Highly regarded Edinburgh chef Stuart Ralston is to open an ambitious seafood restaurant in the Royal Terrace premises of the late Paul Kitching’s 21212, which closed down earlier this year following the latter’s sudden death.

Paul’s widow, Katie O’Brien, said she and her team were devastated by Paul’s passing. She continues to operate the venue’s four boutique rooms, and invited Stuart to take up the restaurant.

Stuart said Paul had always been an inspiration to him. “When Katie offered it to me, I just wanted to make sure that I would create a restaurant that I think he would be proud of.”

21212 was a leading light in the Edinburgh dining scene from its opening in 2009, winning high ratings in the Harden’s Guide for Paul’s “wonderfully exciting food” in an “elegant” setting.

Stuart has emerged in the past 10 years as one of Edinburgh’s most accomplished chefs with his “outstandingly good and inventive cooking” at his restaurant Aizle, which has been joined in recent years by Noto and Tipo.

The new venture, to be called Lyla, will entertain just 28 guests a night with a 10-course tasting menu billed as “an ode to produce from the Scottish Isles” and priced at £145 a head.

Stuart said: “This restaurant will be unapologetically fine-dining, marrying classical elements of service and experience with dishes that l am really proud of. This restaurant will be a culmination of everything I have learned over the years and everything I love to cook and eat.”

Lyla is set to launch in October, with a single evening sitting from Wednesdays to Saturdays.