A 1-Michelin star experience for a very decent price in Leith: Restaurant The Kitchin (12. October 2024)

What you find at The Kitchin is a selection of different food options for lunch, ranging from a fully immersive tasting menu experience, which I decided to skip due to the fact that I already had something nice booked for the evening, to a bit shorter lunch menu. In any case, the lunch started with a “nice little amuse bouche”, which was getting your palate started.

Then it was time for some “bread & butter”, which was specifically nice since the bread was still warm. And the butter was rich and enjoyable.

Then, it was time for a next amuse bouche based on beetroot, which was actually quite lovely, and I liked the fact that it was light in terms of texture and flavour.

I ultimately decided to go for the “4-Course set lunch” (GBP 75.50) and got it accompanied by a “4-Course Wine Package” (GBP 43.75). The lunch started with the “Shellfish (West Coast shellfish gyoza, shellfish consommé, kaffir lime)”, which was looking lovely, but was, frankly, a bit too dry for my personal gusto, so, it was not an entirely fulminant start as I had hoped for.

Next in line was the “Black Pudding (steamed potato and black pudding dumpling, spinach and horseradish velouté, apple, caper)”, which looked interesting since you weren’t really able to see anything of the black pudding, since it was full covered in potato, but once you would break open the potato and mix it with the velouté, the apple bits and the capers, it would really turn into a flavourful mix of emotions, so, the second dish was definitely an improvement compared to the one before.

As a main course, I had the “lamb (Pithivier of Free Company Farm lamb, parsley root, lamb jus)”, which was surprisingly good. Too often, lamb tastes so much like lamb that it becomes unenjoyable, but this was definitely not the case here, since the lamb was smooth and didn’t have its very own intensive lamb taste. And the combination with the parsley roots actually added quite a bit to the balancing of the dish.

For dessert, I picked the “Caramel & Whiskey (baked caramel and Glenfiddich, 15-year-old whisky tart, caramelised Monkton pear, chestnut, vanilla ice cream)” where I was a bit sceptical at first due to the whisky, but given I definitely felt like trying something very local, I had to go for this. And I must say that the combination of the sweetness of the caramel, the sweet pickled pears and the roughness of the whisky taste together made for a great finish.

What I absolutely loved was the “map with the ingredients”, where they would show you which ingredients came from where in Scotland, and more so since all the ingredients seemed to stem from the United Kingdom. Frankly, this was lovely to see.

The staff is superbly friendly, very attentive, and makes sure you have everything you need and want within a very reasonable amount of time. There is definitely one thing you need to be aware of, which is to book your table well in advance, as the place was absolutely crowded and there were even two seatings for some tables, which I found quite surprising.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant The Kitchin

Commercial Quay 78

Leith

EH6 6LX Edinburgh (UK)

Tel.: +44 13 15 55 17 55

E-Mail: info@thekitchin.com

Homepage: http://www.thekitchin.com

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.