21212

Chef Paul Kitching & co-owner Katie O’Brien upped sticks from the successful Juniper in Altrincham & brought their talents to Edinburgh in 2009. Set in a lushly refurbished Victorian townhouse, their new venture quickly picked up a Michelin star – not surprising given that Kitching’s cooking borders on performance art. The ‘21212’ name reflects the menu style: there are two starter choices, then soup, two main-course options, then cheese & finally two desserts. Dinner involves the whole shebang; at lunch you can have three to five courses, priced accordingly. Describing a meal in detail would take a novella, but Kitching conjures up dishes such as ‘all things white’ which involves beef fillet, celeriac cubes, couscous, white asparagus, mooli, boiled egg & leek confit, garlic mayo, onion & yoghurt, macadamia nuts, spring onion & horseradish cream sauce. It’s all about creativity, spectacle & entertainment. There ‘s a decent wine list, too.