16/11/25

Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh

We’re in the mood for a spot of high-end lunch and we’ve heard good things about Montrose, which is a sister establishment to Timberyard, one of the undoubted stars in the Edinburgh culinary firmament. Montrose claims to offer a more relaxed kind of cuisine at reasonable prices so, in order to put that claim to the test, we take a leisurely stroll over to Montrose Terrace to sample their three-course set lunch.

The offer is all three courses for £30, with a small selection of side-dishes, which can be added for a little more outlay. The menu is changed on a monthly basis, though the advertised dishes can be tweaked if somebody has an allergy issue or a pronounced dislike of one of the key ingredients. But, as we so often claim, there’s not much out there that we won’t eat.

The restaurant has a calm, pleasant atmosphere and is arranged on two levels. (Halfway up the stairs there’s what must qualify as the smallest customer toilet in Edinburgh.) The staff are friendly and easy to chat to as we order drinks and wait for our two additional dishes to arrive.

These are a Pickle Plate and a Cantabrian Anchovy Gilda. The former is a plate of crunchy pickles served with a tangy dressing, amid which some beautifully-sweet gooseberries are undoubtedly the stars. The latter turns out to be a single (though quite delicious) fresh anchovy nestled on some truly scrumptious olives. For £5, I find myself wishing we had an anchovy apiece.

Next up is our starter, which is Crown Prince Pumpkin with trevino, hazelnut and rosemary. There’s a decent-sized chunk of slow roasted pumpkin, drizzled with a creamy, nutty sauce and there’s a lot of (too much?) green salad, which is as fresh as you like, but leaves me feeling that this dish perhaps needs an extra element to make it zing.

The main course is essentially the restaurant’s take on sausage and beans, though it’s a lot more interesting than that sounds. It comprises two spicy slices of Venison and Pork Kofta, a chunk of crispy seared shallot and some earthy black-eyed beans. They’ve even managed to make an accompanying portion of kale taste good. It’s a great idea and perfectly suited to an autumn lunch.

Pudding must inevitably follow. Out comes a Pear, Vanilla and Walnut Trifle, which – while it’s not the most photogenic of dishes, the colours all being variations of brown – is nonetheless a lip-smacking delight. It’s like somebody’s crossed a tiramisu with a crumble and this is the weird but oddly satisfying result. I’m definitely in favour taste-wise, but surely a scattering of bright red raspberries would make this look a lot more appetising.

With drinks, this meal comes in at around £90, which in these troubled times represents good value for this standard of cuisine. We depart, sated and happy, and ready for – you’ve guessed it – a visit to the cinema.

4 stars

Philip Caveney