The Witchery By The Castle | Combine Culture With Fine Dining

My weekend escape to Edinburgh was filled with long walks around a town that oozes atmosphere and sophistication in its mystery from the history its inherited. Edinburgh like any popular city will have a ton of eating options from your usual globalised eatery brands to the uniquely local. I love a unique dinning experience and have sometimes travelled miles just for the indulgence. Check out my dinning experience on Spitbank Fort -  a man-made island on the Solent.   Living in London, one of the world's most popular cities, when it comes to food, you can get pretty much anything. This applies to Edinburgh too. On this occasion I didn't want the usual eatery I could find any and everywhere. I had my eyes firmly locked on one place. I guess you can say I was bewitched from the moment I found out about it.

You may have have seen me post a sneak peek of The Witchery by the Castle on my Facebook. Situated in in the heart of the Royal Mile, with the Edinburgh Castle for its neighbour. It's no surprise the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Cameron Macintosh, two gurus from the theatre industry have frequented the legendary food served up in The Witchery's Secret Garden restaurant. Accessed via a tiny passageway leading to a small courtyard. It's an escape from the busy streets on the Royal Mile that perch on its doorstep. The Secret Garden holds on to its charm long after its opening in 1989. You enter via a pulpit reception and decend the stone stairs that reveals a secluded terrace.  Entirely lit by candles, dark wood paneling, beamed ceiling, luxurious tables beautifully decorated with flowers and candles creating the perfect ambience for a magical and romantic setting.

The Secret Garden allows you take a break from immersing yourself in Scottish history and culture to see another side of the city through its food! Impeccable food locally sourced and you can tell its cooked with love because it tastes so damn good.  If you are a foodie then this is definitely a spot you have to stop by. My personal recommendation; The Lamb Wellington, a pastry baked lamb loin stuffed with wild mushroom and chicken mousse wrapped in Seranno ham. Smoked aubergine pureé, served up with spring greens is just party central in the mouth! It was so good I wanted a second helping but at £60, I thought I would leave room for the dessert that promised to have me licking the plate too. There is also a set menu as well that wont have your bank manager calling to check if all your marbles are still in tact. I was also brave enough to try the Haggis - forgetting for a moment what its really made of. The food was flavourful with fine wine from a weighty book of world class wines. The service is great, but because it's so popular the tables have a 2 hour limit. 

Though not the most inexpensive of places, if you are in the city and need a real treat or you want to take your partner for a special dinning experience this is the place to be. That goes for the ladies too, you can take your boyfriend or hubster instead of waiting for them to do it. It is 2014 after all! Your pocket may not thank me, but your taste buds will be doing the happy happy joy joy dance, that the bill would have been worth the dance. Below are some of the shots taken while the man was in mid-bite and hypnotized by the food that he couldn't object to my Nikon lens salivating over the feast. Enjoy!

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