Thursday 15 March 2012

The Castle Terrace Restaurant, Edinburgh

Chef Patron Dominic Jack, front row centre, choreographing the pass


Last Saturday night I dreamt of the circus.

Not the kind of circus with poodles jumping through hoops and pretty girls riding ponies around a ring but of  Le Cirque du Soleil with its sophisticated staging and awe inspiring acrobats performing stunts that leave you gasping for breath and wishing the show would never end.

I'm certain that  my dreams were inspired by dinner hours earlier at Edinburgh's  Castle Terrace Restaurant.
A spring sprout in toasted cumin earth

In October, Chef Patron Dominic Jack added a Michelin star to his trophy shelf, already  overflowing with nine other culinary awards so since we were in Edinburgh celebrating hubby's birthday, I insisted that we eat there.  I'm so glad that we did.  In fact, it was the highlight of our visit.

Wherever we travel, we love to dine in elegant restaurants but it's rare to find one with  decent vegetarian food.  So when we learned that along with its regular menu, Castle Terrace offered a vegetarian à la carte menu and a multi-course  vegetarian tasting menu, we could hardly wait to get there.

As it turned out, our dinner was even better than we'd hoped.  Chef Dominic combined several cooking techniques like Molecular gastronomy, sous vide and traditional French, deliciously and unpretentiously.   This was quite a treat for demanding vegetarians like hubby and I.  Oh, and for a few more pounds, they would have paired each course with wine.  How fabulous is that?

Our humble thanks go to Chef Dominic's sister and mother, both vegetarians, whom he told us inspired him to offer vegetarian options. 

If I had to sum it up in one sentence, the dinner was a  mix of delicious seasonal and local food, creatively and passionately prepared, served with skill in sophisticated, and  soothing surroundings.

And even with his brilliant credentials and a busy dining room, Chef Dominic was incredibly down to earth and generous with his time,  showing us his well stocked wine cellar and then inviting us to sit at his chef's table while we watched his harmonious kitchen in action and sipped Lemoncello.  It was an unexpected and unforgettable evening for the birthday boy, me, and our guest Alex too.

What more could you ask for?

I can hardly wait to return.

Ravioli of fresh herbs and Highland Crowdie cheese

 



4 comments:

Hannah said...

Wow, now those are some absolutely stunning plates of food. I only wish I could edible create masterpieces like that! Very inspiring photos though.

Gustia said...

But you do create edible masterpieces like that!

Heather Robinson said...

Wow. Isn't it amazing when all of the elements come together for a truly magical evening? It looks like one to remember and crazily delicious to boot!

Gustia said...

You said it! Chef's Dominic's skill level is something that I can only aspire to but I guess that's why he has a Michelin star!