These days, we all (or at least we should) want to know where things come from.
Whether that’s the clothes we buy, the things we drink or the food we eat; the need for transparency has never been more apparent.
It’s this kind of thinking that seems to run through the ethos of the young Edinburgh restaurant, Fhior. Situated towards the bottom of Broughton Street, Fhior – an adaptation for the word ‘true’ in Gaelic – was opened in June 2018 by Scott and Laura Smith.
I’ve been lucky enough to sample some of Scott’s cooking before, as he and Laura took on the task of preparing a glorious feast for the Scottish Field Christmas issue in 2018. Having sampled dishes like roasted leg of goat and salt-crust baked carrots, I knew I was in safe hands.
Upon arrival my friend and I were led through the restaurant, which is much bigger than it looks from the outside, to a table for two by the window. The decor is bright, clean and simple which successfully keeps the focus on the food. Our lovely waitress explained the menu and as it’s a selection of small plates, recommended how many dishes we should have between us.
The sommelier was also on hand to talk us through the white wine we had chosen to accompany our meal which is always a nice touch. For our first taste of Fhior, Scott himself brought us bread, butter and sea salt. The butter is made in house and is the only one used across all of the restaurant’s preparation. We noted the slightly sour but not unpleasant taste as we spread a generous amount on our bread and topped it with the salty meat from our charcuterie selection. For our second small plate, we couldn’t resist the smoked haddock and honey mustard croquettes with mint and pea puree. They were the perfect balance of a crispy outside and a moist, succulent middle. The honey mustard was an unusual but welcome addition to the haddock which was perfectly cooked. My only regret is that we didn’t have one serving each.
For our larger plates we plumped for broccoli, black garlic, hazelnut and smoked yoghurt along with mussels, leeks and smoked cream sauce, pork, apple and cider jus and the pigeon special. The broccoli dish was simple but perfectly executed and made my favourite vegetable all the more appealing. The black garlic was subtle and offered a slight sweetness, while the hazelnuts injected a wonderful crunch and variety of texture.
The mussels were cooked to perfection, while the classic creamy sauce with chunky leeks made a lovely combination overall. The pork dish was a little fatty for my liking and unfortunately – when it came to the special – I couldn’t get past the blood of the sliced pigeon oozing slightly into the surrounding creamy sauce. For me, a thicker sauce would have been more appealing but my dining partner had no such qualms tucking in to this dish.
Dessert was a pretty and delicate affair as we chose the honeycomb with milk ice cream and gooseberry along with strawberry and woodruff ice cream with shards of meringue.
Both my friend and I were in agreement that the honeycomb came out on top as it offered just the right level of sweetness and unlike the mass produced stuff, had a very natural flavour. The gooseberry was a lovely addition and had as questioning why we don’t see this ‘lonely’ fruit on menus more often. The strawberries in our ice cream tasted as fresh and juicy as could be, another sign that Fhior sources ingredients of amazing quality. I wasn’t fully convinced about the combination with the woodruff as it tasted a little too herbal for my liking.
The lunch menu changes regularly to reflect the seasonal produce and the individual plates offer a very sociable and relaxed atmosphere which is perfect for a Saturday afternoon in the capital.
Small plates can start from as little as £2.50 while the most expensive larger plates cost around £12.50 each. Prices do vary depending on the current menu.
36 Broughton Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3SB
0131 477 5000
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