His Nibs and I both awoke refreshed and ready to get going for another days’ activity, thanks to the comfy bed at Ptarmigan House. Gordon (Lin’s husband) was already sorting other guests out with their breakfasts, but soon got our tea and toast sorted, as well as our cooked breakfast request – what a legend.
In the meantime, we helped ourselves to fruit, yoghurt and juice and planned the order for that day’s itinerary; House of Bruar first...I think The Man was hoping I’d forgotten about that!
Looking at the timings, we weren’t going to be able to fit in actually going to the William Wallace Monument, so we did a cheeky drive past and snapped some piccies in about 5 minutes before driving on to Falkirk and The Kelpies. You can see the Kelpies from the road as you approach and they look awesome then, but just wait until you see them up close! Before we could do that though, we had to snag ourselves a parking spot. Sometimes we are so extraordinarily jammy in our good fortune, and so it was on this occasion; nearby is Helix Park, a fab spot, by the way, for kids with its free-to-use play area. There also happens to be a car park here that’s free of charge (the one we happened to have found a space in) which is about a 15 minute walk away from the £4 car park near the actual Kelpie site; it was a dry day, so we figured we’d use the £4 on a couple of coffees in the cafe on-site later.
The Kelpies are just so majestic, and you find yourself walking all the way around the site to admire them from every angle! In front of the cafe there’s a smaller pair of kelpies that are ideal for taking your photo with; my camera especially is only a bog-standard one and I couldn’t fit His Nibs and the large Kelpies in frame, so this spot was ideal.
Our accommodation for the night was at the Holiday Inn Express in Edinburgh itself and our luck continued in that we got an early check-in, so we didn’t have to hang around for an hour until the official time we could get in. We’d pre-booked the parking, so at least we didn’t have to worry about that! The weather forecast was a little bit hit-n-miss so we grabbed our light waterproofs and, after literally dumping our bags and clothes in the room, started the 2.5 mile walk into Scotland’s capital and the iconic Prince’s Street.
After being in rural spots for so long, hitting the thrum of the city was a bit of a shock to the system! This city has some beautiful architecture and, remembering the words of someone (don’t ask me who!), I looked up and saw a stunning sight so grabbed my camera and took a snap. We grabbed a coffee at Black Sheep Coffee before walking over to the Royal Mile and its selection of shops; there are quite a few Kilt shops!
We’d booked a table at Under The Stairs for dinner, and what a brilliantly quirky little bar and restaurant it is. As its name suggests, this eaterie is located under the bottom of one (of the many) sets of stairs that pepper Edinburgh and allow you to explore all its nooks-and-crannies, and then you go down its own steps to the below-pavement restaurant and bar. We got a really warm welcome and were shown to our table, then a glass of chilled water with a slice of Cucumber in was brought over for us both.
Under The Stairs is certainly not short of ambience! Dark and moody, the light comes from side lamps, dim ceiling spots and pint beer glasses on each table, whose candles’ guttering flames cast shadows on the stone walls. Those of you who vacation with children, don’t despair; Under The Stairs is child-friendly. We had a few minutes to decide what we wanted to drink, and we both plumped for Nuisance Drinks’ sodas: Nettle and Elderflower for me, Bramble and Rosemary for The Man; these non-alcoholic tipples are seriously refreshing, and full of flavour. Under the Stairs has a really diverse menu of small plates, sharers, large plates, and salad plates, meaning that you can mix-n-match plates according to your mood: graze or feast, you decide!
We ordered a couple of small plates as starters (Bresaola and Black Tempura Calamari), followed by Hairst Bree Slow Braised Lamb Neck with Seasonal Greens, Nettle Pistou, and Shaved Tinto Cheese for me (£19.50) and Double Smash Beef Cheese Burger, Potato Latkes, Chive Cream Cheese, Gruyere, Green Pepper, Onion, Dijon Mustard and White BBQ Sauce in Potato Bun (£16.50). After a short while, the small plates both came out and we tucked in.
The Bresaola was superb; meaty and smoky at first and then, after some mastication, delicious herby notes reveal themselves; it really was delicious. To compliment the Bresaola was a fruity Apricot Chutney and its sweetness seemed to bring out the smoke and herbaceous elements of the beef even more. Peppery Rocket leaves added a gorgeous brightness to the flavour profile of this dish, and we both said how lovely it was.
I am presuming that Squid Ink was used to colour the whisper-light Tempura batter that surrounded each piece of Calamari, but whatever the agent, it did a superb job of making a statement of the batter! The Calamari was nice and sizeable, beautifully soft and tender in the mouth, and gorgeously fragrant on the palate. Pale, creamy Aioli contrasted well with the dark Tempura hue and fine Garden Cress added a pop of verdancy on the top of it all. Another scrummy morsel. Our server had checked back that we were enjoying our small plates, and was pleased to see that both dishes were now bare of any trace of their existence!
My Hairst Bree/ Hotch Potch is basically a Scottish version of a one-pot casserole, and this one had rich, flavoursome Lamb Neck in it. A lot of people don’t think about Lamb Neck a) because it isn’t in fashion, b) it’s a cheap cut and they pooh-pooh it, and c) they don’t know what to do with it. Basically, the rule is that cheaper cuts tend to be tougher, so low-n-slow is the way to cook them. Lamb Neck can be a bit fatty but, to be honest, the juices add some richness here, especially when you factor in the Broad Beans, Kale, Asparagus, Broccoli and Cauliflower in the ‘stew; these absorb the flavours as they’re cooking, so you get a really tasty concoction. Thick strands of shaved Tinto had softened but still retained some shape so that I could fork them off the top and combine them with the other elements in my dish. I even got a spoon to enable me to savour every last millilitre of liquor.
His Nibs’ burger was an absolute whopper!! Two thick, juicy beef patties were teamed with pickles and jalapenos and an utterly sublime (but fiery!) combo of Dijon and White BBQ sauce. Gruyere cheese had melted to form a seductive blanket over it all, and had The Man licking his fingers with a vicious regularity to ensure not a smidge escaped. The Potato un held its shape fantastically and didn’t go in the slightest bit soggy – no mean feat given the oodles of sauce and cheese! A side order of gently seasoned, crisp-outered Sweet Potato Fries (the burger didn’t come with any) completed the ensemble perfectly.
Much as we wanted dessert, our full tummies (and the knowledge that we were walking back to the hotel!) weren’t in agreement, so we abstained. Instead, we thanked the team and left with a happiness that we’d snagged a great venue to dine at. Hot Wings given here.
