The Vintners Rooms

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Relive the days when vintners would discuss the latest wine imports from France in this beautiful 18th century stucco sale room which is still only lit with candles. Named after the original diners, The Vintners Rooms makes a gracious nod to history while offering a very 21st century approach to dining. Faultless fine dining is offered in the original vintners sales room, while the rug-covered, wood-floor elegant wine bar offers a more informal approach. Echoes of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland are still very evident with dishes such as Aberdeen Angus carpaccio with winter black truffle, in which there is no Scotch parsimony with the generous portion of tender beef slices. Caramelised grapes offer a burst of sweetness with the sautéed foie gras. A magnificent fillet of pink Buccleuch beef with a satisfying salty crust sits majestically on a goose fat-fried potato and spinach bed while, on the other hand, subtle elements of fennel, aniseed prawn and lobster meld together to offer a beautifully balanced exercise in range of flavours and textures. The new wine bar lunch menu means the historic Vintners Rooms is accessible for long casual lunches to intimate candle-lit dinners.

• High point: Candle-lit elegance matched with equally elegant well-balanced attractive food
• Low point: Specify which dining room you prefer in the evening as often the sales room is taken over by groups

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