I always find that the best Indian restaurants tend to be found down little side streets or just off the main thoroughfare, and that’s how we discovered Arnero on Sackville Street last year. We had yet to visit an Indian post-lockdown and the grub here lived long in the memory ever since. The place had undergone a bit of a revamp during the hiatus and certainly looked fresh.  There was a new addition of a brightly themed outdoor terrace too, which our young server (I assume the daughter of the owner(s) was particularly proud of: “Makes us a bit more Instagramable” she proclaimed. We were ..read more

AFTER TRAWLING AROUND street food markets, Pizza Geeks firmly established themselves on the independent Edinburgh pizza scene with permanent premises in Haymarket back in 2018. Their latest venture, following on from taking kitchen residence at Cask Smuggler’s on Princes Street last year, sees their Neapolitan-style pizzas hit Leith. Having secured the site on The Shore previously inhabited by East Pizzas, Pizza Geeks plan to expand the kitchen at the back of the site to be able to cater for the Leith market.  However, competition in this area is fierce with the long-established Origano ..read more

 "Risotto is the dish that keeps on giving" commented one of my Instagram followers when I posted this dish and I couldn't agree more. I've always liked butternut squash but really fell in love with it when I had it as part of a dish at Borough in Leith.  It's always an ingredient chef Darren Murray champions when it comes into season.  I've roasted the squash before hand to impart even more flavour before pureeing half of it and folding it through the risotto. The coconut milk adds to the indulgence and brings another layer of flavour.  We're going to make this the c ..read more

'A tasty comforting pie perfect for any dinner party' I'D KNOCKED ONE of these pies up using Christmas leftovers to take to a festive family buffet and it went down a treat.  With the colder days coming to an end, albeit slowly, I thought I'd make another before the better weather is here.  Who doesn't love a comforting pie? It looks like there's a lot of processes to this recipe, but it's actually pretty straightforward.  It's well worth the effort to make your own pastry and doesn't take much time at all.  Although shop-bought ones achieve good results, they are actually ..read more

 AH, THE EDINBURGH trams. The scourge of every business on Leith Walk and beyond, so much so that new restaurant Antonietta has rolled out a 50%-off deal to drum up business. Owned by the Vittoria Group, the restaurant has seen the former site of their La Favorita pizzeria completely transformed into this bright, salmon-pink dining space that I wasn’t sure would be too garish for my liking or not. The only way to find out was by eating there. Opened just a few weeks ago, it promises Italian food ‘with a twist’. An enthusiastic greeting is most welcomed as I clock a couple of chefs beaver ..read more

  WE HAD EATEN extremely well during our staycation to Manchester.  A cracking breakfast at local institution The Koffee Potlived up to the hype and was followed by a hearty feast of English classics at the wallet-friendly Bay Horse Tavern. But the big one was yet to come, and, as a lifelong Manchester United fan, I couldn’t visit this fine northern city without visiting the Stock Exchange Hotel to eat at The Bull & Bear.  Allow me to explain: the hotel, which originally opened in 1906 as Manchester’s stock exchange, was recently restored by GG Hospitality, the company own ..read more

  THE ORIGIN OF this beautiful thing comes from the town of Le Baule in the south of Brittany, France. I came across it on Instagram and it reminded me of holidays in the area many moons ago.  The cake itself is intriguing in that it's a cross between a chocolate fudge cake and a brownie with the slight surprise of a salted caramel kick.    As you can imagine, it's pretty indulgent - a little goes a long way - but the good thing is it's not too sweet and it keeps for ages.  Ingredients:                        ..read more

WITH BURN'S NIGHT fast approaching, I thought I'd share a dish I knocked up on Hogmanay -chicken Braemar! It looks a bit cheffy but is actually pretty straightforward to make at home; it definitely brings the wow factor if you're having guests around.  I used black pudding here, but haggis can easily be substituted to make chicken Balmoral instead.  The great thing about this dish is it isn't just for Burns night! Ingredients (Serves 2): 2x free-range chicken breasts 2x Stornoway black pudding discs (or Haggis), grated 12x rashers streaky bacon 1x small turnip, peeled and ..read more

SARAH AND I had been lucky enough to be spend a couple of days in Newcastle right before lockdown. For people that travel as frequently as we do, and like so many others, being cooped up at home was taking its toll. We have often discussed our embarrassing failures at not exploring Scotland as much as we could have, so in these crazy times a trip to Loch Lomond seemed apt.  Obviously, I don’t visit places unless there’s a food-driven incentive and the Lodge on Loch Lomond seemed the ideal spot since it’s in-house restaurant, Colquhoun’s, boasted two AA rosettes. My car has virtually s ..read more

 I’D COOKED RELENTLESSLY from Christmas Eve through to New Year’s Day; that’s what you get for being the resident chef, not that I mind.  It was time to loosen the apron and let someone cook for me – I was beginning to forget what that felt like.  We decided to take our traditional festive stroll down the enchanting Victoria Street hoping our favourite Mexican, Mariachi’s, had a spare table. After a couple of well-earned drinks in the Jinglin’ Geordie we tactically wandered up the Royal Mile just in time for their 5:00 p.m. opening, swithering whether to have a cheeky half in t ..read more