The Times
Chitra Ramaswamy’s visit to this classic French bistro was a “joyous reminder” why we should not abandon classic institutions in chasing the thrill of the new. It was founded 16 years ago in Ediburgh’s New Town by chef-patron Fred Berkmiller, from the Loire Valley, and his wife Betty, who makes a “formidable and warm” maître d’.
“The munificent prix fixe — three courses for £65 — consists of all the right things: grilled snails, terrine with Armagnac, hake brandade, cockerel roulade, beef bourguignon. A vegan’s nightmare, true, but this is hearty, rustic French cooking we’re talking about.”
If neither the beouf bourguignon nor the shorthorn sirloin steak were as “meltingly soft” as Chitra might have hoped, the accompanying dauphinoise was “superlative, flawless, all the words for perfect”, while dessert was “the best course of all: a rich dark ingot of chocolate nemesis and île flottante — a towering block of airily soft meringue in surrounds of impeccable crème anglaise, rained on by flaked almonds.”
Chitra Ramaswamy - 2025-07-06
Drinks
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