Review: Hewat’s Restaurant, Edinburgh

Meeting up for dinner with one of the founding members of Total Food Geeks Edinburgh means you know you’re in for ‘a tasty sort of a night’. With a hungry belly and a head full of food chat, I headed up to Causewayside to meet with Georgia for dinner at Hewat’s Restaurant. Chef-patron Richard Hewat‘s cooking style is French Scottish, and after 8 years, the restaurant has gained a loyal local following. The dining room is comfortable with a few nice touches such as stained glass, chandeliers and velvet-clad chairs.

The mid-week dinner menu is well priced at £22.50pp for three courses, and my partner in dining and I enthusiastically embarked on the eats. The first impression didn’t bowl me over massively. Just slightly-stale bread and their warmed olives didn’t do much for my awaiting palate. The pitted black olives had an odd just-microwaved softness and definitely improved as they came back to room temperature. No matter though, as our choice of seafoody starters soon set things to right.

I began with fishcakes with salmon and smoked haddock, two rather sizeable rounds with a crunchy breadcrumb outer and soft interior. They made for satisfying eating, the portion would have satisfied nicely for a light lunch too, with the caper berry packed mayonnaise the ideal accompaniment. The plate was artfully decorated with some chive stalks and lime wedges. Across the table Georgia’s deep-sea adventure centred around a luxurious looking pool of creamy cullen skink dotted with mussels.

Choosing a main course proved a bit of a challenge (some top meaty contenders in there) but I went for the pan-seared duck which was cooked to perfection. The skin was crisp and the meat pink and juicy and well seasoned. The veggies were good, and certainly in abundance. Although somewhat ‘wintery’ the roast parsnips the carrots and mashed tatties all pulled together a dish that was comfortingly full of flavour.

My knack for not making the best dessert selection was in play, as the tarte au citron was distinctly average. Just enough bite from the lemon, but the pastry wasn’t great. I would have loved to be telling you how it was all thin, crisp, buttery perfection but alas it wasn’t to be. I was, however, impressed by the elegantly stencilled icing sugar ‘H’ which adorned the edge of the plate! Georgia did seem to fare well with her chocolate mousse!

Menu-wise, Hewat’s holds its own amongst the best of Edinburgh’s ‘neighbourhood’ bistros, and the freshness of the good quality ingredients make for big flavours on the plate. As many of you know, Georgia has just headed off on an international adventure for a few months. New dining thrills and spills will no doubt await, but I’ll put a wee bet that somewhere on a beach somewhere she’ll be craving the kind of hearty fare they do here at Hewat’s!

 

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