Website: http://www.restaurantmartinwishart.co.uk/
Our second Michelin adventure in the UK, this time opting for something with flavors from a more local cuisine (as opposed to just traditional French).
Amy and I immediately took to this restaurant more so than our first Michelin adventure earlier in London. The mood was noticeably different, the people more relaxed, and conversations from other diners much louder. We could already tell we would like it here more based on the environment.
Before we ordered, we were treated with some delicious teaser bites
Amuse Bouche
This first bite reminded me of a smoother, softer version of Chinese hot and sour soup. It warmed up our tummies quite nicely.
A testament to the quality of ingredients that we’ve seen in food around Edinburgh – this dish was quite tasty, especially with the amazingly bright sweetness of the carrots.
1st Course
I enjoyed the lightness of the tartar, but I felt that overall, everything was overpowered by the crab mayonnaise. I have never been a fan of mayonnaise though, so I may be doing this dish injustice.
2nd Course
I loved the contrast of textures and flavors in this dish. There was a good balance between sweet and tart, soft and crunchy. Thumbs up for a light and refreshing dish.
3rd Course
Surf and turf is always fun, and I enjoyed the langoustine done three ways (gelée, purée, and roasted)
4th Course
This dish was one of my favorites, but not because of the quail. The true stars were everything else – the corn puree, the mushroom ravioli…give me a bowl of just those two and I would be so happy. The quail itself was well done, tender meat and crispy skin, but it didn’t feel special. Then again, I tend to appreciate the non-protein aspects of a dish more often when they really shine.
We did end up switching out one of our dishes this course for a different one from the a la carte menu:
A better pairing in our opinion – the 4th and 5th course were both bird proteins so we wanted to switch things up a little.
5th Course
A good followup to the heaviness of the quail, the grouse was balanced out by the vegetables and made for a much lighter dish. This was, overall, a beautiful dish – a strong end to the savory portion of this meal.
Palate Cleanser (Dessert #1)
I am always a little wary when it comes to passionfruit, but in this case it was not too tart or overpowering. Moose was clearly just as excited as I was to dig in.
Dessert (#2)
Amy and I decided to order different desserts so we could try both of the options on the menu.
Perhaps a bad choice if we had known the previous dish would also have passion fruit. Overall though, bright and refreshing.
Not exactly what we envisioned when we saw chocolate, but delicious nonetheless.
Chocolates (Dessert #3)
As if we weren’t already stuffed, the menu ended with a few lovely bites of chocolate.
Overall, Amy and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience here. We learned the story of the official silver water pitcher with its parakeet handle (it’s the only way to serve water at this restaurant), dined on stellar food, and enjoyed great company.