January Deals

“January is the cruellest month, breeding detox out of the dead land. Memory and desire for chocolate, stirring. Instead dull roots, fad diets, with winter rain.”

There’s nothing like murdering a bit of Eliot to start the year, I say. Another option might be to take advantage of the some of the great deals and wizard wheezes that restaurants in Edinburgh have on the go, this month.

Firstly, a note from the little rays of sunshine at Hula Juice Bar. If you pop over to Facebook and “like” their page, or scoot over to Twitter and retweet their tweet, that will enter you in to a prize draw for lunch for two at their lovely little café. Winners will be announced on 29 January, so head over to those happy social networks and get your entries in.

Steakhouse Kyloe, at the Rutland Hotel, has an attractive 50% off their main courses, in January. It’s parties of no more than 4, and you need to bring the voucher (details at http://www.kyloerestaurant.com/), but it’s well worth a visit, if you’re feeling carnivorous.

Lunch Quest favourite, Café Domenico’s has a nice little deal on, too. Listed as their “Winter Offer” (meaning it could last for quite a while, given Edinburgh’s famously roasty toasty climate), you can sample one of their excellent pasta dishes, with an accompanying glass of vino, for the princely sum of £6.50, on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.

When we were in Gusto, the other day, one of the staff mentioned that they were offering 50% off food, when you book online. I couldn’t track it down, to begin with, but eventually found it via one of their tweets. If you book at http://www.gustorestaurants.uk.com/jansale you’ll receive this generous discount.

With thanks to Edinburgh Foody for flagging this one, La Garrigue in Eyre place has a great lunch deal running from Wednesday to Sunday. Sample one of their delicious main courses and a coffee for £8.50. Further details on their website at: http://www.lagarrigue.co.uk/lagarriguenewtown/special%20offers.htm

Hotel du Vin has a similar 50% discount on food. I managed to find this one, with thanks to friend of Lunch Quest, Tony. You need to pre-register your interest at the Hotel du Vin website (http://www.hotelduvin.com/) to gain access to the offer, which includes 50% off food at Hotel du Vin and Pub du Vin, and 25% off food at Bistro du Vin, during January. Having done that, you can print out the voucher, or simply show the staff the link from your smartphone, when you’re there.

50% off all food, all day, every day, is available at Vittoria on the Walk, Vittoria on the Bridge, La Favorita and Divino Enoteca, up until 26 January.

Online booking at http://www.vittoriagroup.co.uk/ is required, quoting the reference ‘JS’. Parties of no more than 6, for this one.

The Purslane is on our hit list for January. We’ll be taking advantage of their 20% off offer. Further details available on their website at: http://www.purslanerestaurant.co.uk/

With thanks to Sharon for spotting this one, you can sample 3 courses for £30 at either The Witchery, Rhubarb (Prestonfield House), or The Tower, for either lunch or dinner, throughout January. The offer applies seven days a week. Details are available on their website, at http://www.thewitchery.com/3-courses-for-30.html

Undoubtedly the best offer this January is the remarkable deal that Mark Greenaway has on at No.12 Picardy Place. For those of you who don’t know, this place is seriously good, and is on a very short list of places in Edinburgh that I think has genuine claims on a first Michelin star, next time those chaps publish their hallowed restaurant guide. What’s the offer? PAY WHAT YOU WANT! How good is that?

The deal is for parties of no more than 4, covers food only (you’ll be presented with two separate bills: one for food; one for drinks), but you can genuinely pay whatever you like. That means you can pay more than the listed prices, of course! It’ll be interesting to see how it works out. Certainly, as a wheez to get punters through the door, I think it’s a complete winner. We’ll be there, later this week, so look out for the review.

No doubt there are hundreds of other good deals on offer, in the next few weeks, so do let us know. Those who are rigidly sticking to diets (I can think of two of our fellow food bloggers who are having great fun attempting to shift their #bloggersbelly, this month), good luck. For the rest of us, why not take advantage of some the deals that are out there. I’ve heard on good authority that 2012 is the #yearofcake. I’d like to think it can also be a year when y’all try new places and embrace the pioneer questing spirit.