I agree, the kitchen-facing table is great - my wife & I secured it for dinner on 21212s 2nd night (Thursday). Such an occasion I finally registered for a posting ID after years of being a slient egullet observer. The kitchen was incredibly measured throughout, but still enthralling. Location is a tricky one - great for those who know where it is, with great views, but it will get nil passing trade. The decor is impressive (steely grey like Kitchin but more formal) though won't have helped with the pricing. The economics could be challenging, especially given the rate of new redundancies sweeping Edinburgh. Service - not yet 100% polished, but very good for second night. Waiting staff well above the Edinburgh norm. The sommelieuse is great - I think she may previously have been at No 1 where she ran a good list. Wine list - Strong in the traditional areas. Most bottles rather young for my tastes but we picked out a 1998 Aloxe Corton from Antoine Guyon, which was drinking very nicely. Pricing not overly generous, but at the £40-100 range there is more choice than Kitchin. Drawing room - Upstairs with great views; house champagne is good (Henriot) but the giant green olives served with it were great. Various freeze-dried goodies with the olives were a sign of things to come. The private dining room looked impressive from a quick peak, but it may get much less business now than when it was planned 12-18 months ago - business dining in Edinburgh has fallen off a cliff. Cutlery - all a bit surgical. I agree the fork for the beef is impractical (particularly when you try to pick up the broccoli gremolata with it), but we found the odd cheese knives great for demolishing the enormous cheese course. Menu - curiously, identical to the first night, as per postings above, despite the PR suggesting the the menu would change daily. Perhaps a soft launch? Starters - Scallop with 7 peas was very fine. We think the 7 peas are seven ingredients beginning with P among the accompaniments, though we only worked out 6 of them. Chicken BLT was a little disappointing - the braised lettuce was superb, the dried tomatoes & sweetcorn great, but the chicken itself was rather bland and the bacon was not as good as I eat at home (Ballancrieff, based in nearby East Lothian). Fiddly small bowls and not the largest portions. Soup - a good carrot & apple soup, with tasty bits of artichoke heart floating on a slice of salami and a cauliflower foam. The comedy apple bootlace was good. A nicely balanced combination Mains - Turbot was delicious, well described in earlier postings. The beef dish was astoundingly complex. I think the mystery "white stuff" may have been lemon/lime meringue pie filling and worked with the exquisitely cooked beef. The dried aubergine slice acted as a good scoop for the foam, which I think may have been a tomatoey bisque. What appeared to be a slice of crisped pecorino with saffron & poppyseeds was divine, but too small to take full pleasure. Lots more going on that we didn't record this time around. Pre-dessert - coconut porridge milk was enjoyable, but seemed caught in limbo. Served in paper cups that looked more suited to counting out pills. If pre-desserts are allowed within the 21212 menu framework then I would vote for an amuse bouche instead, to balance the menu. Cheese - pre-plated, all at the right temperature, in great condition, and a wide range (10 or so), with tasty porridge biscuits. The size and simplicity of this course felt slightly out of balance with the small but playful earlier ones, but we love cheese so we went with it. A runny half Munster was the stand out. Desserts - Really rather special. The creme brulee (egg custard on the menu) came in a delightful trough filled to the brim with exactly the right level of brule. I'm not sure what made the cheesecake "savoury" but it was very unctuous (perhaps tonka bean?) and the candied orange peel in the base was spot on. The ginger & nutmeg sorbet was reminiscent of home made ginger beer, in a good way. Coffee - poor, and served in cardboard coffee shop cups with a Nespresso label. Sounds like tea is the better option. Bonbons served with were plain chocolate truffles, but extremely good. Overall - A great addition to Edinburgh, and it should quickly get a star, but for me not the stand out "best in the North" (for me, that is still L'Enclume). Slightly larger portions of each plate would have helped me appreciate and savour the combinations more, rather focussing on trying to work out what it all was before it had gone. Also, the focus on easy lumps of meat off the bone (on the night and in the PR) is a pity - Edinburgh diners switching from Kitchin are unlikely to be put off by more complex meaty flavours so I'm not sure what the reason is. I'll be back, but from a sample of one visit Kitchin or Wishart are more my style.
