Restaurant review: E:S:I, Edinburgh

TAKE an Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman, put them all together in Leith and what do you get?

The answer, E:S:I – one of the port's best kept secrets.

Run by Richard Waugh (the Englishman), Jon Cowan (the Scotsman) and Paul McCutcheon (the Irishman), E:S:I opened two years ago on Queen Charlotte Street on the site of a former fire station.

The three-level attraction offers a diverse menu of generous dishes with something to suite every taste and mood – and diners get the added bonus of watching the chefs at work in an open kitchen.

Starters include parsnip soup with parsnip crisps and a chive crme fraiche (4.50) and mains offer a wide choice, such as wild mushroom and spinach potato cake with stilton rarebit, red chard and olive oil salad (9.95).

But E:S:I is particularly popular for its steaks (sirloin, rib eye or fillet), served either the English, Scottish or Irish way. Thursday night is even devoted to the dishes.

With a good selection of wines and beers, great deals (two-course lunch for 9.95), E:S:I is definitely worth a visit.

E:S:I Restaurant, 46 Queen Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, 0131-555 3103, www.esibrasserie.com