Review: Condita, Edinburgh

THE LATEST MICHELIN guide saw Edinburgh gain two new stars for Lyla and Avery respectively, while Condita retained their award for a sixth consecutive year. Since I last visited, we’ve had Brexit, the Covid pandemic and a change of UK Governments. “It’s been too long, Phil” owner Mark Slaney jokingly reminded me. Talking of change, there’s a new man behind the stove here in the shape of Tyler King, who took the reins after the departure of Conor Toomey a year ago. I was eager to find out how the restaurant had evolved.

Lying unassumingly on Salisbury Street, in the southside of the city, Condita is an owner-run restaurant serving a dinner-only surprise tasting menu costing £160. Said menu comes hand drawn on a personalised bookmark by Mark’s partner, Rachel.  The intimate dining space has only a handful of tables and serves as a blank canvas for Rachel, who creates the season-changing décor influenced by nature. This attention to detail can be found in every facet of this eatery; from the carefully curated wine list with a focus on small batch, environmentally friendly production to the cutlery on each course. 

Chef King, who hails from St. Monan’s in the East Neuk of Fife, has honed his craft on the continent, including a spell as sous chef at the Michelin starred Prism in Berlin.  The team benefits from having a kitchen garden in the Scottish borders which leads their hyper-seasonal ethos. He arrives at the table to present this evening’s canapes of poached native oysters from Islay that simply melt in the mouth, followed by a citrus wave, before a fermented chilli dressing kicks in. I don’t recollect ever having chilli with oysters before but hell yeah! Next, Anster cheese custard, sandwiched between potato crisps with seaweed and koji ketchup that playfully reminded us of a well-known beefy crisp. First impressions and all.

As illustrated, the first course involved North Sea squid. A lot was going on here, which would be the theme of the evening: the perfect texture achieved with the squid, which was lightly cured in BBQ kombu paste, was the finest I’d ever had. Little discs of kohlrabi, salt baked and compressed in herb oil, provided a fresh vegetal bite, while the use of seaweed brought a delicate umaminess that was washed away with a hint of lime. The flavour train had well and truly pulled away from the station.

Next, it was all about the humble spud. I delved through a cloak of aerated hollandaise to unearth immaculately cooked Pink Fir potatoes that were enhanced by a dashi made from the skins, and a compelling nuttiness from toasted buckwheat. Nuggets of subtly smoked eel gracefully added another layer of intrigue while an egg yolk puree cleverly ramped up that hollandaise. I suspect a little seasoning had been lost from the hollandaise mixture going through the syphon gun, as it needed a tiny bit of salt to maximise the full potential of the spuds. This reminds me a little of Simon Rogan's cooking, the way something modest can be elevated to uncharted heights with sound technique and a refined palette.

What looked like an identifiable fish course arrived, but, as with the other courses, it unveiled so many different flavours. The meaty hunk of skilfully cured and barbequed gurnard was bang on the money; if you’ve been watching Great British Menu this year, you will have noticed several dishes cooked or finished over coals only for the judge to lambast the lack of charred flavour – not the case here, though. A tasty mussel XO sauce didn’t overwhelm the fish and the mussel meat was as buttery as you could have ever wished. A herbal wave swooped in with a prod of acidity from persimmon vinegar, and a touch of fresh warmth from English wasabi, while charred fermented leeks gave an earthy tone. The smoky flavour cleverly created a backbone for the dish that everything else harmonised with.

Part one of the meat round was dubbed “Tea & Toast” and the aromas were incredible.  A raft of Japanese shokupan bread had been fried in beef oil and topped with an indulgent featherblade ragu from the Balcaskie Estate in Fife. Add in sweet, crispy Roscoff onions, with pungent black garlic ketchup and the salty burst of wild garlic capers and you’re on to a good thing. But when you throw in a yeast miso that vamps up the flavour of the beef, you’re taking it into a whole new place of enjoyment. If that wasn’t enough, the tea, a delicious beef broth split with bay leaf oil, brought a calming effect, as a good cuppa does. It took me back to sipping bowls of caldo on holiday in San Sebastian with the added genius of that elegant oil. Dish of the day, that.

The second part was Lincoln Red sirloin (also from Balcaskie), aged for 11 weeks and expertly cooked on the barbie to the perfect shade of blushing pink. Alongside was a rather adult yeast miso and coffee puree; salt-baked celeriac that turned a humble ingredient into the sublime; a powerful wild garlic kimchi that seasoned the whole dish along with a beef and green pepper sauce that included more zingy caper berries. Finally, a technically accomplished celeriac and mushroom roulade that would have made a tasty vegetarian course on its own.

The cheese course comprised of crowdie from Katy Rodgers that soothed the palette with its gentle lactic tang along with the floral granita that fired a citric arrow into the mix. I loved the idea of an olive oil jam and the gentle pepperiness is a perfect marriage for the creaminess of the cheese. But the star for me was the buckwheat and koji crumble for the way it just brought what are quite delicate ingredients up to the red line on the flavour-o-meter. Koji is clearly one of chef’s favourite ingredients.

So, to the dessert.  A crystalised shiso leaf reminded me of the capes worn by Aragorn and co. in The Lord of the Rings. Under the wafer-thin leaf I found a fig and roboshi salted preserve made with rhubarb that mingled neatly with the subtle floral spice from Szechuan ice cream and an exquisite brown butter genoise sponge, with little caramelised milk crumble rocks bringing a bit of sweetness. What made it though was the inclusion of Minus Eight vinegar that was the spine of the dish, pulling everything together in perfect harmony without being particularly sharp itself. We ended as we began with the high of a sophisticated blackened barley koji cremeaux on a polenta biscuit (Sarah’s pecan because of my allergy), a delectable little hibiscus macaron with Jerusalem artichoke yoghurt filling and a burnt Italian meringue - a technique I love - on a miso financier. The only disappointment was I didn't get a bag to take home.

It was obvious throughout that staff believed in the concept of the Condita experience.  They created a highly personable dinner, and their passion really came through.  I also enjoyed the addition of a record player playing subtly in the background; it definitely added to the ambience. We enjoyed a bottle of Lirac blanc from Castel Oualou (£60), which is a blend of predominately Roussanne - one of my favourite grapes in a white blend. Lirac is also one of my go-to areas for wine. It sits just a few miles east of the much pricier Chateaneuf Du Pape area, so you get quite similar grapes and growing conditions, without the CDP price tag. Mark always has such an interesting wine list so we just had to sample a glass of Sonntaler (£14) from Cantina Kurtatsch, which is quite a rare find. It was a fresh and bright red with barely any tannins that would be perfect for a summer afternoon on the patio.

It's an incredibly difficult thing to take the reins from another chef at this level and in a restaurant as individual as Condita, but I think Tyler King is taking it to the next level. Layer upon layer of thought-provoking flavours that make you think, “There are way too many elements for that to work,” but you know what? Everything did work. Spectacularly. It’ll be interesting to see where Condita goes in the next couple of years. With this talented young chef and the experience Mark and his team bring, you can’t help that the sky is the limit. This is a restaurant created by food lovers, for food lovers.

Web: Condita.co.uk

Instagram: @Condita

Reservations: Click here

Address: 15 Salisbury Place, Edinburgh, EH9 1SL

Open: Tues - Sat 6.30 - 9pm