Iris - a late night dining experience

I like to eat early, mainly because I also tend to crash out early and then get up early.  So the idea of  booking dinner at 9pm at night horrified me.  The latest I've ever booked a table for has been, reluctantly, 8 o'clock.  My other half, however, was golfing, so we had little choice but to wait for 18 holes to finish, and for him and his golfing buddy to drive into town.  A nice excuse for a G&T for the golfing widows whilst we waited for them in The Bon Vivant. Then we sauntered next door to Iris for dinner. And it was packed to the gunnels - even when we left.  

Who knew so many people liked to eat so late?

Wine List

Not bad actually.  Nothing horrifically expensive, which is always nice.  We had a couple of bottles of rioja and resisted the temptation to go for Kir Royales.  *sigh*

Food

Pretty good! I had a chorizo, apple and spanish black pudding combo for starters - classic but perfect.  2 others had prawns - both said they'd had better.  But I think we were all jealous of the gigantic spring rolls on the fourth plate.

One of the specials was Rose veal. 4 of us wanted it but when 3 of us ordered, the fourth thought he'd better be different and plumped for steak.  The veal was excellent, the steak looked great. All were cooked to perfection and accompanied by some stunning chips with chilli mayonnaise.

And so to dessert - ice cream all round, with sticky toffee pudding accompanying 1 of them.  Exactly what I was after at this late hour.

Overall Rating

I'll be going back - a thoroughly enjoyable meal.  I'll book for earlier next time though!

What can you get for £50 nowadays?

Even a tank of petrol costs more than that.  But £50 can get you a 2 course meal for 2 including generous tip at A Room in Leith (bring your own wine).  So - the verdict? Excellent value for money!


Location

A Room in Leith is on Dock Place, just off Commercial Road. Some may remember it in it's past guise as 'The Waterfront'.  The setup is much the same as I recall from those days - a bar (Teuchters Landing) at the front, and the restaurant area in a conservatory like room at the back.  The location, especially on a sunny early spring evening, is great.  The restaurant itself is airy and rather lively, so if you are looking for an intimate meal you may be disappointed.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wine List

I didn't really pay much attention to the wine list to be honest, although the Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc caught my eye. You see the beauty of 'A Room in  ...' is that you can bring your own wine.  Corkage is £3 for wine and £4 for fizz.  We decided on a Felton Road Calvert 2008 Pinot Noir - and very nice it was too.

Food

The menu is not huge, but the choice is great.  Usually I end up having some kind of goats cheese tart, but thankfully there wasn't even a hint of goats cheese to be seen! Forced into being more adventurous I chose the (vegetarian) Haggis, Neeps and Tatties to start, whilst my husband selected the Stornoway black pudding scotch egg. The Haggis was elegant and tasty, and the mustard sauce a great accompaniment.   The scotch egg looked (and I am assured also tasted) fabulous.  The egg was perfectly runny, the black pudding perfect. And it was a large portion. I. was. jealous.

The mains again took some deciding. Would I be adventurous and go for the roast rabbit loin?  Or the monkfish?  Or the mixed grill of Pork? Would I be safe and plump for the Steak and Chips? Or the Chicken? In the end the Pan seared, spice encrusted monkfish on a bed of grilled asparagus, with chorizo won.  The 2nd main was the Black Isle lager battered North Sea haddie fillets with hand-cut chips, peas and tartare sauce.  Both the haddock and the monkfish were incredibly fresh, cooked perfectly and very tasty. The presentation for the monkfish was also impeccable.  As we started to eat the mains, we agreed we must come back here more often.  A side dish of al dente vegetables and boiled new potatoes accompanied the food.


No desserts, as we were tired from a weekend of walking and gardening. But so many to choose from!  How long will it be before we have to come back to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding?  Not long, I would guess.

Overall Rating

Excellent value food, great quality and lovely presentation. Service was also good, even though the restaurant was very busy. This was a meal which exceeded our expectations. We shall return.

Oh dear ...

Nothing posted for over a year? I have to rectify this. But I have to say I haven't really been eating out anywhere posh recently either.  I must also rectify that!   Watch out for a review of A Room in Leith coming up in a week or two.

In the meantime I would also recommend La Garrigue where we recently had a very lovely, and typically French country kitchen / slow food experience.