The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell has no doubt that chef Tomás Gormley “has a deft and skilful touch”, which shines through in his “innovative delivery of a lobster”, hidden under hollandaise with pink fir apple potatoes cooked over charcoal, and in his transformation of “tough old dairy cow into a plate of
tender and sumptuous wonder”.
But his new restaurant – all “black walls, black tables, black chairs and only the odd splash of colour” – leaves William struggling to see, while the “relentless assault” of a 16-course set menu that takes three hours to work your way through is mentally and physically exhausting.
“I don’t need – nobody needs – 16 courses, not even if hungry or very
hungry.”
The Times
Chitra Ramaswamy was swept away by Tomas Gormley’s new spot – all “black frontage, black interiors, low lighting, sexy tunes, and hip youthful staff who know everything about everything”. It’s “one of Edinburgh’s most exciting new restaurants”, offering a set 16 courses using top-quality local produce and paired with outstanding low-intervention drinks, “from a chef under 30 who only opened his first restaurant in the capital three years ago”.
Highlights included “the greatest fried chicken known to hipster-kind” and an “outstanding beremeal, ginger and wasabi mousse which is as long in the finish and short in the eating as a sweet gets”. Among the few duff notes was a Belhaven smoked lobster, “a nod to the irreproachable home smoked lobster at Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, where Gormley has done a stint” – “it’s good and rich”, but “it can’t compete with its Gleneagles inspiration. Then again, what can?”
Chitra Ramaswamy - 2024-05-19
