Wow. To be honest I could stop the review there. Aizle was wow, from beginning to end and it’s been a while since I have had a meal that blew my socks off. Not one dish disappointed. Each was creative and interesting and left me asking ‘so how did they do that’.  I had high hopes when we first entered the restaurant and I spied chopsticks.  I love eating with chopsticks and I really wasn’t expecting that of a neighbourhood restaurant that serves a tasting menu.  

A few things really stood out about Aizle.  Firstly the joy of a blackboard of ingredients and no menu.  It might frustrate some but I really enjoyed playing a game of guess which ingredients are in this dish and what’s still to come.  Secondly the nods to Asian, particularly Japanese, flavours and ingredients through the menu.  This wasn’t fusion cooking but it was wonderfully played dishes using seasonal ingredients alongside Asian influences to create a brilliantly balanced and interesting menu.  I loved everything, the relaxed atmosphere, the down to earth service, the mix of dishes coming from the kitchen and the little prep room near our table. 

Dinner started with three snacks, a cheddar cornetto, using a hard cows cheese from Aberdeenshire with mounreyac pear, the most incredible duck dumpling with a five year aged soy dipping sauce and finally a mushroom flavoured Japanese savoury custard (Chawanmushi) with Jerusalem artichoke and Parmesan.  All were delicious teasers of what else would come over the evening.  The dumpling in particular was a favourite of mine, rich duck flavour and silky smooth dumpling, I’d very happily have eaten a bowl of them.

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Following the snacks came the first dish, a tartare of beetroot with venison charcuterie cleverly mixed in with the beetroot and topped off with crispy noodle and yuzukosho, a fermented chilli mayonnaise.  The dish looked simple but every mouthful introduced a new flavour.

Next came our bread course, but this was no ordinary bread! This was a sourdough brioche bun filled with confit chicken and topped with truffle and an onion mayonnaise . Wow, wow, wow.

On to dish three and it was time for fish.  Cod, celeriac and grapes.  Classic cooking at first glance but again a twist with the cod being cooked in dashi butter and the sauce smoked over mussel shells.  Simple, elegant, delicious. 

Dish four moved us into the main event and the meat dish.  We revisited duck, this time Goosnargh duck crusted in buckwheat served with heirloom heritage carrots all brought alive with the edition of Japanese sansho berries.  Yet again expert cooking making it a joy to eat. 

We don’t often opt for the cheese course in a tasting menu but we were having such a good run we thought what the heck and had Vacherin Mont D’or with focaccia and the most wonderful little quince salad. 

And so we were on to our last two dishes, the desserts.  First up was a wonderfully light Granny Smith Apple with white chocolate and wasabi and then to finish it was yorkshire rhubarb with hibiscus and Scottish oats.  Both desserts were wonderfully balanced with hints of savoury as well as sweet and the perfect way to round of a wonderful meal. 

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For our finale we had coffee and petit fours. Often something that disappoints me in restaurants is coffee not being given the same attention as the rest of the meal.  Many times I’ve groaned when I’ve read the word nespresso, but not here.  When the waitress uttered the words ‘our coffee is from steampunk coffee’ I nearly let out a squeal of joy.  This is a place that cares even about the coffee at the end.  An utter joy! And a cracking cup of coffee with my muscadet pumpkin and maple petit four. 

We left three hours after we arrived with a spring in our step at a fabulous evening and knowing we would be visiting again!

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.

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!

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.

Last night we went to one of the most interesting places we’ve eaten in for a long time. Timberyard is tucked in a side street behind Edinburgh Castle and the entrance does not fully prepare you for the wonder inside. The name I guess should give a big clue but as we walked in to the building and saw the big open space of the main dining area my sense of excitement grew. This place is different. Different in style, different in feel and different in quality from anywhere else we’ve eaten recently.

The sense of space at Timberyard is something I particularly liked. This place has stayed true to the building but also in doing so has created an ‘urban’ feel. Its history is on show, it’s not ‘prettied’ up. Timberyard is creative and it’s clever. Everywhere you look there are jars of foraged homegrown fruit, leaves, herbs, preserved in interesting ways.

We arrived a bit early and had a drink at the bar. We knew we were in for a great evening when we needed the soft drinks menu to be explained to us!

Mr Frivolitea opted for the pickled elderflower. A long drink using pickled elderflower syrup topped up with sparkling mineral water. I opted for sourdough and bramble, a short drink served over a chunk of ice. It was literally a chunk of ice and fascinating to be sitting at the bar watching the drinks being prepped and the use of a miniature axe bing used to chip ice to fit the glass. The barman described my drink as like drinking jam and toast, really good jam and toast, and I can’t think of a better description. It is nothing like anything I’ve tasted before. The pickled elderflower was also really interesting and refreshing. Never have soft drinks been so appealing. Oh and they had Nyetimber on the menu and you know we always approve of this. So after soft drinks a glass of Nyetimber each ensured an excellent evening.

We decided to opt for the daily menu rather than the tasting menu. This menu is made of bites, small, large and pudding course.

Before our food arrived we were given some malted sourdough bread with some whipped chicken liver and whipped crowdie, juniper pepper and lovage salt.

We both had bites. I had Mackerel, horseradish, buttermilk, apple. This dish was really creative. It messed with my head a bit and I’m in awe of the processes and precision they used to present the mackerel and the horseradish and buttermilk that felt like snow. It was a really light and fresh start to the meal. Mr Frivolitea had pea, curd, spelt, lovage, shoots. This was a wonderfully light dish, delicate flavour with occasional surprises of sweetness or curd flavour.

 I passed on the small dish but Mr F had the mallard, cauliflower, kolhrabi, elderberry, shallot, black garlic, chard.

Another exciting and creative dish with the black garlic being a particular highlight. For large, we both opted for the venison. Well you would, wouldn’t you! The dish was titled venison, squash, onion, mushroom, beetroot, juniper, kale. The crust on the venison loin added an extra dimension to the dish and the slow cooked venison was deliciously tender.

Finally Mr F had pudding (though I did try a bit of course!) pudding was honey, nut, lemon thyme, oatmeal, milk. Every mouthful revealed something new. It was one of those puddings were if you had one of the elements on its own you might be underwhelmed but put all together it was incredible. The honeycomb was the best we’ve had and the lemon thyme really lifted the dish.

This place is exciting. It’s a place you want to return to, and we will.