There is a delightful sense of fairy tale- like anticipation as your footsteps crunch the gravel path through the middle of the fertile kitchen garden that leads to The Gardener’s Cottage. The heavy velvet curtain that you go through to enter this small beguiling space only adds to the fascination. A lunch in this new and intriguing restaurant was on the cards for A. and me, so a serendipitous walk past it felt like the right time to make a booking!
Before its renovation, the building had been a familiar sight just off the tree lined boulevard that is the east end of London Road for many years. The address is Royal Terrace Gardens but it is actually closer to London Road. The Gardens were planned by William Playfair and originally laid out to include a path for the exiled King of France, Charles X, to walk along on his way from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to church and it may be that some of this romance remains, giving the place the ghost of an atmosphere. It was designed by Playfair, constructed in 1836 and was in fact originally the gardener’s cottage.
The restaurant is co-owned by top Edinburgh chefs Dale Mailley and Edward Murray who are committed to creating high quality food, using seasonal produce with local producers as well of course as their own flowers and vegetables from the plentiful supply of produce from their own small garden. The menu changes daily and on our visit we shared a portion of the home made sourdough bread (that can be seen being kneaded at the open kitchen) with a dish of potted kipper and a plate of delightfully bright herb salad that contained some gorgeous home grown nasturtiums. The portion was enough for sharing (at least for us), with the kipper arriving as a generous dollop whose fishy flavour and texture were just right.
My main was tagliatelle served with tender strips of duck, sweetly sharp braised leeks and sliced and subtle Chanterelle. An exquisitely cooked plaice was the choice of A. and it came served with warm al dente French bean salad, egg, capers and spiced seeds, all of which went down as a lip smacking treat. We took the two dishes on offer as afters. A veritable cheesehead, A. chose Tunworth, a Camembert style cheese from Hampshire, which was served with the most apt of homemade contrasts - Bath Olivers (a dry biscuit) and sharp green tomato chutney. My honey cake was moist, warm, soft and crumbly and beautifully accompanied by Crowdie ice cream and the translucent jewels that were the perfectly stewed plums. These culinary pleasures are served on and with charmingly odd crockery and cutlery. The staff are charming in other ways – they are visible, attentive and thoroughly pleasant.
The long wooden tables mean a hugger mugger intimacy with fellow diners that creates a friendly atmosphere while respecting each other’s limited space (though a romantic dinner for two is probably not on the cards). It allowed neighbours to remark that while I had been given a bigger portion of cake than they had, my plate had no purple flowers as decoration! The walls are plain cream with the only decoration being a single green and white image with the words ‘Water cooled Watercress’ and some cured duck hanging in sausage shapes against a wall. There are a series of low hanging caged lamps, bare wooden floorboards and a record player on which a series of vinyl classics are played. Jars filled with preserves and crammed on to shelves at the door give promise of future imaginative delights on offer. A simple Aladdin’s cave may be too much of an oxymoron, but that is how I would describe this seriously good place to eat.
The Gardener’s Cottage provides flawless food without flummery so get crunching up that magical path!
Lunch is a la carte and a six course set menu is served in the evenings. Brunch is available at weekends.