For our ninth wedding anniversary we decided to break with standard convention and do something special. So we booked lunch at Lyla located at Royal Terrace, Edinburgh.
Lyla is part of the same group as Noto, Tipo, Aizle – the restaurants of chef Stuart Ralston. Clair worked with Stuart when doing the food photography for his book.
After a stressful drive (a lesson learned to never drive to and through Edinburgh on a Saturday) we arrived with minutes to spare. But the staff knew it was our wedding anniversary and gave us a warm welcome, a free glass of fizz and had personalised our menus – really nice touches. Also the decor and vibe at Lyla is really lovely so it didn’t take us long to settle in.
Clair was driving but was happy for me to go for the wine pairing. Here’s what we had to eat and drink:
- Alp blossom cheese, onion, quince
- Lobster, kohlrabe, sake
- Laminated brioche, koji & wild garlic butter from Ampersand dairy
- Cured halibut, candied kelp, umai. Paired with Dewazakura jumai ginjo sake.
- Scottish langoustine, burnt apple, sorrel. Paired with Willi Schaefer feinherb reisling
- Sea trout, courgette, smoked pike roe. Paired with Rafael Palacios louro do bolo
- Partridge, radicchio, green peppercorn. Paired with Arlaud, bourgogne rouge oka burgundy
- Laganory, ibiscus and flowered lavosh. Paired with Domaine Fontanel, Maury Rouge
- Amalfi lemon, yoghurt bronze fennel
- Plum, creme crue, sake. Paired with Chateau tirecul la graviere, monbazillac sgn
- Malt dulcey bon bon, and kelp & white chocolate financier
It was all pretty stellar but the amazing sake was the most memorable part for me.
Also, the service was great – including from the sommelier who hit the right balance of interesting without going too far, and from Jade our waitress who had recently moved to Edinburgh from Glasgow southside.
Turns out it’s nice to mark your wedding anniversary and not both forget it! And this was a real, special treat – we loved it.