The Tollhouse - riverside cooking in full flow

The Tollhouse delivers modern European cooking with imagination and flair. Chef Jamie Cochrane’s summer menu is a riot of colour, texture and drama.

The Tollhouse has a charming, zen setting, perched above the Water of Leith at Canonmills. There is a terrace, a private dining room and the main room, all allowing you to watch the river ripple gently while indulging in delicious wine, food and cocktails.

I visited with fellow Bite contributor Lea Harris (aka Baker’s Bunny) to check out the summer menu created by chef Jamie Cochrane, previously of The Gardener’s Cottage. Jamie has globetrotted too,  as chefs do, and the international influence shows in his bright, creative twists on modern European cooking. 

I am delighted to see the Spanish Ajo Blanco on the menu and Jamie’s spin turns this cool, classic Andalusian soup into something dramatic. Served in dark earthenware, the surface is veiled in charred leek ash — a smoky, black film you break with your spoon to reveal the white almond‑and‑garlic liquid beneath. Poached half-grapes bring gentle acidity, while crushed smoked almonds add savoury crunch. The result is rich, dreamy, and utterly unique; a humble soup transformed into something unctuous and memorable. 

Across the table, BB has taken a leap of faith. Coffee‑Roasted Beetroot with cashew cream cheese, chicory, brambles; a dish built on bitter leaves she normally avoids. But something magical happens here. The coffee‑roasted beetroot, or maybe the caffeinated grounds themselves, soften the chicory’s bite. She can’t explain it and doesn’t care; she’s too busy devouring the slightly smoky beet, using the green blade of chicory to scoop up the nutty cream. 

For her main course, she chooses the Brisket al Pastor, a dish so colourful it borders on psychedelic. A vibrant green Aji Verde, heady with coriander and mint, pools beneath an ingot of tender beef, its surface daubed with spiky harissa. What could have been a heavy winter plate instead feels light and summery: a bright succotash packed with beans, pineapple, cucumber lifts the dish even higher. A scattering of pink pickled red onion provides a final whisper against all that green. 

Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the Chicken Thigh, roast garlic aioli, vichy carrots, chard, jus, a plate as vibrant as it is comforting. The bones have been thoughtfully removed, leaving tender meat arranged beneath a sweep of rainbow chard. The carrot is soft and sweet, the jus brightens everything, and a thick dollop of outrageously good roast‑garlic aioli lifts the whole dish into indulgent brasserie style cooking. 

Never one to be defeated by two courses, BB summons her pudding stomach and dives into a feather‑light, unctuous Baked Basque Cheesecake. The balsamic cherries cut through the luxuriance with a gentle acidity, keeping each spoonful in perfect balance. I have the Chocolate Mousse, it has been given a dimple to fill with a pool of olive oil that makes it all so oozy. Off to the side sit misshapen chunks of minty white Aero, playful and cooling. The same care and imagination runs through the dessert menu as the rest of it, no Sticky Toffee Pudding or Chocolate Brownie thrown in as an easy upsell. This is a chef being allowed to do his thing unmuddied by microwave pings.

We’ve just eaten the perfect à la carte summer feast, but The Tollhouse also serves a terrace menu I would happily order in full, a weekday Prix Fixe, and a once‑it’s‑gone Sunday roast. The food is accessibly priced yet with nothing phoned in. 

This is honest brasserie-style neighbourhood dining at its best and, with the kitchen championing local suppliers, it doesn’t need to cost the earth. I can’t wait to see what Jamie Cochrane and team dream up for autumn. (Sharon Wilson)

The Tollhouse, 50 Brandon Terrace, Edinburgh, EH3 5BX - 0131 224 2424 - 50 Brandon Terrace.