Old Fishmarket Close

I was lucky today.

I'd a long standing diary date for lunch in Edinburgh with a bunch of friends.  It turned out to be a wet weather Saturday, so I had something positive to do.

We meet every 2-3 months and try to find a top restaurant offering a good fixed price lunch menu. (Edinburgh has the highest number of restaurants per head of population in the UK, so we have lots of choice).

This time it was Michael Neave.

Michael Neave

Excellent food. I had salmon gravadlax with pickled asparagus & herb leaves, then grilled chicken breast on a chorizo risotto and finally a raspberry panna cotta. £14.95 plus tip and drinks.

The restaurant is in Old Fishmarket Close, in the heart of the Royal Mile. It is often confused with nearby Fleshmarket Close, where - one assumes - other things were for sale.

The author Daniel Defoe is rumoured to have worked there as a secret agent for the English Government at the time of the Treaty of Union in 1707.

The Blip is the modern building which houses the restaurant - set in a 400 year old part of the city. The extra is the "top end" of the close, for contrast. I think it looks fine.

For the benefit of sassenachs and others, the English equivalent to "close" would be "alley", as in Diagon Alley. And yes, Harry Potter was written around the corner.

Also for the benefit of sassenachs and others, "sassenach" is a term of endearment. Really...