A Room In The West End

An outpost of superb Scottish cuisine in the Scottish capital, A Room in the West End is the product of years of dedication to local ingredients and traditional cooking styles. Peter and John, the Highlanders that founded the initial Room in Marchmont in 1996, soon outgrew their premises and moved to William Street in Edinburgh’s West End, where their reputation – and whisky selection – continues to grow and grow.

Peter Knight and John Tindal are two Highlanders made good in the Scottish capital. They met while working in a hotel on the Royal Mile, but soon opened up their own place, dedicated to the finer points of Scottish cuisine. Highlanders are sometimes known derisively as Teuchters, so when the Thurso and Kirriemuir duo opened a bar to go along with their William Street bistro, Teuchters seemed the obvious name. Thus A Room in the West End – in Edinburgh’s West End, surprise, surprise – was joined with Teuchters Bar to offer Scottish food and Scotch whisky.

Here Scottish food is based around the superb array of fresh ingredients and local products available. Edinburgh’s A Room In The West End takes advantage of the exceptional meat and game of the Highlands and North Sea. Cullen skink, featuring smoked haddock, Scottish charcuterie, with venison salami and the iconic haggis, neeps and tatties are all essential parts of the menu. Steaks come from the Borders, grouse from the Highlands: even the ice cream comes from Luca’s in Musselburgh. Lovers of Scottish cuisine would do well to get down to William Street in the West End to enjoy the best that the country has to offer.