number one
Featured Restaurant
number one Summary
- Address: The Balmoral Hotel, 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EQ (Map)
- Tel: +44 (0)131 557 6727
- E-mail: Click here to contact
- Website: Go to the number one website
- Gallery: View more images
- Cuisine(s): French, Modern European, Scottish
- Opening Times: Mon - Sun: 18:30 - 22:00
- Avg Price: £77.00
- Party Planner: Group bookings & Party planner
If you need to cancel your booking, please click here.
(Avg Price is the average cost per person for two courses, coffee, half a bottle of house wine and tip/service)
number one Description
Situated in the heart of Edinburgh is the gorgeous Balmoral that oozes with luxury, synonymous with the reputation of the Rocco Forte Collection. Even the location can't be bettered, with the famous sites of Edinburgh such as Arthur's Seat, The Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle, just a step away.
The interiors of the individually designed bedrooms and suites are beguiling and themed around natural colour tones and fabrics reflecting their Scottish heritage. Step into the Royal Suite and you will soon realise you don't want to go anywhere, with a fireplace, well stocked in-room bar, double walk-in shower and breathtaking views over the historic old town of Edinburgh, all are sure to evoke a wowed response.
Michelin-starred Chef Jeff Bland (see the image in the gallery), awarded the honour of being named as Drambuie Scottish Chef of the Year in 2003, ensures that number one lives up to its name. It's currently the only hotel restaurant in Edinburgh to have gained a Michelin Star, first awarded in January 2003, which it has retained to this day, a fine tribute to Chef Bland and his brigade.
Using only the finest Scottish ingredients, Bland creates outstanding à la carte dishes using favourites such as Scottish beef, roasted venison, seared scallops and the finest Scottish salmon. It is easy to see why number one was given the Fine Dining Experience Award at the inaugural Scottish Restaurant Awards 2008, when the panel delivered their verdict that number one restaurant offers its customers 'the ultimate sophisticated dining experience'.
With that sort of accolade it might seem slightly superfluous to proceed any further, but a little detail might not come amiss. The success of number one revolves round the wonderful dishes on offer on the à la carte, with a Chef's tasting menu that is recommended for the whole table, to which we will return.
A stunning starter is provided by the asparagus soup with crispy quail egg and crème fraîche, quite one of the best dishes out the five choices on offer. It has close competition from the pressing of free range chicken and confit bacon with devilled chicken livers, traditional but beautifully prepared.
Monkfish is fast becoming one of life's great treats, and here it is combined with soft polenta, barigoule of vegetables and fried mussels to make an outstanding main dish, though you may find it a hard choice between that and John Dory and langoustine with morels, asparagus and peas and shellfish sauce. Fillet of Borders beef again has that magic touch, this time with oxtail ravioli, squash puree and braised leeks.
Scottish cooking has, with one or two notable exceptions, to make do with more widely spread attributions when it comes to desserts, which makes them no less tempting. Passion fruit soufflé with tropical fruit entremets and coconut sorbet is a work of art, and the tiramisu cream and coffee parfait with chocolate and amaretto sauce seldom fails to please wherever it goes.
A pre-theatre dinner offer of £45 for three courses is available if ordered before 7pm. Whilst, as previously mentioned, the Chef's tasting menu is an seven course affair, each with its own wine pairing. At £62.50 a head, or an extra £50 with wine pairings, this is not for the faint hearted, but should you wish to travel along this most wonderful of gourmet roads you would be hard pushed to find anywhere better to do it than number one at The Balmoral.
Click on the Website for more information about number one, particularly about private dining and gifts.
Fixed Dinner
- £60 (Chef's tasting menu, additional £50 for wines per course)
Your Reviews of number one
Elisa (22 June 2008)
You can hardly make a mistake by choosing this restaurant and this is my first choice in Edinburgh. The food is excellent, and they have a nice choice of bread, which is almost as good as in France. Moreover, between every dish you could enjoy 'amuse-bouche'. In this restaurant the excellence is in the details. My only reserve is maybe about the atmosphere, which I thought lacked a little charm. You can consider it as a good or a bad point but you may feel a little hungry at the end of your meal, particularly because of the excellent food and small portions.
B. E. Prismall (23 April 2005)
In December 2002 my wife and members of my family (all from Australia), enjoyed the most magnificent meal at this restaurant. We recall the cheese trolley as outstanding in both presentation and choice, and the service was friendly without being intrusive.
In contemporary Scottish literature there is mentioned of characters choosing to use the Number One as a meeting point for romantic interludes! (see Reginald Hill & Ian Rankin). In fact we have no hesitation in recommending this as the place to be pampered and enjoy all that is Scottish. We only wish that we could see the recent refurbishment and recreate that moment in time.
Write A Review For number one
Have you eaten at number one ? Then why not write a review for number one ! It only takes a few moments, no registration is required.
Not sure what to write? Have a look through all of our restaurant reviews for inspiration!
Additional Info for number one
Children welcome
Groups allowed
Air conditioning
Outside seating
Reservations
Cover Charge
- House red: £26.00
- House white: £27.00
- Service charge: Not included, 12.5% for 6 or more
Find Another Restaurant
Search for restaurants and locations (eg. grill in edinburgh)
UK
Europe
USA
|
Digg
del.icio.us
StumbleUpon
Google
Facebook