Restaurant review: Lennox Edinburgh

Edinburgh is not short of good restaurants. You can find them in Leith, Stockbridge, the West End and other neighbourhoods in the capital. But what about the city centre? 

Less well served, some might say (with some notable exceptions), so I was intrigued to hear about the opening of Lennox Edinburgh, on the corner of Queensferry Street and Charlotte Lane. 

The latest venture from chef/restaurateur, Nico Simeone, Lennox seeks to bring “unapologetic and indulgent cooking” to the capital, following in the footsteps of its siblings in Manchester and Glasgow.  So, my dining companion and I went to find out what this might mean. 

Entering the restaurant on a bright, sunny Friday evening, we adjusted to a pleasantly darkened room. First impressions are positive.  It’s spacious and the décor is easy on the eye, with dark amber seating; gold and burnt-orange velvet cushions; and bookcases lining the walls. The ambience is relaxing and comfortable, but with an edge – actual flames are leaping up in the open kitchen, where chefs are cooking with fire. 

The menu features a range of small plates and big plates, and we ordered a good selection, to share. My dining partner, Andrew, is an unapologetically maximalist diner, who likes the biggest flavours and as many of them as possible. Not many restaurants deliver that for him, but this one did.    

The dishes tend to arrive when they’re ready, but our four small plates all arrived quickly. First of all, we shared the flame-grilled padrón peppers, with tajín and lime – a sharp and spicy wake-up call for the tastebuds. Next came one of Andrew’s favourites – Scotch eggs. While the combination of black pudding, quail egg and brown sauce was a new one for him, he gave it the thumbs up.

The devils on horseback dish with maple and creamy, pink liver parfait was a good-looking flavourbomb. Our final small plate, of aged-beef tartare, burger sauce and shoestring fries was covered with a blitz of parmesan, concealing the lucky dip of deliciousness underneath.  

Andrew chose the flat-iron steak, with café de Paris butter and king prawns as his main and I vaguely recall hearing his enthusiastic compliments. I was too busy enjoying the gnocchetti, with pistachio pesto and stracciatella – the greenest green dish I’ve ever seen and definitely the tastiest. And as a potato addict, I would come back to Lennox for the fried baby spuds and aioli alone.

This is not food to send you to sleep and desserts continue that theme. As an affogato aficionado, this choice provided the perfect hit of spiky caffeine and silky vanilla ice-cream to end my meal. Andrew’s big-flavour quest carried on and was delivered, with a dessert that featured not just chocolate delice, but also evoo (extra virgin olive oil) ice cream and orange compote.

We left concluding that Lennox deserves to be unapologetic about its indulgent cooking. If you like bland and predictable, this is not the place for you. But if you do like to be excited by each dish that arrives, in a welcoming and stylish space, Lennox is city-centre dining at its finest.

The editor and her companion dined as guests at the press launch of Lennox.

www.lennoxrestaurant.co.uk