Montrose Edinburgh

Set over twin levels, Montrose is a tale of two halves. When you’re ushered in and up the stairs you pass the wine bar with its sharing food and casual stripped-back aesthetic. Upstairs things are equally as minimalistic, but with softer edges; plusher details.

The walls - for one - are dressed in thick layers of washed linen. Then there are the candles and the incense burning giving the whole thing a sort of monastic quality. It could all feel a bit too serious, but instead it’s calming with a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere created by a young, very cool but equally keen team.

Somewhere along the lines someone has invoked culinary higher powers to deliver a menu that holds unequivocal appeal. It starts with clouds of whipped butter, little pickled radishes cutting the fat, and dinky crab tartlets that taste of seaside summer holidays.

The deal here is a set menu, four courses with an option to add a fifth and an excellent, vibrant wine pairing should you fancy it. The concept makes sense. Unnecessary courses from a traditional tasting have been culled, and instead it’s only the elite left.

Portions are proper plates too so that you have ample time to really get stuck in. A fat piece of cured trout is classically paired with Amalfi lemon but brightened further by spruce tips and a light tartare. There’s a delicate lobster plate with equally as sweet white asparagus, so that nothing is competing but instead exists in harmony. A main of chicken might sound dull, but it’s a generous slice of juicy breast and comes with a sherry sauce and earthy kale. What’s not to like?

A dessert comes in the original image of what that should be: sweet and sticky and a glorious celebration of sugar in all her many guises. Toasted into campfire goodness via torched meringue. Churned through ice cream and puffed up in the base of a cherry blossom baked Alaska, this is the work of pastry chef gods.

Montrose is born of good stock so we came in with high expectations. Sometimes the filling of big shoes can fall short, but here Montrose have found their Cinderella moment.

Montrose House is the second site from the Radford family behind Michelin-starred Timberyard, who have turned this old Abbeyhill site into an elegant wine bar and relaxed restaurant. The restaurant continues the Radford's partnership with chef James Murray, who also heads up the kitchen at Timberyard and helped the restaurant win a Michelin star in 2023.

The restaurant and wine bar has taken the spot formerly belonging to Abbey’s Café and is split across two floors, including a downstairs wine bar, that director Jo Radford states it is 'the wine bar that Edinburgh has never had' and an intimate first-floor dining room. The wine bar holds between 20 to 30 covers and the restaurant seats 15 diners across 6 tables. The interiors are minimal and understated, going for a simple, clean elegance with neutral tones.

Meanwhile, Murray and head chef Moray Lamb oversee the food, with the wine bar offering a selection of European-inspired small plates and the dining room serving a refined set menu alongside alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks pairings. Dishes on the restaurant menu at the time of writing include mushroom and caramelised cream tart, and scallops with Delica pumpkin, hazelnut and lardo, whilst the wine bar a la carte features devilled eggs with trout roe, and Shetland mussels with spiced butter and shoestring fries. The focus, as is the case at Timberyard, is on outstanding Scottish produce and local suppliers, with a menu more geared to reflect the wine list. Murray's background includes the sadly closed Edinburgh Food Studio, and before that, a number of years spent in the kitchens of Raymond Blanc's revered Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.

Just like big sister Timberyard’s wine list, Montrose House’s wine list is created with ethical production in mind, sourcing wine from smaller, independent wine producers. Ben Radford says all the wines are 'capsule free and showcase indigenous varieties from all corners of Europe'.