Review: The Riparian Rooms

After much anticipation from myself and my girlfriend - The Riparian Rooms, a restaurant and bar situated on the corner of Broughton Street and East London Street, finally opened its doors on Friday 30th January. We live relatively near by, and our walk up into town often meant we passed the 'under-renovation' location - often excitedly peering in to see whether we could see what was to open. It was eventually revealed that The Riparian Rooms was to be a unique venue serving honest Scottish food - they certainly were not giving much away, therefore it was completely necessary to try it out as soon as we could. I booked the restaurant for dinner on opening night, and the excitement grew.

A cosy atmosphere in the new restaurant.

We were welcomed warmly by the head waiter and shown to our table. Once we saw the menu it became clear what type of cuisine we were about to enjoy - they use predominantly Scottish ingredients, serving traditional dishes and recipes - such as Cullen Skink and venison loin - with an added finesse. But first, the wine. The list was extensive and clearly carefully chosen - each listed wine had a detailed description next to it, making it a simple job to choose a wine with flavours you enjoy. We went for the Bodegas LAN Rioja Crianza (£29.50) - a beautifully smooth and oaky red which was thoroughly enjoyed throughout the meal. If the other wines on the list were to match the obvious quality of this one, we're in for a treat. It was a great start to the evening, and we were ready for the food.

As difficult as it was to pick one of the delicious sounding starters, we eventually managed it - going for the venison loin salad with Isle of Mull cheddar (£7.25) and the crispy pumpkin bites with Dunsyre Blue cheese, sage butter and caramelised almonds (£6.50). First of all - the starters were beautifully presented, it was clear that it was not only food on the plate, but a piece of art that had been carefully constructed by someone with a real talent. The venison loin was delicate yet flavourful - boosted by the strong, salty flavours introduced by the Isle of Mull cheddar. The crisp salad leaves added a much needed freshness to the dish, finished off by the sweet flavour of the hazelnuts. The crispy pumpkin bites were perfectly cooked and bursting full of flavour, balanced excellently by the comparably salty blue cheese. The sage butter added a much needed bitterness to the overall flavour to the dish, creating quite an exciting mix of flavours. They also did not skimp on the blue cheese - there was plenty to match the amount of pumpkin, demonstrating that this restaurant is more focused on creating delicious dishes, rather than economical ones. Overall, they were brilliantly balanced and light - instead of filling you up, these starters tickled your tastebuds, preparing you for the rest of the meal rather than making your main course an unconquerable mountain of food. As planned, we were more than ready for the next course.

Venison loin salad

Crispy pumpkin bites with Dunsyre Blue

For the main course, we ordered the slow braised oxtail with roast garlic potato and kale (£12.95) and The Riparian Room burger (£11.50). Now, if you're a fan of braised meat, you would go mad for this oxtail. The meat was cooked to absolute perfection - it simply needed the slightest coaxing for it to fall off the bone and it melted in the mouth. The natural, deep taste of the oxtail was on show here, and the chef clearly knew that the bare minimum had to be done to this ingredient due to its already incredible flavours. It was paired with a couple of simple sides that were done brilliantly. The mashed potato was perfectly smooth and seasoned well, while the vibrantly green kale was buttery with a bit of bite to it. It was also covered in a deeply intense gravy which was absolutely delicious. A must try if you decide to go.

The burger was equally as well done. Beautifully presented and accompanied with salad, chips and coleslaw, the flavour and texture of the patty was something to savour. It was clearly good quality beef, as it had an almost creamy texture to it and was still slightly pink. The soft brioche bun was slathered with mustard, the chips were well seasoned and the homemade coleslaw was incredible. A simple dish - but done extremely well, which shows real talent in the kitchen.

Braised oxtail with potato and kale

The Riparian Room burger

After such a spectacular culinary expedition, we were obliged to get dessert (any excuse). We thought we'd wait a wee bit before ordering, and the waitress was happy to let us do this, making sure to not rush us. After a bit of mulling, we went for the peanut butter parfait with roasted rum banana (£4.95) and salted caramel and dark chocolate bar (£4.95). The parfait had a great peanut butter flavour to it, and the rum banana was brilliantly boozy - however it was straight out the freezer, and was relatively difficult to cut into (but this was probably just me being impatient). The chocolate bar was basically an upgraded millionaire shortbread (a billionaire shortbread?!?!) - we all know of the wonder of salted caramel, opening up the sweetness of the rest of the dessert. It was quite rich, so the accompaniment of vanilla ice cream offered welcome respite. The desserts were so beautifully presented and looked so tasty, in fact, that I completely forgot to take pictures - however that may have been the red wine.

After we had finished our food, we decided to 'burrow below' and see what the underground bar looked like. The restaurant upstairs is elegant and sharp, but the bar is more cavernous, with bare sandstone walls on show and low ceilings. A fantastic place to set up camp on a cold winter's night. After studying the cocktail list for a while, we decided to go for a 'Curious Collins' (gin, elderflower, lemon and cucumber - £6.95) and a 'Icelandic Fiasco' (gin, grapefruit, lemon, cucumber, basil, celery - £6.95). Two excellent cocktails packed full of flavour and certainly on a par to those you can find in the established cocktail bars in Edinburgh.

Delicious cocktails

So, overall, The Riparian Rooms is an absolutely fantastic culinary experience. The food was top notch, and the service was second to none (which is hugely impressive on an opening night). I would recommend this restaurant for dinner on a special occasion - while not being overly expensive, it was not cheap (but completely worth it). Most importantly, this is a restaurant that takes local produce and cooks it perfectly, making the natural flavours the star of the show. Nothing is convoluted or hidden, the dishes are simplistic yet clever. As beautifully presented as they were, there is no doubt that flavour was the most important aspect of our dishes - and that makes this diner very happy. So if you're an Edinburgh local that wants to try something new, or if you're visiting and you fancy a try of some impressive Scottish cuisine, try The Riparian Rooms - you will not be disappointed.


Restaurant information:

The Riparian Rooms
7-11 East London Street
Tel. No: 0131 556 6102
e-mail: reservations@theriparianrooms.co.uk