eating and drinking scene? Then why not ask EADith, our Eat & Drink team’s helpful agony aunt. This month, she helps a graduate splash the olds’ cash
Dear EADith,
I’m about to graduate from uni and my parents will be in town to celebrate the end of four years of lectures, curly fries, late-night kebabs and getting them to pay my rent. Where should I go to mark this milestone that’s satisfyingly fancy, but won’t scare the ’rents with ingredients they’ve never heard of?
Sponger (BA Hons)
Dear Sponger,
Congratulations! Finishing your degree does deserve a celebratory glass of fizz and a bit of fine dining before the realities of job hunting and council tax kick in. I recommend booking a table at Number One at The Balmoral. There, you’ll find the reassuring old-money grandeur of an Edinburgh institution and genuinely excellent food.
The staff at this handsome old queen have been looking after visitors since 1902 and know how to make people feel special. The décor has a timeless feel, with rich-red lacquer walls and cosy upholstered booths, and the lighting is just bright enough that your olds won’t shame you by using their phone torch (badly) to read the menu. The set menu takes away any ordering stress and the produce featured is always proudly Scottish. Each dish features plenty of beautiful little details, all built around a core of luxurious ingredients, like a perfectly seared fillet of Shetland halibut, or a fat west-coast langoustine with asparagus. A huge hand-dived scallop in white-wine sauce with celeriac purée stands as the gorgeous treat it is and isn’t hidden away under unnecessary fripperies. Even the honey in the honeycomb dessert comes from bees living on the hotel’s roof.
And there’s no need for dad to leaf nervously through the encyclopaedic wine list either: go for the paired wine option and you’ll all get to quaff some delicious drops without committing to a bottle of each. Finally, Waverley Steps are on the other side of the wall: time it right and you can wave the old dears off on the train, before heading to the pub to continue the celebrations.
The Balmoral, 1 Princes Street,; seven-course tasting menu £125 per person, matched wines £85.