The Orchard had long been on our list for a visit when we were reminded of it, recently, when asked if we knew places that served Cockburn’s of Dingwall haggis. As far as we could work out, this is the only place to do so, in Edinburgh, so if that’s your haggis of choice, this is the place for you.
Exterior
The Orchard’s interior is lovely, with elegant stained glass windows, delightful cornicing, and stylish lighting features. It’s a lovely pub environment.
Their menu is in gastropub territory. Their version of steak pie is steak and merlot, for example. I opted for their soup of the day, which was cauliflower, parsnip and honey, then followed with a pork and chorizo burger.
Soup
I’d been toying with the idea of cauliflower and parsnip as a combination, the other day, but shied away from it, as I really liked both flavours, separately. This soup was very well made, but I’m not sold on the flavour combination. Still, this was accomplished cooking.
The main course burger was similarly good. For a chorizo burger it lacked the expected punch, but it was lovely and juicy and the roll had good integrity. The accompanying cheese and salad were a bit of a non-event, but again, it was a good quality item.
Burger and chips
The accompanying chips, in the chip shop style, were the highlight of the meal, with just the right balance between crispness and softness.
So overall, The Orchard was rather good. It didn’t quite wow me, as I couldn’t help but feel that some of the corners had been unnecessarily smoothed, bringing refinement where gutsy boldness would have been a better fit. Only with the chips, where flavours were left to run free, untrammelled, did things really hit home. But I admire what they’re doing, though, so I’d be happy to point you in their direction, next time you’re looking for a good pub feed.
Scores
Blythe scores the Orchard
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 14.5/20
I ate: cauliflower, parsnip and honey soup; chorizo burger
I drank: Schiehallion
I wore: rainwear
Total bill: £15.65
