The Kitchin

When I heard this 1 star michelin restaurant offered lunch deals for £26 I knew I had to book myself in… SO here it is 3 years on, I have hinted my husband to take me there to celebrate my birthdays, and every year I love the experience and beg to come back for another year. The service is impeccable, sometimes it almost feel like there is actually more staff than customers. Everyone there takes time to talk you through the menu, where the food is from (you even get to leave with a map of where the food has been sourced from). Tim Kitchin on every occasion I visited was spotted working away in the kitchen, a good sign as the food was to die for at each visits. When you expect a 3 course meal and in fact it comes with loads of extra, such as a freshly made loaf of bread, just out of the oven, amuse bouche and a consume before your starter, that’s what I call a lovely surprise. The portions are not small, just perfect and I must say I am not a shy eater! The menu is always conscientious to provide veg and meat which are seasonal, the presentation is just pure art and I always feel silly as I am busy taking picture of my food in such a well to do environment! Haha I do recall trying to take pictures whilst pretending I was texting so it wouldn’t look so obvious, to be fair I’m sure nobody would have cared but I felt a little self conscious!
The only thing negative I would say about the place is the price tag on their drinks, a glass of wine can cost easily the price of a bottle of wine in your local pub. I’m lucky I am not a wine snob, despite being french and all so I can comtempt myself with water or just a glass. That being said if you want to go for the full experience they offer deals which include a glass of wine for each courses which are being carefully selected by a sommelier.
My ultimate favourite places in town, be aware the place is fully booked fairly quickly and you often have to book month in advance.

We tried ‘the chef’ s special’ several days ago. Great restaurant, my dad and my mum were satisfied with the dishes and services. The only drawback is that we had to wait for a long time to get the next dishes”.

Michelin one star? Me thinks not.
Any star from the Michelin Guide denotes a restaurant that delivers an unparalleled dining experience. From the sophistication of the food, its presentation, setting and service. All should be near flawless and representative of the culture.
The Kitchin prides itself on outstanding sourcing of ingredients but combined in a way that makes none stand out. Perhaps it is the intended goal, but having tried numerous «regular» eateries in Scotland prior to the Michelin meal, I never experienced blended flavors. Don’t get me wrong, the food is plenty good just uncharacteristic of a restaurants so dedicated to ingredients.
The meal opens with an assortment of crisp flat bread wafers with a creamy bleu cheese dip. Some with laver, others with squid ink. A fun opening act.
The prestarter, a small serving of seafood veloute with raw root veg and bright acidity ready’s the palate for more.
To the starters. Gigas oysters prepared six ways. Raw, outstanding and showcasing the incredible clean flavor. Cooked as a Rockefeller, smoked, cut up and mixed with root veg, in a Asian sauce, etc were good on their own but the subtle goodness of the oyster is lost. A hand dived Orkney scallop baked in shell with white wine, vermouth and a wild herb, butter sauce, vibrant and sweet. Steaming keeps the scallop tender. Somewhat over seasoned.
For mains, a very good monkfish tail wrapped in pancetta, served with barely cooked through squid, pan roasted potatoes, foraged mushrooms and scallion with a seaweed sauce. The Scottish affinity for pairing mushrooms with Seafood continues to impress in its ability to bring out the natural flavors. The only weakness, the pancetta overpowers the delicate fish.
The lobster stuffed with squid, pancetta, assorted squash and braised fennel, and finished with an escargot butter, outstanding. Incredible sweetness harmonizes perfectly with the anise flavor of the fennel. The escargot butter’s richness and slight earthiness adds incredible back flavors and surprising umame. Incredible.
The only true mistake, the lobster «risotto». Sweet, perfectly cooked lobster claw and tail served in a «risotto» of potato in a VERY salty seafood broth. Impossible to eat. Dish sent back and a replacement, simple, off the menu lobster dish replaced it.
A richly flavored pistachio soufflé with chocolate ganache and chocolate chip ice cream, whisky, and petit fours rounds out the meal.
Service; German efficiency. Never slowing, never stopping. Friendly but not providing the relaxed atmosphere one expects for a 3 hour meal.
The wine list is good but lacks in vintage depth. Prices are very fair with the average bottle price £100.
Overall, reasonable, with dinner for three inclusive of drinks and service, £490.
Three month advance booking required. Credit card to warranty reservation.
Somewhat disappointed by the hype. Eclipsed by the chef’s other Michelin eatery, Castle Terrace.

Went for an anniversary treat and was not disappointed! Service excellent and everything we tried with the chef’s special was exquisite in taste, combinations, and well thought out. They even made tasty variations for my shellfish allergy! We were waited on by at least 5 servers and it was definitely a dining «experience» over 4 hours and never felt rushed! Would definitely recommend for a special occasion (or more frequently if you can afford it!!)

We’d had a couple of disappointing lunches a couple of years ago at The Kitchin (too much fussing at table, rude sommelier, poor value etc) and so haven’t been for a while, but been keen to check out their recent expansion and refurb and found an excuse to go for dinner recently.
The dining room is unrecognisable and the best I’ve ever eaten in. Beautiful, comfy and cosy yet clean and slick, with a good wee buzz that increased as time went by and it filled up. There were a LOT of staff members milling about but we never felt over-​served and they delivered to us delicious wine and simply stunning food. I went for mackerel tartare; looked like a beautiful wee garden on the plate; and the wagyu. It’s £75 for that main course (we were unashamedly spoiling ourselves). I’ve never tried wagyu — I tell you what, whether that chef just cooked it the way he did or the famed meat is really sooooo good, that dish was one of the best I’ve ever eaten. I had a wee tear in my eye from joy… sad, but that’s what it did to me! My dining partner was as pleased with her plates and we declared ourselves fans again.
The bathrooms are also the loveliest and the bar area a great space. The bill, blah blah bleuch… What something is ‘worth’ is different for everyone. Our bill could have been double and I’d still have said it was worth it.
Kitchin is hot on the heels of Andrew Fairlie’s for making our favourite meal of all time, and we can’t wait to go back!

This was our honeymoon trip to the UK so we wanted to check out a few incredible places and this one did not let us down.
I called to confirm our reservation only to find out that I had wrote the wrong time down, luckily they found us an earlier time. The exterior and interior of the Kitchin was amazing, very modern and nice. The staff as expected was pleasant and professional and quickly sat us. At these places I usually let the staff pick our food or if they have a seasonal selection I usually go the route. Well they did, Chef Seasonal Selection which mainly comprised of seafood and one meat dish.
Next was picking wine and their sommelier was very helpful since picking French wine is definitely not my forte. He was very knowledgeable and even came an offered me a selection of red during my meat course, since we picked a bottle of white for the table.
The food came out and everything was amazing. Again mainly seafood and the presentation was top notch. The wine pairing made this whole event one of the best. After dinner was complete, they offered us to have a seat in their lounge for after-​dinner drinks or tea/​coffee. We of course wanted to take the whole experience in and since we were cabbing it, I picked a rare scotch. To end a perfect meal, Tom Kitchin came out and chatted with us for a while, which definitely made our evening.
Lastly a few things to note, if you have not dined in French/​European high-​end restaurant then be warned that portions are on the smaller side and you can finish your meal and still be hungry. This was not us, I needed to walk home after this one.

I was given a gift voucher for Christmas for a tasting menu with wine experience at big Tam’s, so was really looking forwards to visiting for lunch. I was not disappointed — it was a truly memorable experience.
The service is top notch from the get-​go. I’d been in touch in advance to confirm some dietary requirements — they could not have been more accommodating. Everything was taken care of with no fuss.
The food, as you’d expect, was delicious. The attention to detail is exceptional. I don’t want to spoil it too much, as it’s really a great experience, but have included pictures of what we were served — the apple crumble soufflé was an absolute triumph!

The Kitchin has been on my to do list for a long time. 2 reasons for this: first it is difficult to get a table on popular days and secondly the prices. To circumvent point one you just visit in person And ask if anything is available. Their website states it is fully booked most if the time, but people will cancel! the secondary point is more a case of can you afford it.
We had a table on a Friday evening 18:30. We were advised the table was booked again at 20:45. That should’ve been enough time allotted for a good meal.
We opted for the 7 course tasting meal. I did advised the restaurant in advance about the allergies i have. They fully accommodated me! we added a Lobster course.
The food was amazing, no complaints. The service was good, too good. it seems there was no set table allocation structure, thus we got several times different waiters asking us the same questions. At least no waiting around for service! One thing is about the wine, a decent bottle is £60! no real cheaper options, as wine by the glass is around £11 each.
We noticed it was about 21:15 when we should get our coffees, we were asked if we wanted to take these in the bar. No problem.
In all a very pleasant evening, but I’d suggest a lunch time appointment, as it will be cheaper and you get a taste of the atmosphere. we’ll be back in August for that.

By far the service and food are a step above. Several people in my party had to catch flights and staff went far and above to meet the time retirements. The food was wonderful, the hake for lunch was the best I have ever eaten.
Well done!!!

Originally posted on my blog — long review coming!
The Kitchin is based in Leith, and is run by famous chef Tom Kitchin. It was opened in 2006 and received its Michelin star within 6 months of opening. The ethos of the whole dining experience is that the food is fresh and local; at one point in our meal, we were given a small map of Scotland which pinpointed exactly where all the elements of each dish had been sourced from. Often, shopping locally and seasonally results in superior flavours, so this excited me!
My friends and I settled into the festively decorated and cosy space with high expectations. After a few weeks of salivating over their set lunch menu options, I was eager to get munching! We placed our orders with the extremely knowledgeble and attentive staff (who all appeared to be French!) and stared hungrily through a glass window showing the inner workings of the kitchen.
We didn’t have to wait long; we were presented with long, thin sheets of flavoured crackers with a creamy buckwheat dip, home made bread and creamy butter and a creamy, beetroot flavoured amuse bouche to entice our palates. A feast before our starters had even arrived!
I’m glad I didn’t have that third slice of bread and left room for the delicious Gurnard Tartare. The rich fish and olive oil base was offset nicely by the sharp hit of the radishes, and if I had not been in a Michelin Starred public arena I probably would have licked my plate clean. Somehow managed to restrain myself until my plate was removed…
Is there anything better than pork belly? Well, yes. Pork belly that doesn’t break a tooth — THANK YOU Tom Kitchin! The julienned apple, moist pork meat and creamy polenta that married this dish were certainly delicious, but the star was that perfect chunk of salty pork belly, that had satisfying crunch without requiring a dentist appointment afterwards. By this point, I was feeling the effects of the surprisingly generous portions — extremely satisfied, but nearing stuffed. Uh oh.
But no matter how full my stomach was, there was no way I was going to miss out on this decadent dessert, combining coffee ice cream (an obvious choice for a coffee blogger?) with a rich, gooey chocolate financier. A chocolate lovers nirvana; I showed much less self control with this course, and the plate was scraped entirely clean.
I can’t quite believe we got all of this amazingly delicious and quality food for around £30 a head. With beautifully presented plates, fresh flavours and entirely local ingredients, The Kitchin gets 5 stars from me on all fronts. I can’t wait to go back!

Went with 3 of my guy friends. Good atmosphere to the restaurant. Waitress was very nice. Wine list was incredible. Tom kitchen wasn’t there that night and the standard of the food noticeably dropped from my previous visit. We mentioned that one of the courses was under-​seasoned and they gave us a complementary cheese board which was delicious. Very nice touch. All and all it was very enjoyable.
We asked for a taxi at the end of the night. When the taxi arrived they forgot to tell us and as a result when we got in the taxi the guy had £10 on the meter. The taxi driver then locked us in the cab while he went in to clarify with the receptionist. As a result they came out and paid the £10 to clear the bill. Unfortunately this left us with a disappointing end to a fun night.
3 star is fair. Will go back

The service was flawless. Kudos to those in the front end.
We had the three course tasting menu with wine pairings. This is an excellent meal and quite reasonably priced.
Warning — reserve months in advance. It will be worth the effort.
A must-​do in Edinburgh.

Really, just perfect. It’s effortless — the staff are so pleasant, the food is wonderful, the entire experience is just fantastic.
We had the set 3-​course lunch (a bargain at £28 — this is a Michelin star restaurant for goodness sake!). You start with some crudités while perusing the menu. There are only 3 choices but even so, it’s difficult to pick. Before your starter comes out, there’s an amuse bouche to get you in the mood and some of the nicest sourdough bread I’ve ever tasted. They’re very proud of their Scottish food and they gave us a little map of Scotland rolled up and tied with a ribbon which highlights where in the country they source their ingredients. We went for the matched wine package with our lunch and it’s brilliant — you get a different glass of wine with each course and each wine is matched to your food. And it really works — even the dessert wine, which I’m not usually a fan of, was lovely with the right dessert.
The food is brilliant — it’s stylish but not fussy; beef, lamb, seafood — all cooked perfectly by somebody who is obviously passionate about good Scottish food. The reason I love the place so much though is that it’s so relaxed and easy going — doesn’t feel like a «posh» restaurant despite the impeccable service and faultless food. It’s like they’re so good, they don’t need to be pretentious about it.
The matched wine package will add another £25 to your lunch. We ended up around £57 each — that’s crudités, bread, an amuse bouche, three fantastic courses of lunch, three matched glasses of wine (or two cocktails for the one who doesn’t drink wine), then coffee and petit fours to finish. Not an everyday lunch, but definitely worth treating yourself now and again.

The kitchin is a must if you are in Edinburgh. Having seen Kitchin on masterchef, I was intrigued.
Everything on his menu is sourced from Scotland, and they even bring you a little map of Scotland in the beginning showing where the ingredients were from.
Presentation and food were beautiful — full of color and much thought to the dishes. Fortunately it was grouse season when I was visiting (October 2013) so I tried it for the first time as my main dish. It was fantastic– cooked perfectly and juicy, I don’t know if I’ve ever had anything better. The ceps starter was amazing as well — perfectly seasoned to bring out the taste of the mushroom. The berry tart dessert was a great way to end the meal.
The best part was at the end when tom himself came out to introduce himself to us. Even though he’s become well known, he really seems like a down to earth kinda guy. The whole time I also noticed he was in the kitchen with food preparation and making sure everything was perfect.
I wouldn’t hesitate to return, I had an outstanding experience.

First time in a Michelin Star restaurant for a set lunch. When we arrived we were given some fresh vegetables and hummus in the waiting lounge area as we had to wait for a friend. We were then escorted to our table and after we ordered, they gave us an amuse bouche which was something jelly like with bits of vegetables & chicken. Had bone marrow as a starter and it was even better than the one I had in Paris. Woodcock (£15 supplement) for main. Thought it would be a bigger portion but the melt in out mouth texture just justifies the price. Had chocolate and icecream for desert and they were just right and not too sweet. During coffee, there were also some smaller bits of sweets and the macaroons were to die for. Just too good and I will definitely come back again.

HOLY CRAP THIS PLACE IS AWESOME.
Food, wine, service (even the French staff) — all fantastic!
Did the tasting menu with matching wine and we were happily stuffed full of food and rolled to a waiting taxi (after meeting Tom) at the end of the night. Small things like a map from where in the country produce was sourced and a copy of the tasting menu itself were nice little touches which weren’t required but definitely welcomed.
Definitely coming back.

Rating on the overall restaurant experience, which is what we go on our Lunchquest site, The Kitchin scores pretty highly, because the place is lovely and the service is slick. But when purely considering the food on offer, it can’t score anything higher than two stars, as I’ve experience better; MUCH better. My starter and main courses were decidely ordinary; nowhere near Michelin star quality. Extremely disappointing.
Overall, we said: «The Kitchin is a super-​stylish place, with excellent attentive service, serving neatly presented dishes. They don’t taste very good, though, making the overall experience completely forgettable. It left me entirely cold.»

So glad I came here with my family. I am not a big fan of haute cuisine anymore, too much showing off and combining of strange flavours, for me, so I was a bit apprehensive.
The Kitchen shows that you can take cooking to a higher level using local ingredients, keep the flavours individual and still have Michelin star food.
I thought the costs were very competitive for the quality and would highly recommend anyone going for any occasion.

Wow, Kitchin blew me away. The dining room was elegant but still bright. Service was very friendly except for the French staff who were sterile and highly efficient yet still professional as can only expected from a French server. The most refreshing part of Kitchin was actually seeing Tom Kitchin in the kitchen with his hands in the food; there is a small window that allows you to see into the kitchen from the dining room. It is becoming increasingly rare to see a chef in the restaurant that his name on it.
Veg crisp were giving as snack. A great selection of bread was also served. The amuse bouche of pumpkin soup with crunch pumpkin seed in it was very wintery and was more than just one small bite. I was a bit weary of the Pig’s Head and Langoustine because I was not sure how the Langoustine could add to this dish. Trust me something would be missing it wasn’t on the plate. The pig’s head was boned and rolled and had a great earthy spice to it.
My main of venison was cooked perfectly and had seven components on the dish. Any time I see many components on the dish I get nervous. But Kitchin surprised me again. This was a pretty hardy winter dish for a restaurant in this category. (I left really full)
My desert was simply titled Chocolate and features mall souflee, ice cream and blood orange marmalade the made everything else taste so much better.
When I told the staff I was from Boston I was invited into the Kitchen to meet Chef Kitchin and he also signed a copy of his cookbook for me. This guy seems really down to earth. My ⁵⁄₅ review is based off the food I ate and not that I met the chef.

I realise that giving The Kitchin three stars is sacreligious. I’ll probably get kicked off Unilocal or at least people will have no faith in my reviews from this point onward. But, hear me out…
I’ve only been here once, 3.5 years ago, when my parents came over for my MSc graduation. I’d been hearing rave reviews of Kitchin and thought it would be the perfect place for the double birthday + graduation celebration. When I left California, my boss gave me the nicest bottle of wine I will probably ever be fortunate enough to consume. I thought that my graduation celebration would be a very appropriate time to drink this wine. I made my reservations at Kitchin and asked about bringing the wine. They said «we have a very extensive wine list, you will not need to bring your own.» I explained the situation and they explained a bit more firmly that I was not welcome to bring this bottle of wine.
I know that corkage/​bringing your own wine to restaurants here is not a common as it is where I’m from, but I was shocked that they wouldn’t allow for one bottle to be brought for a special occasion.
I accepted the situation and we went along sans wine. To be honest, I don’t remember much of the actual food. By that I mean that my socks weren’t blown off. I was expecting so much and certainly had a lovely meal, but it all seemed a bit up itself and for no real reason which I could see. The main thing I really remember from the dining experience is that our water and wine were kept at a different table so we weren’t able to pour and drink to our own pace, we were at the mercy of those serving us.
I think I was a) too put off by the wine issue to fully enjoy it and b) am too used to fantastic food served in a more relaxed environment. I have had amazing food with less cost and less fuss at other restaurants, and in the future I’ll be sticking to these places, thanks.