Mark Greenaway - Edinburgh

Every year for Christmas my work treats us and our partners to a fabulous night out (I say every year, I've been twice now and this year was no exception! I was really excited when I was told we were going here for dinner as I knew it would be super fancy, and the company always pays for everything so that's a bonus! We were in the private dining room as there were about 17 of us and we were informed that we were the first people to try it out which was pretty cool they even gave us champagne after our meal because of that which was awesome. Our table was booked for 9pm and wasn't quite ready when we all showed up (about 5 minutes late but it wasn't too long before it was ready and the staff showed us where to go. I felt that the stairs leading down to the private room (and the toilets for it were a bit dingy and not very welcoming, but this wasn't really a big deal for me personally. The staff were absolutely brilliant the entire night we didn't end up leaving the place til well after midnight and they remained cheery and extremely attentive! We were seated at the big square table and given Prosecco while we perused the menu. In true Debs style, I'd already picked out what I was having pretty much as soon as I knew where we were going so I was really looking forward to my food! We were also given bread while we waited which was good as most of us were starving by that point. I had the crab starter (see photo and it was proper dining theatre the cannelloni dish sat on top of the smoked cauliflower custard dish to begin with, and when it was removed, smoke which had been kept underneath to flavour the custard billowed out, it was so cool!! The cannelloni was brilliant, really refreshing and light and I could've easily eaten about three of them. Unfortunately I wasn't keen on the custard, it was a bit too smoky and strong for my taste buds to handle but I ate the crab out of it because crab. We were also told which way the chef recommended we eat the dish that's how you know you're in a fancy place! I had braised beef daube for main and this was pretty substantial! I ended up palming some of it off to the bf and a couple of my colleagues cause they'd already wolfed their turkey (I'm assured it was very tasty! and by that point it was getting too late for me to handle a heavy meal. The beef itself was well cooked, and the veggies which came with it were also really nice. Although I did feel the beef was slightly lacking in flavour I had similarly done beef at the Yelp Christmas dinner and I probably actually preferred that! Although I maybe should've just changed my meal up a bit and that might've helped ha. Now the dessert. Oh my. This was definitely a triumph! The treacle tart was very tasty and rich, I love my cakes/desserts and this was probably the course I'd been looking forward to the most, so I was very happy indeed! The honeycomb and tuile biscuit were totally divine as well and the little vanilla lollipop (almost ice cream like in consistency but very smooth! was a fab touch. As I said before, absolutely cannot fault the service the staff were constantly filling up our wine/water and making sure everything was ok, and nothing was too much trouble for them. The music they had playing in the room was a tad strange, felt a bit more like we were in a swanky nightclub than a swanky restaurant, but I'm not taking anything away from them for that!! Great for a properly classy dining experience!!

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this restaurant is deserving of a 5* review. Without a doubt, the best eating experience I've had in my life. Mark Greenaway is a fantastic chef and his refreshingly contemporary menu definitely reflects this. I was asked from my lovely boyfriend what I'd like for my birthday, and all I could think of was a nice meal out, and he told me to book the place of my choice. I wonder if he meant that 100%, but I took it upon myself to book a table for the opening weekend of Mark Greenaway's spectacular new restaurant on 69 North Castle Street. We headed in this evening a bit earlier (damn you Edinburgh road works! , but made it in plenty of time. Upon entering the restaurant, which by the way is absolutely beautiful; with it's high chandelier, intimate colour choices and exquisitely laid tables, our coats were taken by the lovely host and we were seated next to the window; how lovely and romantic considering it was snowing! The staff in here are the best at their job, from setting tables, to offering drinks, to the waitress who brought our courses to us and explained how each course was made and how Mark suggests you eat it. Our orders were taken, our wine was poured, and Colin and I immediately began chatting about our love for the place. Our aperitifs were brought out; with a beautiful shallot amuse bouche, which were thoroughly enjoyed. For my starter I ordered the crab cannelloni with smoked cauliflower custard, lemon pearls, herb butter, baby coriander and beetroot mayo, and Colin ordered the red wine risotto with hen egg. Oh God, you think you've tasted good crab before, but you've not until you've been here. The way Mark makes it it's in 2 different parts of the dish, and thought most people would eat from the top of a dish to the bottom, Mark suggests you try both simultaneously. I did, and I enjoyed. Thoroughly! Our wonderful waiting staff cleared the table, before our main courses were brought to the table. Colin had the pan roasted hake fillet, with a lobster tortellini, purple mash, fennel and dill puree and pumpkin, and I ordered the 11 hour slow roasted pork belly, with spiced fillet, pomme puree, savoy cabbage and toffee apple jus. This is without a doubt the best meal I've ever eaten. The pork was so tender and beautifully cooked, whilst the beautiful fat crackling on top was crisp and so tasty. The spiced fillet was cooked medium rare and was exquisite and everything on the plate just complimented each other so well. If all that wasn't enough, for desserts I had the broken lemon tart, with yuzu parfait, frozen shortbread, pistachio puree, compact watermelon and coconut jelly, and Colin had the chocolate fondant. I'm not a dessert eater normally, but wow. WOW. Exquisite. Must make a note of how great our wine was. I'm positive it was an Australian rosé but I'm not 100%. Wonderful though, so crispy and tangy but fruity at the same time. I had to ask our waiter to give compliments to the chef, something I've never done, because I was so impressed. Mark is an outstanding chef, and I will most definitely be back here again and again.

This could only ever have been 5 stars! After the much publicised closure of Mark Greenaways restaurant at Piccardy Place we all waited with baited breath to find out where he was heading to. From his words at the Foodies Christmas Fair to his updates on twitter he was giving nothing away. So clandestine was this becoming that a head chef from another restaurants comment on twitter that he looked forward to having Mark as a neighbour lead to the rumour he was off to the Royal Mile. Then, just two weeks ago, he announced his new location as 67 North Castle Street the site of a former Italian Restaurant and once upon a time an RBS branch. I was delighted to have a reason for booking for opening weekend, as Stephs parents are in town for their birthday weekend and we couldn't think of anywhere we would rather take them. So roughly 3 minutes after the announcement of the new restaurant was made I had my reservation request sent. Roll on two weeks and last night was the night I've been waiting for, all the more eagerly after such positive comments from those who attended the launch party and Yelpers Jackie.G and Claire.L who were there for opening night. The first thing that strikes you upon entering in that all of the staff have stayed with Mark, infant he confirmed later he didn't lose any of his staff despite being closed for 7 weeks. Once seated you soon see that Mark and his team have been able to recreate the wonderful ambiance the had at Piccardy Place. To the menu and from the à la carte it was good to see he has kept the favourites while also introducing something new to lift the menu further. Once we had ordered, the sommelier Loic who we have gotten to know was kind enough to show us his new wine vault, with this having been an RBS the original vault in the basement remains. Given how little time they have has to prepare its amazing how much they have achieved. The wood work and the style they have given this room is really impressive. Loic explained that they intend to further develop the vault and diner will be able to select their wines with an illustrated world map on the wall providing further details. Loic will also be on hand advising and giving diners tasting samples of suggested pairing wines. As soon as we sat down we were presented with our amuse bouchée, as espuma on f shallots. Can't such much about this other than it was delicious. Slight sweetness with earthy undertones it was a great way to start our meal. For my starter I chose the pave of pigs cheek, served with warm apple jelly, apple purée a flavoured meringue, the pave is wrapped in beetroot carpaccio. This is a dish which has gone through a few developments since I first had it at the Great British Menu party and its only gotten better. The balance of the deep flavour of the cheek with apple and beetroot is superb. It's a dish I would happily order again and again. For my main I went for the tasting of lamb. Succulent tender lamb, deep jus, aromatic rosemary, buttery mash and earthy brussel sprouts.......delicious! The lamb came three ways, a loin chop, a piece of filet and some leg. The flavour of the lamb was just incredible, the seasoning brought out the taste as much as Amy producer could hope for. To finish I decided to revisit a favourite of mine the broken citrus tarte. This dish simply put is a work of art in appearance and just as tasty. The zing of the parfait is beautifully matched by the coconut, watermelon cubes clean the palate and the pistachio purée adds another dimension when combined. After dinner Loic was also kind enough to take me back to the vault and give me a sample of the most incredible muscat I have ever tasted, larger quantities will be required when my dry January has finished. All in all the meal was superb, Stephs parents were delighted and then even more so when they had a good ten minute chat with the man himself Mr Greenaway. Mark is such a friendly guy and willingness to chat to customers at the end of a service does him great credit. With the excitement that has surrounded this opening I can say the product more than lives up the hype. Undoubtedly they have a lot of work to do but with Marks inventive cooking and the team he has around him I am confident this new venture will be a massive success. Restaurant Mark Greenaway comes highly JD Recommended!

Incredible service, doesn 't rely on obscure and novel ingredients to deliver an amazing experience just craft, artistry, and execution. It 's been a while, but I had the tasting menu here. The first thing that struck me was how boring the items were. See, a lot of places like this, it 's truffle this, stone fruit that (not peaches or plums, no, that 's too everyday), kumquats, some kind of root you 've never heard of you know, stuff that you don 't really have in your larder and couldn 't get anyway, and stuff that would intimidate or put off your pickier friends. Not so, here! They don 't rely on that to make the meal incredible, just really sharp execution, plating, and service. I had a stock (don 't call it a bone broth, and they didn 't either) as a course that was super well executed but to make it extra fun it was infused at the table using a balance brewer to draw the broth through some fresh herbs. Like everything was really, really incredible, just spectacular but it was all in the execution. It wasn 't even particularly complicated execution, either like, sous vides with proper finishes, fluid gels, that sort of thing. Stuff a sufficiently motivated home cook can pull off. But the real cap was when I asked if any of their desserts traveled well, because my friend 's wife was at home sick with the child, and I wanted to share some of this wonderful meal with her. Our server frowned worriedly and said, I 'll go ask chef. About 20 minutes later, as we were wrapping up, he returned with a plastic container. This wasn 't a typical takeaway container it was obviously a prep container, with some tape residue still evident. I don 't know what they dumped out to accommodate our unreasonable request, but I do know that even though they aren 't a takeaway place, they plated one of their desserts beautifully in a prep container just to make our experience that much better. Without the service, this would have been one of my favorite meals. I cannot believe that you can deliver a restaurant experience this excellent where I 'd feel comfortable taking the pickiest, most conservative eaters I know. But for them to obviously do something they don 't, and not even try to demur, just accommodate us? This is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. I rave about this place. I cannot wait to return.

The 8 course degustation plus an amuse bouche with wines at £100 a head is an absolute bargain for the quality ingredients, creative flair and impeccable service that really could not be faulted in any way. I wish I could detail every course, but that would be impossible unless I took notes as we selected the Chef's Surprise Menu. I am usually skeptical about selecting these as I feel they really could just come out with whatever is left over from cooking for the other patrons. However, Mark Greenaway manages to really surprise and deliver on expectations. We were brough everything from soup to pates, to mysterious Japanese-inspired broth concoctions that could have come out of a science experiments, to scallops, to pork, to beef, to fish, to duck, and 3 desserts. What more could a foodie ask for? The restaurant ambience is elegant, with table cloths and uniformed waiters. No pretention here, however, and no stingy portions on oversized plates. This place gets it right. A great place for a non-confronting date night, family dinner or friends.