The Boyfriend and I always like do do something every year to mark the date we went on our first ever date and since this year marked five years we decided to go the extra mile and had a little mini break in Edinburgh. I will write another post about that later but first I have to share with you the amazing restaurant we visited for our anniversary meal. I first stumbled across Angels with Bagpipes whilst browsing through Open Table looking for food inspiration for our trip but then when it was also recommended by a friend who’s a native of Edinburgh it went straight to the top of my list.
Angels with Bagpipes has a small and intimate dining room and therefore the whole place felt very romantic. Staff provided a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and were extremely knowledgable in recommending dishes from the menu and telling us about the special dishes and special cocktails on offer.
To kick off our meal The Boyfriend went straight in there for the Scottish classics and tried the Haggis, neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes to the rest of us!) and whilst this was on my list of things to try while in Bonny Scotland, I chose the goats cheese starter because it sounded amazing! The goats cheese was served almost like a panna cotta with a verjus foam, beetroot shard and a walnut and poppy seed crumb with salad leaves. I have to say it was one of the most excellently balance dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating both in terms of flavour and texture. Each element was so clever and held it’s own whilst also blending beautifully with each of the other ingredients. This is one of those incredible dishes that you remember for a long time and I’d love to try recreating it although I think there are more than a few cherry techniques I would need to teach myself first.
For the main course we decided to share the Chateaubriand which was quite exciting as, despite being a restaurant classic, it’s something I had never ordered before. We chose a selection of sides including garlicky wild mushrooms, green beans with garlic and shallots and chips and we tried both the peppercorn and garlic butter sauces. Even though there was an exceptional amount of garlic, I loved it! I preferred the garlic butter sauce over the peppercorn although both were great and the steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, just how I like it. I love sharing dishes and this felt like a real feast!
Somehow I still had room for dessert and for me it had to be panna cotta. Flavoured with whisky and served with pistachio, honey and raspberry I was really intrigued by the flavour combinations. The Boyfriend went for the banana, almond and Tonka bean cheesecake, which looked beautiful but banana desserts aren’t really my thing. Whilst I’m not the biggest whisky fan, the taste of my panna cotta was beautiful as it was so delicate yet definitively whisky flavoured. Paired with the crunchy pistachios and raspberry there was almost a breakfast type vibe about the whole dish, albeit a very indulgent one!
What I loved most about the food at Angels with Bagpipes is that each dish was so carefully considered. This was a really well thought out menu and you can tell the chefs really loved the food they were making. All of the front of house staff too knew exactly what was in each dish and explained them as they were served. I really feel like a lot of care and attention was poured into every element of the dining experience in this restaurant and I would go back again and again.
Angels with Bagpipes is absolutely the top of my list of places to recommend to anyone visiting this beautiful city and I will absolutely be going back to visit even if it is just to eat here again!
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