It’s often in January when the wonders of social media bring forth dining diamonds. Such was the case when the tweet came through from Jean-Michel from La Garrigue to proclaim “1 night only – 3 courses for £20”. I was there like a shot.

I’d visited previously, for lunch, so was aware of the quality that would be on offer, but this evening did a fine job at taking things to another level.

Banning words is a bad business, but if there is one phrase I’d like to see expunged from the English language, it’s the following: “stop playing with your food.” Only good can come from playing with food, as this evening’s dishes demonstrated, most expertly.

To open, I chose the fish soup. When it arrived, its hue spoke of huge depth of flavour, and so it proved. Accompanying it were three items: crisp toast; grated cheese; and an excellent rouille. This is where the food play began. I’m sure there’s a terribly sophisticated way of combining things, but I set about creating a succession of little toasts to float in the soup. I’m easily pleased, but this truly delighted me. The soup was really good, too, so I was a very happy camper.

Service was a joy throughout, with an attentive approach, which included first class wine and drink recommendations for all courses.

The beef daube main course was very good, with an elegant parsnip puree accompaniment. The highlight, though, was the butternut squash and brussels sprout side. Where I’d got to play with the starter, so chef was having his little playful fun with the main course. It was a complete joy.

An excellent cheese selection followed, paired with a fragrant walnut infused wine. I rounded things out with good espresso.

So overall, it was an absolute pleasure to dine at La Garrigue, again. We’re blessed in Edinburgh to have such fine French cooking on offer. To sample it on a January offer made it just that bit sweeter, too. I’d strongly recommend you pay the place a visit, at your earliest convenient opportunity.

Scores
Blythe scores La Garrigue
4/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4.5/5 for service
giving an overall 16.5/20

I ate: olive cake amuse bouche, fish soup, daube of beef, cheeseboard

I drank: white and red wines, saffron gin and tonic, walnut wine, water, espresso

I wore: Duchamp tie

Total bill: £50.25

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