The Lookout by Gardener's Cottage
Edinburgh, Lothians
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A glass box on top of Calton Hill, surrounded by blooming heather, affords views over the city of Edinburgh to rival those from the Castle mound. The Lookout is a venture from the Gardener's Cottage team, a singular venue for a kitchen that considers singularity a watchword. There is an enjoyably rustic quality to much of the food, which works in inspired counterposition to the urban location, and the place is open all day – from the first knockings of breakfast to the parting dram of evening. The seven-course taster opens with rye and spelt sourdough, before moving through the gears with consummate ease. Dunbar crab is greened up with garden herbs and seaweed, while the main fish could be Shetland hake with mussels, seasoned with black garlic, sunflower seeds and lemon. Pedigree regional meat and game might bring Perthshire mallard with Crown Prince pumpkin and sesame; then there's a relaxing breather for a morsel of soft Blackmount goat's cheese with honey, pear and walnut, before a dessert such as malted white chocolate with brambles, hazelnuts and whisky. The wine list is surprisingly brief and presumes that nobody will be pedantic enough to want to know the vintages of anything, but there are points of interest – Grünhaus Mosel Riesling, Infantado red from the Douro, an orange Sauvignon from Touraine.
