Montrose, Edinburgh: ‘I am glad to be able to report there hasn’t been a seismic shift in the food at Montrose’

Edinburgh diners can relax because the excellent Montrose’s fanfare about a new direction was overblown – this relaxed Abbeyhill eatery thankfully remains largely unchanged, says Richard Bath.

I recently received an unnerving message from Montrose, the sister restaurant to Michelin-starred Timberyard and one of my favourite places to spend quality time with my palate. The emissaries of the Radford family informed me that the restaurant was announcing ‘a new direction to offer a more relaxed and unified dining experience’.

Montrose has only been open less than two years, and despite being a short walk to Holyrood Palace is the only restaurant in an area not historically known for supporting anything more sophisticated than greasy Joes. More to the point, in Edinburgh’s cut-throat restaurant scene radical changes of culinary course tend to be the first step towards closure. There was nothing for it but to investigate to see if Montrose was, indeed, faltering.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the opposite seemed to be the case – not only was every table full both inside and out, but we saw two pairs of walk-ups turned away.

Nor, I am glad to be able to report, has there been a seismic shift in the food offered at Montrose. It turns out that fanfare was to herald a process that is ‘about refining and evolving what we already do well’. It turns out that this is mainly about fripperies such as lauding their eco credentials and a softening of the space between its wine bar and restaurant, while ‘the design will bring a more consistent feel across both floors: Ercol chairs throughout, shared crockery and glassware, a matching curtain at the bar, and quiet adjustments to lighting, layout and sound [will] gently evolve the space.’

I arrived expecting the Blitz only to find, to my relief, a small firecracker. The basic layout remains the same, as does the general relaxed neighbourhood restaurant vibe, with its stripped floors, high ceilings, whitewashed walls and chilled background music. Or perhaps the big change was around what is coming out of the kitchen? Has the food gone through a process of revolution, evolution or stayed essentially the same?

The answer, it turns out, was somewhere between evolution and steady-as-she-goes. If there was a change in direction then it was so minor that it will pass most diners by. This, for the avoidance of doubt, is a good thing: I liked Montrose in its first iteration and this version, after almost two years settling into their rhythm, is arguably even better.

I say ‘arguably’ because the pescatarian disagreed, which is a rare culinary parting of the ways. She thought her main course of John Dory with golden beetroot, gooseberry and white asparagus (£31) was decent but eclipsed by a transcendental hake dish she recently had at Leftfield. And while I absolutely loved the Cumbrae oyster (£4) in a creamy horseradish and elderflower sauce – a new one on me – when it comes to oysters she is a fundamentalist who found it memorable for different reasons to me.

On virtually everything else, though, we were in agreement. We’d decided to give the tasting menu (£75, with paired drinks and extra £55) a sideswerve, and instead ate from the a la carte menu so we could try as many dishes as possible. As soon as the excellent home made sourdough with sesame butter (£4) arrived, I suspected we were in for a great meal, and so it proved. The pescatarian reckoned the skewer of smoked eel gilda (£4) was one of the best things she’s eaten all year, while I loved the pannise (which looks like a large chip and has a harsh brownish texture) made with green pea and cedro (an Italian citrus related to lemon) and dusted with comte (£3.5).

The next tranche of comfort dishes was even better. A salad made up of two types of tomatoes with green strawberries and an almond jus (£12) was an effective palate cleanser, while a dish of cured beef, courgette, kampot pepper and lobster (£16) was probably the best thing on the menu (and best of all because the pescatarian’s principles meant it was mine, all mine). I adore freshly caught mackerel (£14), so I looked forward to a dish that paired it with blackcurrant, Szechuan and cucumber, a combination which was a nice, sweet counterpoint to the marinated slices of fish. The girolles on toasted sourdough with wild garlic and yeast hollandaise (£15) was superb.

While the pescatarian munched her John Dory, I tucked into my main, which was four slices of beautifully cooked lamb (£33) from Mount Gracie Farm with rose, peppers and freekeh to bring decidedly Moroccan notes into play.

We rounded off with a strawberry choux bun (£9), which was fine but which I probably wouldn’t order again, and some Comte and Cashel Blue cheese (£8), which I liked but somehow jarred with the idea of using Scottish produce where possible (I love Blue Murder from the Highland Fine Cheeses and Lanark Blue from Errington).

The one final thing I’d say is that lunch (2 courses for £26, 3 for £30) is particularly good value. 

Montrose. 1-7 Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5DJ.

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