Timberyard, Edinburgh

During our weekend in Edinburgh we happened to visit the Timberyard – a family run restaurant on Lady Lawson Street. We’d heard that it was unmissable… so naturally we made a reservation.

On arrival, we received a warm ‘may I take your jackets?’ welcome to the large barn-style restaurant, already setting a cosy, homily atmosphere. This was only further enforced by the cute wood burning stove, rustic yet contemporary decor, and the continually smiley friendly staff!

The complimentary bread arrived warm (and with some seriously light whipped butter!),  found out they source all their ingredients from local suppliers/growers, that they grow their own herbs ‘out back’, and even their cola is homemade! I cannot stress how impressed we were with this. They clearly don’t do things by halves!

The menu was unique, with some very uncommon (some unheard of!) ingredients which made it all the more exciting.

To drink we had the Spiced Crabapple and Pear (with cinnamon and, we think, pine needles?). It was crisp yet so warming! Mmm.

And Vanessa had the homemade cola – tangy and refreshing, with a slight gingery taste.

For starters (or a ‘Small’, according to the menu), Mark had the cured & smoked salmon, rye crumb, roe, cucumber.

And Issy had the raw roe deer, smoked beetroot, pickled chanterelle, spiced bread.

For mains (or ‘Large’), Vanessa and I had the lamb loin & belly, beetroot, kohlrabi, kale, radish, whipped potato. There were so many elements to the plate, I felt like a judge on Masterchef trying all the flavour combinations! Heaven.

Issy’s main was the baked salsify, cauliflower, squash, stout, whipped potato, crowdie, leaves. Again, having the chance to try things we’d never tried before was definitely the best thing about the menu.

Mark’s main: coley, carrot, shallot, potato, cider vinegar, watercress.

We then made sure to try the desserts, since everything else was so delicious!

Chocolate pudding, frozen berries, buttermilk, oat crisp, creme fraiche.

Plum, apple, bramble, honey, heather, brandy.

Vanessa and I went for the baked apple, nut crumb, cider caramel. Now, this was definitely my kind of dessert. Warm, fruity, spiced, and with a dollop of something cold… and in this case, the cider sorbet totally made it for me! I could have happily had another.

All in all, Timberyard was probably THE best decision we made over the weekend… and we will most likely be visiting next time we’re in Edinburgh! Unmissable.