Restaurant review: Scottish Cafe and Restaurant at The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Published on Friday 6 November 2009 17:21

National Gallery Complex The Mound Edinburgh (0131 624 6580)

It's a bit touristy in here," remarked my sister, Louisa, as we glanced around at walls painted in soft shades of heather, featuring vibrant paintings by Sir William Gillies hung above sturdy-looking oak tables, decorated with thistles in vases and Anta crockery.

No it's not you daft turnip, I thought, it's tastefully Celtic.

We had just taken our seats in the new Scottish Cafe & Restaurant at the National Gallery of Scotland on the Mound, which looks out onto Princes Street Gardens and is owned by Victor and Carina Contini, the couple behind Centotre and Zanzero.

Still, the surroundings, which are accessorised by a fiddle player and the hands-on proprietor, Carina (who does an excellent Miss Jean Brodie impression in tweed and a string of pearls), soon grew on junior. As did the short but sweet menu, which focuses on seafood and local ingredients, with no haggis or ironic deep-fried Mars bars in sight.

For starters, I was in the mood for the roast pheasant breast (6.50), while Louisa liked the look of the Dickson's of Cockenzie oak-smoked salmon (6.95).

My choice turned out to be a good one, as the sliced fillet of meat was gamey and juicy, with caramelised edges, and it went well with a spoonful of pickled red cabbage (which was as sharp as Reverend Robert Walker's ice-skates), plus a mixed leaf salad that was dressed with a mixture of lemon and olive oil.

Meanwhile my sister's starter was just as simple and delicious, featuring a few slices of lightly oak-smoked fish, which had been jazzed up with a dusting of paprika, before being draped over triangles of soft brown bread and surrounded by a watercress and radish salad.

For mains, we went for slightly less prosaic options. I chose the vegetarian main of butterie bruschetta (10.95), while Louisa picked her West Coast scallops (14.95) from the Saturday Night Crustacean selection. For some reason, when ordering, I thought that I was being virtuous. However, this crunchy fried golden disc of Aberdonian butterie, which was oozing with butter, melted crowdie and Lanark blue, was as naughty as it gets. Oh, my poor blubbery thighs, I thought, as I tucked in (making sure to eat all of the accompanying watercress, pear and walnut salad as a kind of lard leveller).

Louisa wasn't a fan of my choice, but then she had just got back from a holiday to Russia, where she spent her time avoiding having to eat a similar-looking staple of blinis topped with sour cream. She was much happier with her seafood offerings, which sat on a sage and bacon mixture and were presented on the shell, like dinky Titian Venuses. A dish containing a rustic colcannon was on the side.

Despite the fact that our tums were now straining at the waistbands of our trousers, we decided to push the envelope a bit further. For pud, I went for the cooked cream (4.95) – a pannacotta by any other name. It was ivory white, flecked with vanilla and had a clean milky flavour that was perfectly balanced by some segments of sticky, cinnamon-spiked plum.

Unfortunately, I think my sibling had the only dud of our visit. Although her marmalade bread and butter pudding (4.75) was pleasant, they'd been a little Presbyterian with the Drambuie cream, so, a strong cappuccino (2.40) was helpful when it came to washing this dry wedge down my sister's gullet. However her slightly flawed dessert wasn't enough to put her off this lovely pit-stop for culture vultures, which has rescued this venue from an eternity of over-priced egg mayo sarnies.

It's just a shame that, at the moment, it's only open for dinner on Saturday nights. Still, at least their breakfast and tea menus (which include a Princes Street High Tea, 9.95, consisting of fish, chips, bread and butter, served from 3pm-6pm daily) will be enough to tide me (and the tourists) over.

Three to try

Jute Cafe Bar

Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee (01382 909 246, www.dca.org.uk)

A well-designed cafe with bistro fare such as herb crusted rack of lamb and carrots.

CCA Bar and Cafe

350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow (0141-352 4900, www.cca-glasgow.com)

This trendy place has an excellent pre- theatre menu (9.95 for two courses, 12.95 for three).

Aberfeldy Watermill

Mill Street, Aberfeldy, Perthshire (01887 822896, www.aberfeldywatermill.com)

The Fairtrade cafe, which adjoins this gallery/bookshop, is warm and welcoming, with a good selection of sandwiches.

&#149 This article was first published in The Scotsman Magazine on 07/11/2009