Review: The Captain Darling, Edinburgh

 I’VE OFTEN FELT that, as great as Edinburgh’s food scene is, it lacks honest, hearty pub food, so I was quite excited when I saw the menu at The Captain Darling. I was even more intrigued when I discovered that Scott Smith, the former proprietor of fine dining establishment Fhior, was involved in culinary operations under the Oir Group, who operate the popular Lucky Yu and Bodega restaurants. As it happened, I was in the Stockbridge area this Sunday evening and needed fed.

I had been at my barber’s on St. Stephen Street a couple of weeks earlier and asked if he’d heard much about it - he’s usually in the know - but all he could say was that one of his clients worked there and was leaving as it had been quiet since opening. Stockbridge isn’t exactly lacking in quality places to dine in and, given the high rents and expectant residents, is the kind of place you need to hit the ground running in to survive. The place was actually heaving this Sunday evening, so much so that we were told it’d be a 30-40 minute wait for a table; we accepted the offer to grab a drink in the bar, where a top-notch Guinness certainly helped to pass the time.

Now, it became quickly apparent that there were communication issues between the kitchen and front of house as I observed service from the bar area. The staff seemed stressed and I could hear them tell a customer that they’d run out of cauliflower cheese after they’d ordered. Anyway, we got a seat after about 20 minutes so let’s see how it’d pan out. I’d read from Gaby Soutar’s review in The Scotsman that the prawn cocktail was great, so I’d be ordering that. Sarah fancied a couple of oysters, but our waiter had to come back and inform us they were now sold out. I distinctly remember The Scotsman’s food editor stating she had five langoustines in her starter for the sum of £9.50, which struck me as outstanding value. I, on the other hand, was served just three and for an extra £1 at that. That wasn’t an issue.  What was though is that I had to remove the intestinal tract from the prawns, which I’d bet were bought in already cooked judging by their texture. The flavours were all fine: decent kick of Tabasco and a plentiful creamy dressing with fresh, crisp lettuce, but c’mon, eh? 

I hadn’t had a fish pie for ages and was very much looking forward to a rich, cheesy sauce with big chunks of fish, maybe even a boiled egg in there, but what I got was far from what mum used to make. It looked great initially, with an inviting aroma of the billed Arbroath smokies and a neatly presented cheesy mash topping. As I dived in, it was soon apparent there wasn’t much in the way of seafood chunks in there. I mean, you could taste the smoked fish, which would be from the infused milk used in the bechamel and there it offered pleasing bursts of fresh sweetness from peas, but there was little else in the way of substance. It wasn’t until the second half of the pie that I got my only actual chunk of that Scottish delicacy I adore so much and it lacked tarragon flavour as promised. That was £18, which seemed reasonable at first, but I was left disappointed to say the least.

At least Sarah fared better over the table with a commendable beef shin pie that did provide plentiful hunks of protein, housed in a thoroughly decent homemade suet pastry. Even the gravy tasted of ale as advertised, which isn't always the case; this made my meal seem even worse! 

I must commend the front of house staff as they ran their socks off the whole time, managing to just about keep a smile on their faces despite clearly getting frustrated by the kitchen and/or management not communicating properly. 

It wasn’t a total car crash, but there were too many issues at The Captain Darling, some just downright sloppy, that would merit a return visit any time soon. Maybe they weren’t used to being so busy? No doubt Paul will wind me up next time I’m getting my hair cut.

Web: Thecaptaindarling.com

Instagram: @thecaptaindarling/

Phone: (0131) 563 0404

Address: 16-18 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh, 

               EH3 5AU

Open: Mon - Sun from Noon to Midnight