L’Escargot Bleu
Edinburgh, Lothians
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‘Good food, good wine; a restaurant that cares about serving excellent ingredients, cooked simply and served by a loyal and happy team of staff,’ commented one reader about this long-standing French bistro. With its distinctive Gallic-blue exterior and its homely dining room furnished with café chairs, crisp linen and polished copper pans hanging over the pass, it certainly looks the part. French-born Frederic Berkmiller is the personable chef/patron who, for 18 years, has been offering a menu of bourgeois classics: fish soup with rouille, cheese and croûtons; steak tartare; snails in garlic and parsley butter; bouillabaisse; boeuf bourguignon; îles flottantes. In Bleu’s early days, Berkmiller sourced his ingredients from France, but soon discovered the quality of Scotland’s larder and now seeks out produce from across the nation: snails from Barra, seafood from Skye and Orkney, Hebridean pasture-fed lamb, and home-grown vegetables and herbs from his four-acre plot at Monkton Gardens (on the outskirts of Edinburgh). His enthusiasm is well-illustrated by a fresh, colourful summer vegetable salad served with goat's cheese. In short, L'Escargot Bleu appears as vibrant as ever with an energetic buzz of satisfied diners on our latest visit. Downstairs, Bermiller has created an attractive wine bar serving olives, anchovies on toast, snails, cheese and terrines. All in all, a 'very enjoyable' experience.
