The Pompadour restaurant is one of seven restaurants across London and Edinburgh that are run by the world renowned Galvin Brothers. Under their guidance, The Pompadour has become a very popular and consistently impressive restaurant and we were eager to try it out on our stay at The Caledonian Hotel.
The restaurant is traditional in design and is styled around the classic architecture that remains from the original room design. Bright and fresh, the tables and chairs are dressed in white and light blue fabrics, which breath life into the room whilst maintaining the fine dining atmosphere and feel. The large bay windows overlooking Edinburgh castle also created a luxurious ambience, which was a wonderful start to our classic tasting menu with paired wine.
To begin our meal we enjoyed chilled pea soup with smoked salmon and lemon cream. Served with a glass of Triple Zero, Domained Taille auz Loup NV, the soup was very fresh and light, a perfect start to a tasting menu. This was closely followed by a roulade of fois gras and ham hock, served with pineapple puree and fennel croutons. The dish was delicious, particularly the fois gras, and the pineapple puree offered a surprisingly impressive accompaniment to the rich flavours. This dish was served with a glass of Petit Manseng, Domaine Cabidos 2010.
“The friendly staff, great service and faultless food at The Pompadour made for a wonderful experience.”
Our next dish was ravioli of rabbit with ricotta, sarriette and artichokes barigoule. The ravioli was extremely delicious, with the beautiful flavours of the rabbit coming through well. The artichokes were cooked using a traditional French method. This dish was served with Gruner Veltliner, Weingut Wess 2012, a beautiful accompaniment to this beautiful dish.
The following dish was fillet of john dory served with asparagus, broccoli puree and dill linguine. The dish was very well constructed and the john dory in particular tasted very fresh and light, particularly when accompanied by Grand Bateau Blanc, 2011.
The final meat course was a dish of slow cooked sirloin of beef served with bone marrow, watercress and Amontillado Sherry jus. The beef was delicious and very tender, perfectly accompanied by the strong but not overpowering sherry jus. The combination was even more effective with the addition of a glass of Sud, Mas Coutelou, 2001.
Our final savoury course was basquitou cheese served with potato, grapes and walnuts. This unusual but impressive salad was a deliciously light end to the savoury courses and served with a glass of Ambre, Rivesaltes, Domaine Cazes 2000.
Finally, we enjoyed Valrhone chocolate cherry gateau opera, served with black cherry sorbet, chocolate and almond croquant. The dish was very rich but absolutely wonderful. We were particularly impressed with the sorbet, which had a sharpness that cut through the rich gateau flavours. This dish was also accompanied with a glass of wine; Maury Rouge, Chateau Saint Roch, 2009.
The friendly staff, great service and faultless food at The Pompadour made for a wonderful experience. This is certainly one to visit if you’re ever in Edinburgh.
The Bill: £92 per head
