The new venture from the family behind Timberyard is a stripped-back, bohemian affair with all the understated class of a New Nordic restaurant: think lightwood floors and worn wooden seats that might have lined your school’s assembly hall. The décor’s reclaimed feel fits the zeitgeist and the smell of fresh green herbs hangs deliciously in the air (perhaps because staff burn sage to smudge the space as lunch begins). 

The main attraction is the low-lit restaurant room upstairs where folk music crackles on vinyl, accompanied by a set six-course tasting menu. But the wine bar that welcomes visitors on the ground floor is well worth a look-in for a glass or two and a smattering of delectable small plates. Lunch there is a choice between small sharing plates or a two or three-course set menu, where veggie and plant-based options are just as mouthwatering as meat-based dishes. 

Broccoli is singed to tenderness, singing with fennel, while huge padron peppers hide a rich sunflower-seed paste underneath, adding a lip-smacking, satiating richness best mopped up with one of their cute little homemade bread rolls. Fried potatoes dusted with salt and seaweed come with a creamy aioli dip and are dangerously moreish (they travel well too if you’re too stuffed to finish the plate). For mains, umami-rich and clearly homemade game sausage on a bed of lentils ensures even the hungriest diner leaves full, while a pudding of simple cream sorbet satisfies sweet tooths.

The set-course lunch feels like a bargain at just £25, so the price of the small plates may lead to a double-take. But they’re surprisingly big portions: two would do one person for a slap-up meal and three would be positively sinful. The triumph though is that each one is rich in flavour and delivers with enough punch to rival the tasting menu upstairs. 

Montrose, 1–7 Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh.

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