Dinner plans

Dinner plans

What are you doing tonight? Eating will be involved, we’re sure, and Scotland and the North have better-than-ever opportunities to sample our shores’ homegrown, world-class cuisine – one of them just a stone’s throw from ROX’s newest boutique in Liverpool Words by Alex Doak.

Close to home...

GRAZING, EDINBURGH Mark Greenaway’s Edinburgh star remains firmly in the ascendant, thanks to a boldly decorated but deliberately relaxed approach at ‘The Caley’ hotel on Rutland Street. Come for the food, stay for the... well, just stay

Always overshadowed somewhat by fellow Scots, Messrs Kitchin and Wishart, Mark's eponymous restaurant, Restaurant Mark Greenaway, opened in North Castle Street in Edinburgh in 2013 and proceeded to win numerous culinary awards. Greenaway’s first cookbook, Perceptions even received the 'Best in the World' award at The Gourmand Cookbook Awards in 2017.

Despite retaining three AA Rosettes every year until 2018, he closed his restaurant and focused on a bold new venture within one of Edinburgh’s finest hotels, the Waldorf Astoria – The Caledonian, in Rutland Street. The driving premise? A refreshingly relaxed focus on customers sharing and enjoying their dining experience in a leisurely manner. Hence: ‘grazing’.

Locally known as the 'Caley', the luxurious Waldorf is a capital landmark at the west end of Princes Street, so Greenaway’s laidback approach was arguably something of a gamble for those who enjoy their airs and graces. But you needn’t worry – this is still a mustvisit for Edinburgh gastronauts.

The menu showcases a mix of traditional, modern and sharing plates, always incorporating locally sourced ingredients. Star dishes include BBQ shiitake mushrooms on toast, a playful cured meat and choux pastry picnic box, and fluffy buttermilk pancakes inspired by a particularly impactful visit to Japan.

Grazing also showcases British sharing dishes, such as hearty shepherd’s pie and roast chicken, as well as Greenaway’s popular signature dishes, which former North Castle Street devotees will relish: 11-hour slow roast pork belly, and indulgent sticky toffee soufflé.

Grazing by Mark Greenaway, Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian, Rutland Street, Edinburgh EH1 2AB, grazing.reservations@waldorfastoria.com

Further afield...

RÖSKI, LIVERPOOL It’s not just ROX’s new boutique that’s making an indelible mark on the little black books of Liverpool’s great and good – Masterchef winner Anton Piotrowski has journeyed all the way from Devon with his modern take on fine dining

It’s been quite a journey for Anton Piotrowski, both career-wise and in the literal sense of ‘journey’. Not only did he win the 2012 series of Masterchef: The Professionals, but not long after earning a Michelin star for Devon’s Treby Arms, he shocked everyone by upping sticks and opening Röski on Liverpool’s Rodney Street, 280 miles away – and this was despite failing to raise anything near his £60,000 crowdfunding target, then having to abort an overwrought prepayment system.

Come late-2018 however, a single Sundaymorning review by Jay Rayner in The Observer ensured Piotrowski would have nothing more than sleep deprivation to worry about henceforth. Its headline was “Use any excuse to eat here” and the review described Röski as “the Spinal Tap of restaurants with every flavour turned up to a welcome 11.” The glowing piece ended: “All I can say is: lucky Liverpool.”

Röski received 1,000 bookings within 24 hours of that particular broadsheet becoming Monday’s chip paper. And rightly so. You can expect big flavours, big smiles, and great service at Röski, where any diner usually intimidated by foodie fare such as smoked eel, parmesan custard and a mandatory tasting menu on Fridays and Saturdays can relax: the 28-cover restaurant is intimate, calm and totally unpretentious.

So, once you’ve splurged on some gorgeous jewellery at Liverpool ONE on Peter’s Lane – from the shiny new outpost of ROX, opening in November if you didn’t already know – why not take the 13-minute stroll up Wood Street and indulge in some red-cabbage Bolognese in a restaurant bearing an eerily similar name?

Röski, 16 Rodney Street, Liverpool L1 2TE, roski.restaurant@gmail.com