Bistro Du Vin

I’ve been to Bistro Hotel Du Vin a few times now, and I have to say that they are just getting better and better. Their Spring/Summer menu is by far the tastiest I tried and the service is on point. The Prix Fixe menu is packed full of delights, so join me as I take you through the menu. 2 courses for £19.95 or 3 courses for £24.95 means you’ll have plenty change to enjoy some of their fabulous wines on offer too.

Had a lovely dinner here the other night with work colleagues. The food was delicious and the service throughout the meal was good. I ordered the pancetta and creamed potatoes to start then had a fillet steak which I have to say was one of the best steaks I've eaten so far.

Valentine's day was here again and we wanted to go somewhere half decent for a dinner. Last summer we stayed at Hotel du Vin in Harrogate and thought it was rather nice. Ever since then we had it in our minds to try the Edinburgh one for a meal. We skipped starters and just ordered a basket of bread instead, which was a beautiful selection of freshly baked breads. We both had the 'Hdv beef burger with bacon and cheese, served with pommes frites and homemade tomato ketchup' for mains. Does it look good in the photo? Yes, it was good, very good. Unfortunately and extremely unlikely to me I had not much appetite that night, so I had to leave most of it... such a shame, but more of a reason to dine here again! Appetite or not, I always manage to find room for a dessert, so creamy and sophisticated 'Lemon panna cotta' it was and 'Irn Bru Turkish delight' to go with it... something different. romantic atmosphere feels like you were in France 'I think. Therefore I du Vin.' 11 Bristo Place, Ed

I recently had a great dinner at Edinburgh's Hotel du Vin, which turned up a few surprises. Firstly, the place was absolutely heaving on this particular Friday night. Now, I know that Fridays are always busy, but techinically-speaking, this IS a hotel res

A couple of months ago, the Hotel du Vin chain launched Sunday brunch. Forget everything you know about brunch: Hotel du Vin’s offering is something else. We’re not talking a stack of American pancakes with syrup and blueberries, or even eggs Florentine. We’re talking four courses of fabulous food. At £19.95, it’s also fabulous value.

Update, August 2013: the price has increased to £24.95, but that’s still good value for four courses.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the chef’s table one Sunday to take a spot of brunch with Michael Musgrave and Martin Barnovsky of Hotel du Vin, Edinburgh. It wasn’t just me: Katey from Edinburgh Eats and a friend were there too, and I had C. to escort me. The chef’s table is in a snug, just off the main dining room, and has a fish-bowl view of the kitchen. It’s an interesting view although I sometimes felt sorry for the chefs when we all turned to the window to gaze at what was happening in there.

Hotel du Vin’s brunch is a slow, leisurely affair, a relaxed afternoon of eating and chatting. The four courses are:

Soup

The soup is usually vegetarian and the one we had was seasonal vegetable and came sprinkled with parsley and olive oil. It was warming and fresh, and just whetted my appetite. In preparation for a big lunch I’d had an apple and a glass of grapefruit juice for breakfast. Come one o’clock I was ready to eat. I was hungry. The soup woke my taste buds gently and made my stomach rumble.

I’m surprised that we all managed to eat all four courses. C. probably had the smallest buffet place since he was bread and veg only, but the rest of us tried hard not to eat so much that we fainted. It took self-control.

French Market Buffet

I’d cheerfully charge the entire cover price of £19.95 for the buffet. With a collection of breads, cold cuts and sea food, it’s the closest thing to a smörgåsbord I’ve seen outside of Sweden. What’s on it will vary with the seasons but we had prawns (shelled, and unshelled), oysters, dressed crab, cold and hot smoked salmon, potted shrimp, clams, mussels, salami, parma ham on the bone, mushroom paté, chicken liver paté, baguette, croisants, bagel, and all kinds of sauces and pickles. I’m probably selling the non-fish part of the spread a little short: I saw the crab and oysters and stampeded past the charcuterie.

You can visit the buffet more than once. We didn’t because we all figured that doing so would dampen our appetite for the main.

Main

Choose from beef or chicken roast with all the trimmings, catch du jour, burger, omelette Arnold Bennet (smoked haddock and cheese), steak frites, tomato risotto and other filling, comforting dishes. At the table we also had the chicken roast, with puffy yorkies and roast veg, and the burger. It was cooked to perfection and oozing with cheese. It came with a poke of frites and looked absolutely lovely.

I think my catch du jour – a plaice, entire, gently fried and served with watercress and lemon – was probably the lightest option. It was delicious. A squeeze of lemon, a scrape with a knife, and it was perfect. I had some of the broccoli that came with the roast as a token green, but the plaice didn’t need anything but was great as it was.

C. had the tomato and olive risotto which hearty and full of tomato goodness

Pudding

The deserts are classics: trifle, créme brulé, rhubarb crumble and cheese board are all on offer, as well as crumble, profiteroles and an ice cream coupe. Despite being in my twenties the first time I met a trifle, I enjoy the nostalgia of this particularly British dish. The Hotel du Vin version comes with crystal clear red jelly with a distinct sherry hit to it hiding under layers of cream and custard. It was big and I’m very proud of myself for finishing all of it.

A staple in the Edinburgh Food scene, Bistro Du Vin has always been a place I’ve recommended to family, friends, colleagues and tourists. Located on Bristo Place, its just around the corner from The National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street (its a 2 minute walk), across the road from the McEwan Hall (so ideal for graduations) and a few minutes easy walking from the Cowgate, the Grassmarket and the Royal Mile. The entrance to Hotel Du Vin is quite enchanting, especially at night time, with the twinkling light walkway. From the street you’ll enter the courtyard with its cosy cigar bothy and then through the doors into the hotel. The bistro is located to the right of reception. The decor is very French. The walls a mustard yellow, wooden tables and chairs, large wooden dressers, wine, carefully chosen and curated plaques and trinkets, dimmed lighting and a crackling fire all creating a very cosy intimate vibe. A bistro, a café, or a troquet is essentially a casual French type of restaurant that served tasteful, inexpensive French traditional food. The dishes and menu are often homestyle cooking or baking and are simple yet refined and put a spin on classic dishes. This is exactly what you can expect at Bistro Du Vin. Both my plus one and I liked quite a few of the same dishes, so we decided to order the ones we liked the sound of and go for a sharing/mezze kinda meal. I love this sort of dining as it gives you the opportunity to taste more and have a nibble of this and a nibble of that. Petit Lucas Olives (£4.95) green olives from the Languedoc with a light creamy vanilla flavour. Fougasse (£6.50) light and fluffy Provencal style focaccia served with black garlic aioli. This was warm and light, and just the perfect dipping bread for soaking up the French Onion Soup but also the garlic chilli butter from the prawns. Tiger Prawns (£11.95) with chilli, garlic and pastis butter with aioli dip. These were sweet and succulent. The pièce de résistance was without a doubt this Soupe A L’Oignon (£7.95) or Classic French Onion Soup. The cheesy crouton on top, this thick and dense soup with soft sweet onions, is sensational. It’s on the lunch and dinner menu and I urge you to go dine here for this alone. Every guest at dinner on this night, ordered this soup. It’s incredibly popular and no wonder. Ideal for a luncheon or a small dinner, order this soup and the fougasse and you’ve got a super tasty hearty meal that your belly will appreciate and your heart will love for around £15. As I mentioned above, a Bistro is somewhere that offers elevated homestyle cooking; its simple and classic but tastes scrumptious. The Main dishes are familiar, they’re classics, they might even be dishes your mum use to make. As far as an Autumn/Winter menu goes, each one of these dishes will make you smile, wrap you in a warm hug, place you by the fire and keep you happy. The mains list dishes like Cassoulet (£15.95) with confit duck, pork belly and Toulousse sausage in a rich bean stew. It’s Moules Mariniere (£14.95) of mussels steamed in white wine, cream, shallots and garlic or the Pumpkin and Sage Gnocchi (£12.95). Hungry yet? We went for good ol Sirloin Steak (£32.95) with pomme frites cooked just how we asked, a medium rare and the Grilled Chicken Normandy (£15.95) with petit salad and chips. Sides of Cauliflower Cheese (£4.25) and Glazed Carrots (£4.25). The Chicken and Chips came with the most insanely silky gorgeous chunky garlic butter that initially was drizzled over everything but then spooned; the garlic and parsley chunks had settled at the bottom of the copper pot. Oh what deliciousness lay there! Pot Au Chocolat (£7.50) chocolate mousse with cream chantilly and Creme Brulee (£7.50). Just the right sized desserts to finish off an evening of really good well cooked food. Hotel du Vin is so worthy of a visit. They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner is a warm, friendly and peaceful setting. The staff are superb and can offer expertise across wine, cocktails and the food menu.

Hotel du Vin & Bistro Edindurgh is located at Bristo Pl, Edinburgh EH1 1EZ, UK

Incredible food .. pleasantly suprised on the price ...

Great food & wine. You're good with anything Chicken or Duck. Service was not so regular, despite being there in a group. Also, they took a long time to serve Dessert. I would most definitely recommend this for a fine dining experience.

Great meal wonderful venue. Well trained staff who o served all protocols