Blackfriars

On our September trip to Edinburgh we went to this fantastic little place to eat called Blackfriars. On our trip to Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago we heard that the restaurant bit of Blackfriars is currently closed. It’s a real shame. The news reminded me of the great meal we had, which I didn’t blog at the time. So here it is now for you to read. The bar is still open, so go. It’s a great wee place!
What I loved about this place was the mix of great bar, serving interesting beers and small plates of food with a small restaurant next door serving a set menu.  We opted to eat in the restaurant and really enjoyed the feel of the place. Casual, intimate, but exciting!  

Although it was a set menu there was an element of choice in the main course and I loved the informality of the little dishes we started with:
Paprika almonds with grilled corn from the Blackfriars BBQ followed by smoked trout and smoked tomato from their cold smoker and homemade black pudding with chorizo and some onion purée. Every week the kitchen get whole trouts and cure them to use in the restaurant. I particularly loved the philosophy of this place, how they use their ingredients and present them simply so that the flavours speak for themselves.

    
Our second course was pan fried brill with poached langoustine tail, courgettes and sea aster. Another beautiful and simple dish.

  
The choice in main course was between lamb and partridge so as predicted Mr Frivolitea chose the lamb and I chose the partridge. Both came with salt baked beetroot, black cabbage and chanterelles. They were both wonderful but I think the lamb had the edge. 

    
We finished off with pudding of apple tart ( made with homemade puff pastry) damson ice cream and damson sauce. There was also some rosehip syrup on the tart which was delicious.

  
So there it is. I’m hoping the restaurant side of the business reopens and they produce wonderful food like this again.  The Edinburgh food scene will be richer for it.

The Coach, Marlow 

Having visited The Hand and Flowers last year, we were intrigued to see what Tom Kerridge would do with a walk in only pub on the High Street. The Coach is pretty small but has a great feel with bespoke furniture and fit out that shouts quality but it doesn’t have the stiff service you can often get in a high end restaurant. This still has the feel of a pub with great service and friendly staff. 

The concept of the menu is different and really interesting.  All the dishes are starter size and the reccomendation is that you choose two or three dishes per person.  I particularly liked this approach. We often like to try a few things off a menu and this menu design made that possible.  It doesn’t lend itself to a cheap lunch out but it is certainly worth every penny. 

The dishes we chose were: Rotisserie beetroot, feta, Apple, horseradish and hazelnuts 

Smoked ox tongue, crispy cheek, and sauce gribiche

  

Chicken Kiev with cauliflower cheese

  

Rotisserie celeriac with honey and mustard seed glaze

  

Chips with bearnaise sauce 

  
The beetroot and celeriac dishes were particular favourites of mine though everything was of a really high quality.  

We finished off with a dessert each. I had lemon tart with raspberry sorbet which was perfectly zingy and the pastry  buttery and really short. 

  

Mr Frivolitea had warm chocolate tart with hazelnut icecream. A sort of chocolate fondant in a tart with wonderful candied hazelnuts to accompany. 

  

This is somewhere I would love to go back to, not least because there are several other dishes on the menu I’d like to try. Mr Frivolitea was eying up the small but perfectly formed burger so I think that will be on his list. 

LoveCrumbs

You can never have too much cake….and at LoveCrumbs they have so much cake on offer you just need to keep going back to make sure you don’t miss out on something.  I’ve never come across anywhere quite like LoveCrumbs. Not only do they just serve cake and drinks but the cake menu is always really interesting. 

  

This time I had passionfruit meringue tart and Mr Frivolitea had cherry Bakewell tart. 

  

The other thing I love about LoveCrumbs is that even the drinks menu is exciting. Mr Frivolitea opted this time for lemongrass and marigold tea.  Everything is served on vintage China and the open teabags come with a flask of hot water which is a great touch.

If you ever go to Edinburgh, make sure this is on your list!

Smith and Gertrude

I’ve been following Smith and Gertrude for a while on Twitter and after our visit to Pairings in York in January I was excited to try somewhere else that paired wine and cheese.  We were not disappointed! I love the feel of Smith and Gertrude, communal tables and music on vinyl, it’s a great place to spend an evening.

  
We both decided to go for a ‘native’ flight of wine paired with cheese.  Mr Frivolitea chose red and I chose white.  A flight consists of three 75ml glasses of wine chosen for you and paired with three cheeses.  The great thing about this option is that you try wine you would never have thought to choose if you were just going for a by the glass option. 

My white wine flight consisted of Godello from Galicia in Spain paired with bonnet a Scottish goats cheese followed by a really interesting Hungarian wine called Mad, a dry furmint from Tokaji that was paired with Comte and finally Lugana from Lombardia, Italy paired with Ubriaco, a cheese soaked in red wine. 

  
Mr Frivolitea’s red wine flight started with Bobal de Altas Tierras from Utiel-Requena in Spain paired with Manchego, this was followed by an Armenian wine Areni Noir paired with a mature Gouda and finishing with Barbera Superiore from Piedmont, Italy paired with Taleggio.  Mr Frivolitea particularly enjoyed the Barbera and ordered another glass.

  
We complimented our wine flights with a charcuterie board that consisted of Milano salami, Prosciutto, Scottish salami with fennel, Coppa and Tuscan salami.

  
We also had the most delicious Marcona almonds, rich and buttery tasting.

  
 I finished off the evening with the most fantastic glass of wine on reccomendation. It was called ‘Wild’ Sauvignon a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc but unlike any Marlborough I’ve had before. It was incredible! The only way I can think to describe it is that it had the familiarity of a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc but with a wonderful extra quality that felt almost Nordic or foraged. Almost impossible to describe but truly wonderful.

  
Smith and Gertrude is a fantastic place to spend an evening. Their passion for great wine shines through. We will certainly visit again next time we are in Edinburgh.

The Haven cafe, Edinburgh

On our latest trip to Edinburgh we decided to find somewhere for breakfast near where we were staying in Leith. A quick ask of Twitter and Brew and Brownie had found The Haven Cafe for us.   It’s a great little place, full of quirky vintage items and lots of locals. Always a good sign.

  
Mr Frivolitea had the full breakfast and I had sausage, tattie scone ( which is very similar to potato bread back home) and mushrooms. 

  
This is a really friendly local cafe that does simple food really well. 

I very much had food envy when Mr Frivolitea’s breakfast arrived. He gratiously let me try some of the haggis and wow! It was wonderful! 

I’d definitely recommend this place, particularly if you are staying at the Premier Inn at Leith as it is only round the corner. We didn’t try the cakes but they looked fabulous.

Cookbook Challenge February Week 2

As it’s just before Chinese New Year, I thought this week I’d choose a Chinese inspired recipe.   I decided to choose something that would take a little more time.  However I was surprised at how easy this recipe was. I chose Chinese lemon chicken and really enjoyed cooking the sauce in the wok. The Chinese five spice in the chicken really added to the dish.

  
I also chose to cook the Chinese baked rice with ginger and peas to go with it. I’ve not done rice in this way before and the cabbage and peas was a great way of including vegetables in the dish.

   
 It was really delicious and felt like home made takeaway for a Saturday night.  I’ll definitely make it again.

Cookbook Challenge February Week 1

This month, I’ve chosen Bill Granger ‘Everyday’ as my cookbook for the month. I have to emit that I’m not as inspired by this book but perhaps that’s why doing the cookbook challenge is a good thing.

  
This week I chose lime, paprika and honey chicken and served it with coconut rice and purple sprouting broccoli.  The recipe was easy to follow and I particularly liked the lime flavour.  I’d certainly make this again for a crowd.

   
 

Cookbook challenge January week 4

This week is the last week of using Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Superfood for the cookbook challenge and I saved the best til last (unknowingly.)

I have to admit that I was nervous about this recipe. I love cauliflower and I love pineapple. I particularly love them both roasted, but together?! I did think perhaps Jamie had completely lost it. 

IMG_9411

Boy was I wrong. What a great dish. Even Mr Frivolitea who usually has a no fruit in savoury dishes really liked the dish. We will definitely make it again and I think it would be great as a side dish if you made a curry for a crowd!

IMG_9414

Brew and Brownie

I love this place. Everything about it. Right down to the hipster lighting ( light bulbs in jam jars )

You should go. Really you should. You might have to queue but that’s ok, it’s worth it.

We went for breakfast today and boy was it good.

I had the pancake stack with fruit compote, yoghurt and honey. Other options include salted caramel and banana. The pancakes are light and fluffy, the compote thick and not too sweet and the honey they use is beautiful.


Mr Frivolitea had the black pudding and smoked bacon stack with fried egg and the most wonderful vinaigrette.

IMG_9404

It came with a side of haxby baker toast and butter. How can you go wrong with that!

 Rounded off with a really good flat white ( ok, ok we had two )

IMG_9407

I don’t need to persuade you any more do I.