Dinner at The Witchery in Edinburgh, Scotland

It's approaching Halloween now. Did you know that the history of Halloween could go back to Scotland?  Wikipedia informs me that the word Halloween or Hallowe'en dates to about mid 18 century and came from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day) with the word "eve" contracted to e'en or even overtime, thus Halloween. All Hallows' Eve, influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, in particular, the Gaelic festival Samhain, is a yearly celebration observed on 31 October which is the evening of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day, dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs and all the faithful departed believers.  From at least the 16th century in Scotland, the young went house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed. In the 19th century, Irish and Scottish immigrants started Halloween in North America, using the native pumpkin which is much softer and easier to carve than a turnip as done in Scotland. Halloween now becomes a major holiday in America.  Wow, things you learn from internet!

This picture is from window display at Mimi's Bakehouse on Royal Mile

Witches are also associated with Halloween. It is said that witches used to gather in an evening twice a year when the seasons changed, 30th April and 31st October, All Hallows' Eve, arriving on broomsticks to celebrate a party hosted by the devil whilst casting spells on people and transform them into different forms and playing magical mischiefs.

What a great timing! There is no other time than now to talk about our wonderful dinner we had last weekend when my husband's sister Mary celebrated her birthday at the legendary The Witchery (http://www.thewitchery.com) at the foot of the Edinburgh Castle and Mary and her husband Paul invited us both.

The restaurant takes its name from the hundreds of women burned at the stake on Castlehill for wizardry and witchcraft during the 16th and 17th centuries. I also heard that in those days women suspected of being witches were thrown into what was then known as the Nor Loch (then a marsh, now Princes Street Garden) to test if they were witches or not - if they survived and came up on the surface of the water, they were deemed witches and burnt at the stake, if not they simply drowned to death. No luck in either way, was there???

We entered from a traditional close off the Royal Mile (Castlehill) with a gilded heraldic sign.

Into the first entrance on the right is the reception to The Witchery restaurant.

The booking was for 5pm so the restaurant was quiet with a few diners. Though right at the entrance to the Edinburgh Castle with lots of tourists, once you stepped into the restaurant, it is completely different atmosphere. It was calm, relaxing and traditional with comfortable leather seats and soft lighting. 

Table was set for our party of nine ....

I thought my sister-in-law Mary, the birthday girl, looked really lovely in her black dress with red pattern, that matches with red leather sofa, red roses in vases on table and red ribbons for serviettes as if there were all meant to be for her special day.

When you look up, you can see, according to the restaurant's website, the heraldic painted and gilded ceilings based on those at the Palace of Holyrood house, reflecting the close links of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland.

"W" for Witchery....?

The menu has a la carte, the Witchery's fixed menu and pre-theatre menu....

We also ordered bottles of house wine - white Mon de Joie (sauvignon blanc) and red The Opportunist (Shiraz) as well as proscecco to toast to the birthday girl.

I left it too late to take a photo of front label as it came off
after having in in the wine cooler for some time ....
At least you can see the description of it ....

Whilst perusing the menu, my husband mentioned to the young waiter that he had remembered having seen a witch (not a real one of course, was a doll) sitting in the corner of the restaurant long long time ago. Yes, I remembered that too though it must have been at least two decades ago or more (!!!) - that was how long ago I was last time in this restaurant....
The waiter politely said to him, 'We don't do that any more, sir..."  I thought the waiter looked a bit embarrassed, not because he does not know of the information but perhaps it was such a long long time ago that the waiter himself might not have been even born then, hahaha.

I tried to remember where in the restaurant I thought I had also seen the witch. I looked around us ....

I could not remember.... it was such a long long time ago indeed, but I saw this instead ....

Somebody in the party described the restaurant a bit Gothic. Maybe, and with this eerie bust, it is getting more apt leading up to Halloween....

So whilst we were eating the bread, Mary opened her presents, waiting for our starters to arrive.

There were nine of us and we were sitting at the long table so I could not see what everyone had but between my husband and myself, we managed to take some pictures of the meals we had...

For starter, the birthday girl Mary had Isle of Mull Cock Crab with puffed pork, smoked egg yolk, sea radish, apple and keta.

What is Cock Crab?  It appears that it is a crab sauce for crab on toast by the famous Elizabeth David's recipe. Sea radish? What's that? According to the internet, it is similar to the common radish but adapted for underwater farming and has saltier taste. And keta ...?  The only thing I could find on the internet is some reference to chum salmon which is a fish in salmon family. I have no idea if this is what was in the Mary's starter ....

My husband had Lobster Bisque with garlic croutons, gruyere and rouille. Rouille is a sauce made of olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and chilis peppers, served with fish soup such as bouillabaisse.

I tried the soup - it was lovely and not too thick. Loved taste of the sea!

My husband's niece Rebecca's boyfriend Don had Guy Grieve's Isle of Mull hand-dived seared scallops, warmed Asian salad, kaffir lime, coriander and mango.

It came with 3 seared scallops and it costs £16.50!  What is so special about this? Who is Guy Grieves?  So I did internet search.... Apparently Guy Grieves is a real person, who used to work in the advertising but has set up The Ethical Shellfish Company (http://ethicalshellfishcompany.co.uk) with his wife on Isle of Mull, diving four times a day in the Grade A waters around the Isle of Mull    for high quality scallops and dispatches them within 8 hours of harvest to fancy restaurants (like The Witchery!).  I picture Guy diving into the sea, four times a day, literally hand-picking scallops, totally 100% ethically caught. It sounds really like a hard work.  You can picture Guy's dedication, toiling for high quality scallops to be served on Don's plate. Now I got it now as to why the dish is so expensive .... I am sure Don enjoyed eating them.

In the meantime, Rebecca and I had Roasted Arran Beets with Katie Rodgers Crowdie, toasted hazelnuts, smoked cauliflower puree.  This is a pretty dish to look at and pretty dish to eat too.

If my internet search was correct, crowdie (Scottish cream cheese) is from Katie Rodger's Artisan Dairy who has won Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards 2015. 

For main courses, Mary my sister-in-law had Fillet of Scotch Borders beef Rossini with pommes Anna, spinach, foie gras with Madeira jus. As Mary does not eat foie gras, she gave it to her daughter-in-law Kaylee so the photo I have here is her Rossini without foie gras. 

I am guessing that this is a Tournedos Rossini, a French steak dish but using Scottish produce instead.  The French version was created, according to the internet (and what do I do without internet!!!), for the composer Gioachino Rossini, which is a fillet mignon pan-fried in butter, served on a crouton and topped with a hot slice of fresh whole foie gras briefly pan-fried at the last minute, garnished with slices of black truffle and finished with a Madeira demi-glace sauce. Wow, it sounds really luxurious and is totally befitting for the birthday girl.

Mary's mother, my mother-in-law also named Mary, had Double loin of Peelham Farm rare-breed pork, hickory-smoked pommel puree, ham hock terrine, cider and bay jus. Peelham Farm is an organic butcher from Foulden, Berwickshire. (Is Berwickshire part of Scotland...?)

Rebecca had Guy Grieve's Isle of Mull seared scallops, Iberia bacon and garlic butter, Phantassie Farm salad, buttered mash. Guy Grieve again....  and actually without bacon as she does not eat meat. Phantassie Farm is an organic vegetable farmer based on the edge of East Linton in rural East Lothian, 25 miles from Edinburgh.

Without bacon....

Rebecca's boyfriend Don and I had Witchery hot-smoked Loch Duart salmon, buttered Alexanders, oyster hollandaise and sweet potato chips.  I really enjoyed this dish. The hot-smoked salmon that came from the cold, clear waters of Loch Duart in Sutherland, just melt in your mouth.  Sweet potato chips were also delicious.

Alexanders is an edible (I shall hope so!) wild foraging plant grows on cliff tops and in seaside hedgerows. I did not know that!

My husband had Roast John Dory, artichoke puree, roast artichokes, garlic, red wine. I tried a little bit and this was also delicious.

Side dish - potato mash

The meals were really delicious. As I am now writing this blog, having done some research about food, especially finding out where all the ingredients and produce used at the Witchery come from, I can appreciate their cooking more and the enjoyment of eating there has just elevated further.

By the time we had main course, we were really full, however we always find some space to squeeze desserts.

I think my husband had selection of cheese board.

The birthday girl Mary and I had Witchery pudding selection of chocolate tart, coconut brûlée, l'Opera gateau, minim triple and ice cream, which we shared with others as there were quite a lot on the plate and we could not possibly finish all.

The meal was completed with teas and coffees with tablets and short breads.

And of course, toilet check. It was clean, a bit small with only two cubicles but had Penhallgon's liquid soap and hand lotions to leave you ladies' hands well hydrated and supple. 

Time to go now, after over 4 hours later. It was dark outside and Royal Mile was getting quieter as tourists now moved to pubs and restaurants down the road...

As we were leaving the front door, I noticed a large carving of Jane Seymour, Henry Vlll's third wife and mother of his heir, King Edward Vl on the wall. Why is it here? I tried to search on line but can't find any reference.

We went outside to get a fresh air. At this point, my husband's nephew Andrew asked me to take his photo outside of the restaurant for my blog.  This was the window that was behind our table.

Inside was as if we were stepping back to medieval times, once outside, we are now back in 21st century. The building is now lit with red lighting, projecting really eerie feeling....

The Witches Caldron
"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog"
"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing"

"For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and babble"

"Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble"

(William Shakespeare, Three Witches in Macbeth, 1605)

Even though it was Mary's birthday, we were treated to the meal at the Witchery.  It was a lovely dinner at a lovely restaurant with lovely company. What a treat! Thank you very much, May and Paul for having invited us to a wonderful dining experience at the Witchery.

That's all forks.