Review: The Little Chartroom, Leith

When it comes to food news, Roberta Hall-McCarron is a journalist’s dream. Since opening The Little Chartroom in Leith in June 2018 it seems there’s never been a time that she’s not had something exciting to shout about. From a slew of awards, to new openings in Ardfern and Eleanore, countless television appearances and now her debut cookbook, The Changing Tides, as featured in the February issue of Scottish Field.

As well as a series of seasonal supper clubs, The Little Chartroom has launched a great value lunch deal available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, which sees us venture back to our old stomping grounds of Leith on a changeable Sunday afternoon. Priced at £49 per person (plus £39pp if you choose wine pairings), this set menu will change with the seasons and includes optional snacks to start and a cheeky cheese course before pud if you are feeling decadent.

I kick off with a duo of oysters in the guise of a snack. They arrive like a yin and yang, one ensconced in refreshing apple, sorrel and cucumber, the other on a dressing of tart rhubarb and hot sauce. We are off to a great start.

A puffy, loaf-shaped milk bun crowned with a generous grating of pecorino-style sheep’s cheese vanishes a little too quickly for my liking. And I’m quite convinced that if the friendly staff had continued to bring them ad infinitum the following loaves would have suffered the same fate. Light and fluffy with a satisfying bite to the crust, this was some seriously good bread.

Our starters of herb gazpacho studded with delicate chunks of clam, cockles, scallops, pickled radish, cucumber and smoked almonds were as pretty as they were fabulously fresh and perfectly matched with a bright and crisp sauvignon blanc from the Loire valley.

There was a choice of two mains, and when Mr B chose the flaky chunk of North Sea cod which arrived in a generous helping of rich brown shrimp and nori butter sauce, that left me to sample the St Bride’s farm duck breast. Served with a crisp samosa-style pastry stuffed with a rich, duck filling and sweet and tangy apricot chutney. The breast was perfectly cooked and beautifully tender. On the side was a hearty portion of hasselback potatoes, crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle, served with chive crème fraiche and a mixed bowl of asparagus, broad beans and peas with a wonderfully herby salsa verde.

It was a tough choice, but we decided to skip the optional cheese course, a Colston Bassett Stilton from Nottinghamshire served with a cherry and almond financier, and head straight to dessert. Yes, I know, it was a bizarre decision that still haunts me and I now know never to make the same mistake again. But in my defence, the dessert was certainly worth skipping to.

The stars of the show were undoubtedly the fresh strawberries from Blacketyside Farm in Fife, but the fine, crisp pastry of the tart, refreshing strawberry sorbet and the peppery, herby basil gel made this the perfect Scottish summer pud.

On the way home we reminisce about the happy times we spent living in Leith when we were young and carefree, buying our first flat and enjoying afternoon drinks at the shore. The area has undoubtedly changed since then, but then so have we. Leith was always a special place and I’m just glad that it now has so many more strings to its bow, like The Little Chartroom, to ensure that we keep coming back.

The Little Chartroom, 14 Bonnington Road, Edinburgh EH6 5JD. Tel: 0131 556 6600.

Read more Reviews here.

Subscribe to read the latest issue of Scottish Field.