The Frugal Foodie - Noto Edinburgh lunch review - at a steal

Thistle Street

Vinette is the latest restaurant to be opened by chef Stuart Ralston's Aizle Hospitality Group: a Parisian-style restaurant with a speakeasy cocktail bar in the basement. Following the closure of Aizle, the group also includes Michelin-starred Lyla, Italian restaurant Tipo, and Asian-inspired eatery Noto – each with their own unique charm.

Review of Tipo on its opening

Despite falling into the ‘high-end’ category in terms of cost, each venue offers a lower-priced lunch menu making them accessible to most budgets, and I would argue the best value is Noto’s £30 lunch offering.

We visit the Thistle Street venue on a bright, sunny Sunday lunchtime in summer, and the place is buzzing. The minimalist, Japanese-inspired décor gives a calming ambience but there is also a relaxed, informal vibe. This is perhaps because the place is inspired by Stuart’s time living & working in New York. And if you were wondering about the name, it’s a tribute to his NYC room-mate Bob Noto, obviously.

The menu is made up of a bread course, 5 small plates designed to be shared, and two desserts. The ‘small’ plates are substantial. Even the bread course wows – Bing Bread with sour cream butter, whipped tofu and chilli, and this is followed by Beef Tartare on crumpets, Fried Shitake Doughnuts and Sashimi. We add an extra course as we can’t resist the Sesame Prawn Toast on the main menu (which is excellent) but it really isn’t needed and is far too much food (when will we learn?)

The next round is an unexpectedly delicious Tomato and Apricot Salad with black bean chilli dressing, and Pork Belly Bo Saam, which is served Korean BBQ style with rice, pickles, sauces and lettuce leaves to wrap it all in. We are rather stuffed by this point, but the desserts are some of the best I’ve eaten and thankfully fairly light: Chocolate Mouse with miso caramel, hazelnut and meringue; and Scottish Strawberries with yogurt, parfait and sorrel.

Chocolate Mousse & Scottish Strawberries

Despite the low price, every dish is beautifully prepared and presented, with genuine creativity, and we feel we’ve had a more substantial meal than some full-priced tasting menus provide. We pushed the budget a bit with two cocktails at £13 each, both of which were exceptional: Mocassin Snake with Doorley’s white rum, Port of Leith Manzilla sherry, banana and shiso soda; and El Capitan with El Gorbernador Pisco, Bitter Truth apricot liqueur, Discarded cascara vermouth, maraschino and lemongrass.

For a taste of Edinburgh’s trendy fine dining scene without the high price tag, I unreservedly recommend a lunchtime visit to Noto, just make sure you arrive hungry.

Noto, 47a Thistle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DY - 01312418518, reservations@notoedinburgh.co.uk