GETAWAYS • Edinburgh
Each of Stuart Ralston’s restaurants in Edinburgh is worth visiting — Tipo for pasta, Aizle for seasonal fine dining, Noto for eclectic Asian-inspired sharing plates. But Ralston’s crown jewel is also his newest, Lyla, which has occupied an elegant Georgian townhouse in the Scottish capital for the last year.
The experience starts in the wide-ceilinged, first-floor drawing room with a glimpse of fridges where meat, line-caught turbot, and fist-size scallops are aging. A Krug champagne trolley rocks up, then it’s straight into snacks: a flat disc of Alp blossom cheese, onion, and quince that tastes like a posh Mini Cheddar, and a burst-in-the-mouth tartlet of cured sea bream topped with Exmoor caviar.
Then it’s down to the main dining room, a formal setup with crisp tablecloths and a view of the open kitchen at one end. The first bite comes with Lyla’s signature cocktail, a stunning samphire martini, also available as an excellent non-alcoholic (Seedlip) version. Then we work through a series of seafood-focused dishes like Scottish langoustine with burnt apple, and the aforementioned giant hand-dived scallop, cooked and topped with N25 caviar and sauce choron. While the majority is fish-focused, there’s a show-stopping wagyu main, which arrives with a choice of Japanese knives from a wooden box.
Service is discreet — there’s nothing performative — with the emphasis on the outstanding food. Lyla trends classic and formal where style and aesthetics are concerned, but the menu itself is modern if not boundary-pushing, and at the heart of one of the more special meals you can have in Edinburgh. –Laura Price
→ Lyla (Edinburgh) • No. 3 Royal Terr • Wed-Sat 7-8p, Fri-Sat 1230-130p • £165 per • Reserve.