Jestico + Whiles Architects, Restaurant, Image, Scotland, Building, Photos

The Malmaison Edinburgh

The Malmaison Hotel Restaurant, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland

post updated 20 April 2024

Design: Jestico + Whiles Architects

The Malmaison Hotel Restaurant – Dining Review

Intro

The restaurant is refreshingly calm and dimly lit, aided by a dark palette, almost cosy despite modern, hard materials:

Malmaison Hotel Edinburgh image from Jestico + Whiles Architects

The Malmaison Hotel Edinburgh

Design

Hotel restaurants are often unsuccessful at pitching to outsiders: here the restaurant is at the front of the hotel and hotel reception is concealed behind the main stairs. Thus it feels like you are entering an eclectic dining experience rather than the world of fleeting inhabitants.

Malmaison Hotel Edinburgh: image from Jestico + Whiles Architects

Jestico + Whiles Architects

Materials

The design is clean and contemporary with dark wood floors and furniture. Lighting is provided mostly through square translucent pendants which provide low levels and flush target lights. Both the lights and the chairs follow a stripe theme.

The timber slatted blinds provide privacy for diners, and on the internal L-shaped wall there is a mirrored band that helps enliven the space and add sparkle. To the kitchen end a timber slatted screen provides fractured views of activity and dynamically locks into the stripe theme.

Malmaison Hotel Edinburgh image from Jestico + Whiles Architects

Food

The range was wide with interesting and different dishes, there was something for everyone’s palatte here.

Hors d’Oeuvre

The bread came warm with a simple butter dish.

Starters

My wife had ‘beefsteak tomato avocado crabmeat’. This had lovely textures and had a certain novelty factor. I had Loch Fyne Mussels steamed in chablis and parsley. What a treat. I’ve always been a fan of moule mouliniere but this was exquisite, and very generous in proportion.

Main

My wife had Grilled Mignon Scottish Beef Ribeye Steak with mustard. The presentation was attractive and the flavours good. I had pan-fried skate salsa rossa & lemon. I have a liking for black butter skate so this made a change, again the portion was generous.

Side dishes

My wife had asked at the start whether the carrots could be prepared differently and indeed they came sugared with no problems. These touches are important, the restaurant was here prepared to go the extra mile. We had mixed leaf & herb salad, broccoli hollandaise – yummy – and pommes pont-neuf, or as the waitress called them, square chips.

Pudding

My wife plumped for a trio of chocolate-based elements, dark rich chocolate tart, warm white chocolate soufflet and milk chocolate ice cream. The contrasts in this pudding were beautiful. I went for the simple raspberry & coconut sorbet, what a great contrast.

Drinks

Wine service was simple, friendly and quick. The waitress gave good unfussy advice. The water bottle was simple and stylish.

Service & Impressions

RESTAURANT:

Service at the Malmaison Edinburgh was efficient, warm and attentive on our visit. First impressions of the restaurant were of a warm indoor space on a hot day but the waiter soon had the doors to the Terrace open thus making the temperature acceptable. The cutlery was simple but the paper table cloth would have been happily exchanged for white linen.

FURNITURE/TABLE SETTING:

The furniture is clean and contemporary.

Summary:

Malmaison Hotel Edinburgh: image from Jestico + Whiles Architects

This was a very pleasant evening. The Malmaison food took French cooking and added a few twists. The service on the night was excellent: some expensive restaurants are let down by staff who dwell too long or who talk down to you. Here the staff were helpful without being over-friendly or chatty. The recent change to the décor at the Malmaison Edinburgh is a big improvement. We came out feeling relaxed and satisfied!

Malmaison Hotel Leith Restaurant

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