Fishers Bistro

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £18 (lunch)
   £18 (evening meal)
• House wine: £11.95 per bottle

• High point: Culinary expertise and flair
• Low point: Some dishes needlessly complicated
• Food served: Mon-Sat noon-10.30pm; Sun 12.30-10.30pm
• Bar open: Mon-Sat noon-1am; Sun 12.30pm-1am
• Private dining: Up to 30 covers
• Open since: 1991
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of menu), Childrens high chairs

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Housed in a 17th century signal tower overlooking the shore at Leith, this established Edinburgh favourite is so close to the source of its raw ingredients that they should be measured in food yards rather than miles. The restaurant is housed in two rooms - a lively, circular bar area with large communal tables, and a compact, traditional dining room that makes the most of every nook. Fishers has built a deserved reputation for expert cooking and offers a large daily menu of freshly-caught options. Dishes such as a starter of john dory given a faultless treatment of savoury serrano ham and pecan hollandaise really prove the chef's ingenuity. A fish soup from the 'Fishers features' menu is rampant with cream, onions and chunky fish, and comes in a cup for the hungry or a bowl for the hungrier. From the mains, a pan-fried fillet of arctic char is a stunning example of culinary flair: the fish is cooked to flaky perfection and served on a bed of sliced Jerusalem artichoke, earthy oyster mushrooms and a herby rosemary salad that's dripping with truffle oil. Fishers is rightly busy most nights of the year so booking is essential and it's best to say which room you want. Finally, a special tribute must be made to the valiant chefs who create their masterpieces in what must surely the smallest kitchen in Edinburgh. They feed the entire restaurant from four gas rings.