Kweilin

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £23 (set lunch)
   £16 (evening meal)
• House wine: £14.50 per bottle

• Hitlisted
• High point: High-quality cuisine prepared with fresh ingredients
• Low point: Families with young children aren't encouraged to visit
• Food served: Tue-Thu noon-2pm, 5-11pm; Fri/Sat noon-2pm, 5-11.30pm; Sun 5-11pm. Closed Mon.
• Private dining: Up to 20 covers
• Open since: 1984
• Also offers: Take away

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Derek Tang makes no secret of the fact that he is aiming at the upper end of the market with Kweilin, his classy, understated Cantonese restaurant that he opened in 1984. A fixed-price executive dinner menu and a wine list boasting labels such as Cloudy Bay and Pauilla, which sells for more than £80 a pop, suggest he has succeeded in attracting Edinburgh's lovers of fine dining, whether they're visiting for business or pleasure, or both. The menu also gives away a few clues. Deep-fried crab claw jostles with fresh lobster among the starters, although there are other, more affordable, but equally enticing options, such as ginger beef shui-my, a subtle dish with a delicate aftertaste. Main courses include the traditional ma-po tofu with minced pork and bean curd served in a spicy Szechuan sauce, and the more contemporary wok-fried monkfish with broccoli, a finely balanced and flavoursome dish which makes use of best quality local ingredients. To finish, the dessert listing offers an alternative to the usual limited range of afters, in the form of a fresh fruit platter - presented oh-so stylishly, as you would expect.