New Chapter – top tip from 2016

It’s amazing the effect that word of mouth can have on your decision making, I was having coffee earlier this year with Gaby Soutar and asked where she thought would be a good venue to bring together family for a wee celebratory dinner. I wanted to make sure the final choice offered good food as there are a lot of foodies in our family! She made one firm recommendation for the occasion – New Chapter.

Duck hash cake with pickled red cabbage

So, we paid them a trial visit one Friday evening with the rug rat on tow and were welcomed by the lovely couple now running what used to be Pierre Victoire on Eyre Place. Although the little one is a fussy eater they were willing to happily accommodate any request and in the end produced a fabulous portion of garlic bread for our mini dining companion.

I thoroughly enjoyed the asparagus and quail egg starter, which was so colourful on the plate and beautifully presented. The combination of the runny eggs, asparagus tips and dressing was delicious, but this was soon to be superseded by the main course. I chose sea bass on a bed of wild mushrooms accompanied by a wonderful broth.

Asparagus & Quail Egg

Our first visit really impressed us, so we promptly booked their private dining room downstairs for the arrival of various relatives from Ireland, America and Spain. An online menu selection was put in place to speed up the process on the evening and it was all totally faultless.

My most recent return visit was a few Fridays ago, I wanted to take a colleague out of the office for a catch up over lunch and she hadn’t been before, so off we went. Despite its location being away from the hubbub of George Street the place was packed out.

Sea bass & Wild Mushroom

They have a very simple and great value lunch menu with a choice of five starters and main courses, as well as some tempting puddings too. Fixed prices are £9.95 for two courses and £13.45 for three.

Despite our good intentions to take photos of our food we were so hungry the starters were demolished before we even realised our mistake. I’m quite partial to gnocchi and when I spotted this on the menu with smoked ricotta cheese, courgette, roasted aubergine and tomato sauce, I was all in. My colleague had an interesting duck hash cake with pickled red cabbage, fried duck egg and walnuts, which looked amazing but I have to say the gnocchi was still the winner and for me was the best I’ve had in a long time.

Potato gnocchi with smoked ricotta cheese

So, whatever you’re looking for whether it’s a quick business lunch or a large get-together, this Spanish-Polish duo deliver every time. I just hope it doesn’t get too popular that I won’t be able to get a table in 2017!