Emma 
Restaurant Mark Greenaway recently opened in January 2013 after being based at 12 Picardy Place for the last couple of years. The old bank building has been totally refurbished in minimalist styling so there are no paintings on the wall, just stacked plates which really makes you concentrate on the food – though oddly when we visited there was a (sheep?) skull perched next to the plates!
At front of house Nicola was friendly and helpful – as were the rest of the staff.
We picked the Market lunch menu which runs from Tuesday to Saturday 12-2.30pm. Dinner operates Tuesday to Saturday 5.30-10pm. The restaurant is closed Sunday & Monday.
We settled down to peruse the menu with a Sipsmith’s gin and tonic which came in a nice oval glass, as well as some water which also came in another novel glass (we were given the option of tap or bottled). We also received bread that had an unusual but welcome popcorn taste in the crust, this came with soft spreadable butter.
Smoked Ham Hough and Pork Ballontine – seared scallop, apple meringues, wild garlic mayonaise and wild scottish herbs
Delicious – the ham was gorgeous and the apple meringues brought a surprise taste to this dish – small chewy drops, which added a sweet layer to the ham and pork. There was also a single seared scallop which was cooked perfectly. Everything worked really well together though the wild garlic mayo wasn’t very strong.
Pea Veloute – hot pea jelly, raviolo, pea shoots and sitka spruce oil
Beautifully silky smooth is how I would describe this. The raviolo left me wanting more and the side jug in which to serve yourself made it feel even more decadent. Fresh ingredients, smooth and perfectly balanced.
Pan seared cod fillet – clam chowder, fennel and dill puree, vanilla foam
Crisp skin, moist fish with delicate flavours surrounding it – the clam chowder, fennel and dill puree were all very light. The “foam” was also subtle, a taste of vanilla yes, but with a stronger caramelized burnt taste, so not sure if that was intended but it was still very pleasant. The “dollop” of mash was also lovely.
11 hour slow roasted clash farm belly pork – pomme puree, savoy cabbage, toffee apple jus
Excellent crisp and crunchy crackling, which we’re not usually fans of but this was done really well, underneath there was a large chunk of moist pork belly pork, which was soft, meaty and salty and melted in the mouth. It really didn’t taste fatty at all! Lovely mash again and tiny cubes of tart apple dotted around the plate.
Peanut caramel cheesecake – salted caramel, warm toffee sauce and roasted peanuts
More concentrated flavours, again not overpowering, each layer commanding its own space. We love peanut butter so this was pretty good.
Broken chocolate tart – custard jelly, frozen cookies, creme fraiche parfait, salted caramel and kumquat puree
Quite strong tasting chocolate here but the ganache and the kumquat made this for me, wonderful textures which being deconstructed meant you could concentrate on each layer. Also came with popping candy which is all the rage at the moment.
We ended with strong coffees (with warm milk and proper uneven sugar lumps) and a bill totally £51.70 which was excellent for the food, service and styling of the restaurant. The best word to sum Mark Greenaway’s up is “smooth”, everything was just so smooth. the toilets are a bit of a challenge to find at first, downstairs and turn right and then right again – Molton Brown toiletries were on offer when we visited. We would certainly recommend Restaurant Mark Greenaway.
Location:- 69 N Castle Street, Edinburgh Visited Feb 2013
