Review: Café St. Honoré, Edinburgh

NESTLED DOWN A cobbled lane just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Princes Street sits Café St. Honoré. If you’ve ever visited one of Edinburgh’s many food festivals, you’ve probably seen chef/proprietor Neil Forbes’ legendary cookery demos. Known for his commitment to sourcing organic produce, Neil is one of those people you could just sit and talk about food with for hours. Remarkably, this would be the first time I’ve frequented his restaurant.

As you can tell from the name, the style of cooking is unapologetically French and Neil uses that classical style to showcase the best produce Scotland has to offer, some even grown in his own
garden. It’s a relaxed affair, where you kind of know it’s going to be good before you’ve even started
eating. The tasteful interior of this independently owned eatery transports me back to sitting in a
Parisian bistro on a freezing cold January with my mates after we drunkenly ended up in the French
capital one New Year … as you do.

For lunch, they offer an express menu with two courses priced at £16.50 or three for £20.50 alongside an à la carte menu. The wine list consists of pretty much all organic wines with a range of Scottish spirits and beers further demonstrating the ethos of the place.

Opting for the express lunch, I was the only one having a starter which came in the form of organic parsnip and apple soup; most appropriate for this chilly day. The balance of sweet parsnip and sharp apple was spot on. Rich and satisfying, it was ideal for dunking in my wedges of delicious homemade bread. Some neatly cut apple straws just elevated the dish from being just a bowl of soup. Crucially, the dish was adequately seasoned.

I’m a big fan of hake, though it has a bit of a reputation of being difficult to cook, which I’ve never agreed with. The mighty slab of fish was beautifully cooked with crisp skin and soft flesh. There was a delightfully light, creamy seafood chowder that didn’t overpower the delicate flavour of the hake, as well as a few sweet cockles dotted around the plate with a pile of vibrant greens to finish off agratifying main course.

Sarah and my mum had Grierson’s organic confit chicken leg with Lyonnaise potatoes, Savoy
cabbage and organic salami. Chicken leg is such an underused meat. It had a very fracturable
exterior, but unfortunately, the white meat was a tad dry underneath. The salami had a welcome
saltiness to it and the sauce was bold with an enormous depth of flavour. The cabbage still had a bit of bite and added a bitter note. The Lyonnaise potatoes (sliced spuds fried with onions in butter)were tasty and well made. A real example of Neil’s use of Scottish produce in a classic French execution.

While I polished off a deliciously bitter espresso, the ladies devoured a pudding of sea buckthorn
posset with poached pears and Lange de chat biscuits. Sea buckthorn grows abundantly in Scotland but, due to its intense sharpness, can be a bit of a Marmite ingredient. The pastry chef here clearly knows how to handle it, as the acidity was there without killing the dish. The poached fruit yielded to the spoon, but still had a touch of firmness. The cat’s tongue biscuits were very moreish and ideal for scooping up the perfectly set posset.

Front of house were thoroughly professional, with excellent communication between staff evident throughout. You could tell they really believed in the spirit of the restaurant and were trained to an excellent standard.

If you’re looking for a great feed in the city centre, wander down to Café St. Honore and support this wonderful indy. The prominence given to organic food is most commendable, but it must be executed and curated correctly, which is exactly what you get here. A true alliance of French style and class with a Scottish twist.

Web: cafesthonore.com/
Phone:  (0131) 226 2211
Instagram: @cafesthonore/

Address: 34 North West Thistle Street Lane, Edinburgh, EH2 1EA

Open: Lunch: seven days between 12- 2
           Dinner: Mon - Fri 5:15pm - 10pm
                             Sat - Sun 5:30pm - 10pm