Edinburgh’s Ondine Oyster Bar & Grill has been awarded Best Restaurant in Scotland at The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards, which took place in London last night (August 16).
Despite a difficult year of producing lockdown takeaways and coping with various issues involving the building’s exterior, this 12-year-old seafood restaurant on George IV Bridge has retained its high standards.
They’ve also undergone a recent refurbishment of the oyster bar, restaurant and private dining areas, and installed a robata grill, so they can gradually broaden their focus to offer more red-meat-based dishes.
Chef patron, Roy Brett, says: “We as a team are absolutely delighted to not only feature in the Top 100 UK restaurants but also be awarded the Best Restaurant in Scotland.
"Following the last year of lockdown and the pandemic as well as external scaffolding covering the entire restaurant, which is out of our control, we are thrilled to celebrate Ondine Oyster & Grill as a team and to continue doing what we love.
"Following our re-opening, I said we maybe can’t control what is happening outside the restaurant, but we can control what is happening inside which remains true, more than ever.
"Together as a team, we will continue to strive to do what we do best.”
Brett’s restaurant, which the National Restaurant Awards website describes as “something of an institution in the Scottish capital” was the only from Edinburgh to feature in the Top 100 list, which is judged by a team of over 200 chefs, restaurateurs and food writers.
They made it to number 72, with only one other destination in Scotland making the final roundup, which was topped by Moor Hall in Lancashire for the second year running.
That was Inver in Cairndow, which is owned by Pam Brunton and Rob Latimer, and came in at number 85.
As its National Restaurant Awards online profile says; “Inver is an emphatic celebration of Scotland’s larder that displays great reverence to the provenance and quality of its local ingredients”.
For the full list, visit the website.
