The Ship on the Shore

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• What are these?

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

• High point: Imaginative treatments and surprising flavours
• Low point: Having to wade through a busy bar to reach unwelcoming toilets
• Food served: Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm, 6-9.30pm; Sat 10am-10pm; Sun 10am-9pm
• Bar open: Mon-Thu noon-11pm; Fri/Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 12.30pm-11pm
• Open since: 1988

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

This well-known venue has recently been acquired by chef/proprietor Murray George and is in the process of being reinvigorated. Wooden floors, window booths and ad hoc tables create a laid-back ambience, with a collection of oars forming an eccentric ceiling sculpture that dominates the middle of the room. Diners come in all shapes and sizes, from young couples through to families and tourists. A daily handwritten menu suggests fresh produce, and may include the likes of west coast mussels, Loch Fyne oysters and a lively starter of dressed crab with sweet meat and an intense mango zest, while a substantial portion of deep-fried king prawns is served in tempura batter with a warm chilli butter. Mains may include selections of steak and vegetables, plus a few catches of the day, such as salmon fillet, roast halibut and a thick wedge of tuna, which comes pan-fried and served with a pomegranate and blueberry salsa. It takes a few months for a restaurant to find its feet, but, given its ideal location amid the cluster of characterful buildings that dominate the shore in Leith, and the fact that the new chef is a former fishmonger, the Ship on the Shore has all the prospects to make it a fine seafood destination.