Tag Archives: meal

Cook your own steak, just the way you like it

No8ListerSquare steakIn the middle of what used to be the Old Infirmary lies a small square of culinary delights, and at No 8 you can grab a delicious after work bargain.

No 8 Lister Square is a ‘gastrobar’ in the heart of Quartermile, with bar, music and a pool table downstairs and a bistro/restaurant with a view upstairs.

Famed for its cocktails downstairs and milkshakes upstairs this relaxed and friendly venue has a new fun experience to entice the hungry locals heading past between the Meadows and the city.

The ‘Steak & Shake’ deal consists of 150g of rump steak, with chips and a milkshake on the side. The fun part is that you cook the steak yourself, on a large hot stone which is placed in the middle of your table.

Turning a meal into an experience searing your own steak on the stone means you can cook it just as you like it, provided you don’t get it stuck which is all too easy!

We enjoyed our meal a great deal and are already planning a bigger group to visit next time, I’m sure everyone will enjoy cooking their dinner this way.

No8ListerSquare details

The Steak & Shake £10 deal runs from Sunday to Thursday, 4 – 7pm.

No 8 Lister Square website

Illustrations drawn with pencil, fineliner pen and watercolour

The Atelier Restaurant in Edinburgh’s West End

Atelier_starterRecently I popped in at the The Atelier Restaurant for a bite to eat, and a little food sketching.

The 2 AA Rosette Scottish dining restaurant lies on Morrison Street in Edinburgh’s West End, and has a cosy and relaxed atmosphere with a friendly welcome.

I visited with the Sketcher Clan for a week day lunch, they open 12-2.30pm, 5.30-9.30pm Tue-Thu and 12-2.30pm, 5.30-10.30pm Fri and Sat, and the place seemed to be a popular business lunch location.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary ‘Atelier’ means a room or building in which an artist works. This couldn’t be more appropriate for this Edinburgh kitchen.

Atelier: a room or building in which an artist works

We enjoyed 3 courses of beautiful food. Each plate was a work of art, the above starter of ‘Lamb ballotine, buckwheat, fennel, artichoke’ had delicate sauces dabbed around the the plate like one of my sketches.

Not only did they look good but tasted delicious, the Sketcher twins shared a pasta dish of ‘Fregula, peas, asparagus, ricotta’ and when they couldn’t finish it all asked if we could take the rest home.

Our shared dessert of ‘Poached apricot, dark chocolate cremeux, sorbet’ disappeared before I could sketch it to a flurry of silent scooping and synchronised ‘mmmm-ing’.

Below is a sketch from after the event 🙂

Atelier_dessert

Today’s sketches were made with a black fine liner pen and watercolour paint. 

The Atelier Restaurant website

The Atelier are holding an ‘Aura Night’ Italian cuisine evening on Monday 22nd August for one night only from 7pm-10pm, creating a ‘Tasting Menu offering a Journey through great Italian flavours’. Places are £45 per person and reservations are required. To book, please call 0131 6295040

 

Five star lunch in central Edinburgh

ScotsmanLunch_sep14The North Brasserie at the Scotsman Hotel on North Bridge, Edinburgh has a delicious lunch menu available from £14.50.

Here in Edinburgh we are lucky enough to be surrounded by world class local food and drink producers, providing ingredients to, amongst many others, Paul Hart the Executive Head Chef at The Scotsman Hotel.

 

His lunch menu is constantly evolving and changing depending on his ingredients, the Scottish seasons, what local suppliers have foraged… and what local markets and farmers produce for him. I visited recently and enjoyed a lunch fit for a King, without the prices to match. Here are my sketches from the day.

 

The lunch menu is available 12-2pm, priced at £14.50 for 2 courses, £19.50 for three.

 

North Bridge Brasserie website.