Last week we ventured over to the West End of town to visit Grazing on the first floor of the magnificent Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
I felt slightly out of place and underdressed in such a swish hotel despite making an effort and going smart casual for the occasion but after being seated and having a look at the menu my nerves began to ease as we looked forward to taking in all that was on offer.
To start we had a glass of champagne served with the Mark's Snacks which was a small selection of canapes presented on a wooden tray with a glass top and plants inside.
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These all tasted divine but my favourite was the sharp Tartare canape with a rich and tangy tomato sauce. One aspect of tasting menus I always appreciate is being able to go in with no stress of making any decisions and being presented with an array of dishes you wouldn't normally go for.
The whole menu is curated to focus on locally sourced produce and is named Chef Mark's 100 Mile Menu with every ingredient located within 100 miles of the Edinburgh restaurant including Perthside lamb, fish from Arbroath and meringue from Edinburgh.
At £75 per person, you get four dishes each served with a cocktail designed to compliment the dish.
For the starter, we were presented with the Arbroath Smokie Tart paired with a fresh martini and instead of the classic gin or vodka martini, the Scottish twist on the concoction included Nc’ Nean Wild Botanical Spirit, pea and mint vermouth with a drop of mint oil.
The powerful smokiness from the haddock combined with the delicate broad beans and peas were delicious and an after-punch of flavour from the curried cauliflower custard made this dish my favourite from the menu and a strong start.
Next, it was straight into a hearty main course where we had a Perthshire lamb loin and carrot puree. The lamb was cooked beautifully rare each slice melted in your mouth. It was paired with a white onion filled with Sheperd's Pie which I thought was an odd addition to the dish and didn't do it any favours.
It was still a well-presented but the paired cocktail stole the show as we were served a rich Amarosa with Amarose Sweet Vermouth, Pinot Noir and Rosemary.
The fruity but sharp wine-based cocktail was excellent with the lamb - I just wish the whole of this course had brought my palette the same joy as the drink did.
After two savoury courses, the next two were desserts both were quite similar dishes, berry-based twists on classic desserts but nonetheless, they were both delicious.
The portion size was perfect, especially after having three courses before and were not overly sweet but presented more intricate flavours which I loved.
First, we had a raspberry sorbet with Edinburgh honey meringues and fresh Perthshire cream - which in my opinion you can't really go wrong with.
To follow was a summer strawberry and elderflower cheesecake paired with a strawberry highball with strawberry-infused Nc'Nean Whisky and elderflower foam.
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The puddings were great but the last two cocktails were overly sweet and a tad sickly when paired with the already fruity desserts.
Overall it was an interesting menu and a really nice experience to try something different than going to one of our regular haunts for date night but for £75 I would be expecting a little bit more of a wow factor and preferably wine served with the courses instead of cocktails.
You can find out more and book here.
