Having spent the afternoon at Edinburgh Zoo, I didn’t think anything could top seeing the giant pandas at close quarters.
But I was wrong.
I had yet to have dinner at 21212, the curiously-named restaurant with rooms owned by Michelin-star chef Paul Kitching and his partner, Katie O’Brien.
Finding the restaurant on Royal Terrace proved a tad tricky as despite following a map, I couldn’t locate it. Heads up – look for Blenheim Place as it leads on to Royal Terrace.
Any frustration felt dissolved after we stepped inside the stunning Georgian townhouse which has been beautifully restored at a cost of more than £4.5million.
It’s got the ‘wow” factor with traditional fixtures and fittings teamed with contemporary design, sumptuous fabrics and creative artwork which quietly shout luxury.
I was staying the night, so after checking in to a gorgeous bedroom with enormous en-suite bathroom, made my way to the elegant drawing room on the first floor for pre-dinner drinks.
Canopies, and a refreshing gin and tonic sipped while my guest and I took in the views across the city, put us in a relaxing mood.
The ground-floor restaurant is effortlessly elegant with beautifully-dressed tables, unusually-shaped cutlery and sparkling glasses.
Dinner here costs £65 a head, and thanks to Paul’s imagination and skill, is akin to a theatrical experience of the variety that demands several curtain calls.
A glass wall separates the restaurant and kitchen where Paul and his seven-strong team work quietly away putting the finishing touches to dishes – the real hard work is done in another kitchen, so there’s no shouting or clattering of pans to disturb diners.
Our friendly waitress talked us through the menu and explained 21212 refers to the choice of two starters, followed by one soup, two mains, one cheese board and choice of two sweets.
The menu lists the complex list of ingredients for each dish.
My starter, Scottish meat feast, had tender fillet of slow-cooked beef, Bayonne ham, black pudding, sausage, Chorizo, French salami, barley and haggis, vegetables, Parmentier potatoes, savoy cabbage, coriander and argon oil, date and HP fruity sauce.
It sounded overwhelming but in reality, it was a beautifully-presented bowl filled with bite-size flavours which complemented each other while creating a surprise with every mouthful.
My guest’s smoked salmon was unlike any salmon dish we’d tasted. Gently-smoked salmon and haddock with zingy broken lemon tart crust, chives and leeks, feta cheese, soft cous cous and a hint of heat from a Meaux mustard and saffron sauce.
The fun part was holding each forkful in the mouth for a few seconds, trying to work out how many flavours could be identified.
To follow, we had another show-stopper: soup served in an espresso-sized cup but with mug-sized flavours.
Layers of vegetable puree, spicy curried vegetables and carrot foam – with a Marmite and yoghurt biscuit on the side for good measure.
Paul, who moved to Edinburgh with his partner Katie, who hails from Fochabers and whose mum lives at Findochty, began his career at the age of 20 and says he knew instinctively that being a chef was for him.
We were glad he’d taken this route as we were loving the unexpected combinations and deep thought he’d given to each dish.
For mains, I chose halibut ratatouille while my guest chose the all-white pork winter supper.
The pork may be pinkish in the centre, advised the waitress, before assuring us it was fully cooked, just slowly done.
The pork, a fillet of Cumbrian Old Spot, was melt-in-the-mouth sweet and tender and came with small pieces of smoked bacon, glazed gammon and a host of all-white winter vegetables along with zarella cheese, mushrooms and oats hand-baked egg and crushed black peppercorn sauce.
It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but rest assured, it does.
My slow-baked halibut was superb and while I’d never have served a hot, spicy jumbo prawn with this gentle flavoured fish, they were spectacularly good together.
The same could be said for the tomato and horseradish cream, hazelnuts and saffron pancake, which helped create a fish dish like no other.
I should mention here the extensive wine list which also has wines available by the glass. Following recommendation from the sommelier, I had a crisp glass of New Zealand Gruner Veltiner and my guest a fruity Argentinean Mendoza.
Following French tradition, the cheese board came next.
Top marks to the waitress for remembering full details of all 12 cheeses served, ranging from soft and creamy brie to pungent blues, served with home-made biscuits and chunks of dried, sweet pears.
Before tucking into dessert we had an unusual palate cleanser – a teeny paper cup containing sweet porridge-soaked milk poured from a cow-shaped milk jug.
For dessert, I chose chocolate, fruit and nuts, a lovely milk and white chocolate brulee which, along with being super creamy, contained slivers of Snickers, popcorn, almond, currants, Horlicks, cottage cheese and vanilla.
That’s right – cottage cheese. Another unusual ingredient but which added a hint of saltiness and stopped it being overly sweet.
The layer winter trifle with ginger and banana was another dream dessert with praline and brazil nut oatmeal and fig, date and apricot compote making this a trifle like no other.
I said earlier, dining here was akin to a theatrical experience – it’s also one that deserves thunderous cries of Encore.
21212, 3 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh. Phone 0131 523 1030 or visit www.21212 restaurant.co.uk