2. Edinburgh - Sweet Melindas

This week Alex and I opted for a more expensive restaurant. One that has been situated right outside his door for about five years, but which he has never visited. I haven't visited most restaurants in Edinburgh, so I'm happy with anything. For this week we chose fish restaurant Sweet Melindas in Marchmont.
Our dining experience was a bit more extensive than that of last week because we had a glass of wine with every course and we had three courses. This isn't a cheap restaurant, but it was well worth it. It is said that Sweet Melindas gets their fish fresh from the fish monger's next door, which means that their menu is really versatile and it can change every week.

First we had some freshly baked bread with a lovely chickpea concoction. I think it still annoys Alex that he doesn't know what's in it, because he really liked it. As a starter I ordered the "Steamed Shetland Mussels with Shallots, White Wine & Parsley", which as you can see was a humongous plate, but it was so very nice. I have never tasted mussels that were so nice and full of flavour. With the starter I had a white wine "Macabeo Chardonnay, Centelleo, La Mancha Spain. 2009".

After the starter I ordered yet another plate of seafood. Something I hadn't properly tried before; "Mackerel and Chorizo with dried and vine tomatoes". It was amazing! Alex was right when he said that you can get anything in a good restaurant and even though you are never sure you like some ingredients in the meal, you will find it amazing. And I really thought the mackerel tasted great. It wasn't too much either. The red wine I had with that went great with it as well "La Doutelle Merlot, Pays D’Oc, France 2009". And all this food even left an empty place in my stomach for some pudding. 

The really fancy sounding "Valrhona Chocolate Torte". It was like eating pure untouched chocolate. It was great, but I wouldn't say it was fantastic. It was too chocolatey and I would have like it a bit airier. However, the Argentinian desert wine I had with it, gave it an extra oompf.

Sweet Melindas is a nice restaurant, apart from the big blinds in front of the windows so that no one can look in and you can't look out which gives it a bit of a closed off feel. It's a bit expensive, but when you dine there between 6 and 7pm, which we did, you'll get a two course meal deal for 16GBP. Fancy dining, which we won't do every week because my wage cannot support that :)

1. Edinburgh - A Room in the West End

Tonight Alex and I went to A Room in the West End in Edinburgh. We didn't need to book, even though Edinburgh is supposed to be really busy during the festival, mainly because it's a bit out of the way. And when I say out of the way I mean that it's not exactly in the middle of city centre.

The restaurant is located underneath a pub. And supposedly the menu changes practically. Alex and I arrived a bit later than most guests today which meant that the starter that we both wanted was only available for one person. Needless, to say that I managed to get my hands on the lovely:

Ham hock & Drumloch cheddar croquette

with pickled red onion sour cream £5.45

Luckily we had bring-your-own wine from Nederburg South Africa, a nice Carbernet Sauvignon. I must say that it was perfect with the starter and the main. The main I chose tonight was exactly what I was craving. All dayI had this urge to eat Haggis. I get like that sometimes. And luckily, I got it tonight in the form of a sort of lasagne with dauphinoise potatoes.

Roast Scottish chicken breast on haggis dauphinoise with a roast garlic jus

& cherry vine tomatoes £13.95

I promise that it tasted as good as it looks. Also note the little bone sticking out of the chicken breast which is not something I see every day.

Afterwards I couldn't stop myself and I forced Alex to share some Banoffee Pie with me, but I don't regret it one bit. Even though I'm sitting here writing this story with my jeans unbuttoned. 

It's a lovely restaurant that's a bit hidden, but nevertheless worth visiting. Service was really good and the atmosphere was great. And also, who doesn't love BYO wine? :)

Just a little Blog

I know I already have two blogs under this account. One I don't use because I'm not travelling and I don't want to write about random thoughts. The other one I use on a weekly basis because that's my book challenge.
The blog that I've started now is just a little thing for myself again, to make me remember all the restaurants I've been to and what I've had for dinner there. This isn't going to be very entertaining. It's mostly just going to be a bland (I'm Dutch after all) summary of where I've been to fill my belly.