Tuesday of last week we were invited along to The Scottish Cafe and Restaurant. Jonathan was working that day so my mother in law accompanied Alfie and I on our visit. It was lovely weather so to work up an appetite we wandered around the gardens and then made our way to the cafe for 12noon. When dining with a little one our bookings are somewhat earlier than they used to be. On our approach the outside was a hive of activity with lots of diners enjoying the warmth of the sunshine. As we had a reservation we were seated inside, although i’m sure if we wanted we could have asked to sit outside. We were mindful of the heat and how cool it felt inside so thought this was a better option. We were warmly greeted at the door and shown to our table where they had set Alfie up a little place alongside our places.
The menu has lots of lovely Scottish produce included and on your way in they have a map of Scotland showing where each item comes from. It didn’t take us long to make our decisions. We were opting for a main and dessert. All the starters looked good but neither of us felt hungry enough to eat 3 courses and also the desserts caught our attention more. You can find 2 courses for £20 or if you’ve worked up a bigger appetite than us 3 courses is £25. Our order was promptly taken and a nice plate of sourdough bread arrived at the table. This was a great distraction for Alfie who was starting to get hungry.
COD – Chilli glazed fillet of cod with spring onion, summer greens and hung yoghurt with Mara seaweed
PORK BELLY – Braised Ramsay of Carluke pork belly, grilled fennel, apricot relish and crackling
We opted for fish and pork belly for our main course. The cod was well cooked and nicely flaked away. The chilli glaze added a bit of heat to the dish but this was then cooled down with the yoghurt. A good combination and a fitting dish for the sunny weather. My dish of pork belly is a favourite. As I rarely cook it at home, when spotted on a menu it is hard to avoid. It was a tasty bit of pork belly, the meat tender and the crackling nice and crispy. Usually you would see apple served with pork but the apricot was a nice change. We both decided to order a side dish and ordered a dish of summer greens and potato salad. Both worked well with both dishes and in hindsight one side would have been plenty.
As they have a children’s menu I ordered a cheese sandwich for Alfie. Cheese being one of his favourite things. I wasn’t quite expecting the size of the sandwich that arrived. Accompanied with a nice salad and apple. Alfie definitely approved but couldn’t quite manage to polish it off.
With our plates cleared quickly and a short break in between our desserts arrived. Strawberries and ice cream and cheesecake were the choices today. Both cool and refreshing in the hot weather. Alfie was quick to help out with the strawberries and they got his seal of approval. The boy could live on strawberries and blueberries if I let him. My cheesecake was delicious. The oats at the base added a lovely texture to the dish and the shortbread broken across the top of the dish was delicious with the lime and vanilla cream cheese layer. I could definitely have eaten more of the cheesecake.
SCOTTISH STRAWBERRIES AND ICE CREAM – Simply Scottish strawberries and Contini Madagascan vanilla ice cream
CHEESECAKE – A glass of Scottish raspberry, whipped Madagascan vanilla and lime cream cheese with shortcake biscuit and oat crumb topping
We had a lovely visit to the Scottish Cafe and the service was great. All the staff stopped to chat with Alfie and even when further away they waved and smiled helping keep him entertained. The Scottish Cafe is definitely family friendly with lots of highchairs and space to dine. The food was delicious, well presented and with the added bonus of knowing where possible they have sourced Scottish produce. Definitely somewhere to pop on your list if you find yourself out in town and fancy somewhere tasty to eat.
The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant | In the Scottish National Galleries, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL |
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