Set inside the grand, Waldorf Astoria-owned Caledonian Hotel at the west end of Princes Street, Galvin Brasserie de Luxe aims to be a landmark dining operation in Edinburgh. This is a high-end French restaurant whose affectations are entirely in keeping with a place which is decked out smartly and clearly keen to attract an upmarket clientele.
Keen to give the impression that the customer has been transported to the centre of Paris for their brasserie meal, the tiled, well-lit space is adorned with crisp white tablecloths and decorative bottles of wine, even as the customer-conscious food design offers a lunchtime prix fixe menu, a special children’s selection and a private dining option. From the a la carte list, start with the house steak tartare, the endive, walnut and Roquefort salad or the escargots in a bourguignon sauce, and then move onto a crustacean such as crab, langoustine or lobster, or one of a variety of Aberdeen Angus steaks. This latter option helps demonstrate that, even though French is the style here, Scotland is very much the source.