One of Edinburgh's best new restaurants, Heron, has just launched a bar menu, to run alongside their current a la carte and tasting offerings.
It offers affordable but still exciting smaller plates that are priced from between £3 and £10, and is served in the Leith venue’s bar and lounge areas from 5.30pm until 10pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Although peak times on a Friday and Saturday may have limited availability, there are no reservations necessary for this food list.
Just pop in and grab a seat.
“The idea behind this menu is to offer a more casual and approachable experience for food and drink enthusiasts in a more relaxed environment,” says chef patron, Tomas Gormley, who owns the restaurant with Sam Yorke. “Guests will be able to enjoy some of our more experimental dishes and drinks without needing to commit to our full dining experience”.
The new dishes have an emphasis on “sustainability and flavour”, with a focus on lesser known cuts like monkfish cheeks.
“These go widely unused compared to the more popular tail,” says Gormley.
At Heron, these are marinated in fermented rice marinade shio koji and cooked on their Japanese konro barbecue.
The most expensive dish on the new bar menu is the barbecued octopus with chilli and soy for £7, closely followed by pork belly, kimchi and sesame for £6, though you can also order a single oyster and jalapeno for £3, Company Bakery sourdough with brown crab butter for £4 or Arbroath Smokie served with gribiche and caviar for just a fiver.
All these options are designed to be served alongside drinks created by their bar manager, Seoridh Fraser. He’s recently designed the McGavin cocktail, which features herb oil that’s made from kitchen leftovers, local gin and lime juice. As well as wine, vermouth and Champagne, they also offer their takes on classics, like an Amaretto sour of Mai Tai, as well as the White Negroni, which contains Lind & Lime Gin, Suze Gentian Liqueur and Lillet Blanc.
91a Henderson Street, Edinburgh (0131 554 1242, www.heron.scot)
