Descending the steps to this basement spot on Stockbridge’s St Stephen Street, you’re immediately cocooned in ink-black walls. Thick curtains soak up quiet conversation and tables glow in the candlelight. It’s like stepping into a cabaret bar where the evening’s headliner (proudly displayed on a chalkboard of wine specials) might be a Georgian saperavi or white burgundy. 

Skua was born when Heron bar manager Seoridh Fraser (along with chefs Sam Yorke and Tomás Gormley, and chef de partie Aran Lowry) decided to ‘take the ethos behind Heron, but translate it to a more casual environment where our hospitality friends could unwind and get a good feed without breaking the bank.’ 

The small plates menu, wine list and cocktails were designed with hospitality-level wages in mind and the late kitchen hours are to fit the schedules of porters, waiting staff and sous chefs. ‘We run late because the food offerings in town can be quite limited,’ explains Fraser. ‘We want hospitality peers in town, and any night owls, to be able to visit when they have time and be looked after properly, with warming food and drink you can afford with tips.’

_{Picture: Tim Drew Photography}

Fraser manages the beverage programme across Skua and Heron, and at the former he’s curated a wine list that’s accessible and eclectic. For the indecisive or those on a budget, you can order anything by the glass. Cocktails, like the dangerously drinkable Tokyo Calling, are mixed and balanced with the precision of a chemist, yet they’re not the double-take prices we’ve come to expect. Old Fashioneds start at £5 and the glass is full to the brim. Fraser doesn’t believe in ‘paying a premium just because you’re drinking cocktails’, especially when the New Town is already awash with plush bars serving over-sugared martinis costing more than a tenner a go. 

The dining model is small plates, served up as pretty as any dish you’ll see at Heron. With options starting at a fiver, you could easily eat your way through the whole menu without being out of pocket. Sea bream ceviche in soy and citrus, or sticky, sweet Koji chicken skewers with a gooey egg yolk dip embrace South-East Asian flavours. And if you love this medley of sweet and salty, the miso sticky toffee pudding could be the best £3 you’ll ever spend. 

Skua set out to cater for their hospitality friends (‘we wanted to create a place where the burden of decades of national mismanagement can be forgotten with a £5 Midori Sour and a generous bowl of fried chicken’) but what they’ve achieved is close to time travel. It’s like going back 20 years when the bill at the end of the night wouldn’t make your eyes water.

Skua, 49 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh