The 36 cover restaurant, which is set to open in early May, is named after an ancient Scottish language and reflects part of the restaurant’s ethos which is to honour and pay tribute to Scotland’s rich food landscape and heritage.
The restaurant will offer a fixed set menu of either four or seven courses that will change regularly to reflect the best of Scotland’s outstanding natural produce, both wild and cultivated.
Scott has spent the past 18 months sourcing, meeting and selecting a trusted group of local producers including butchers, foragers, farmers, fish and seafood specialists to provide the very best ingredients.
The menus will be dictated by suppliers and what the chefs have harvested themselves on regular foraging trips, guaranteeing absolute freshness of ingredients and creating a sustainable environment by using produce that is in abundance.
The selection of food will also change and evolve with strict restrictions to the seasons, driving a truly creative and seasonal dining experience.
Produce will also be preserved using traditional and modern techniques to be reintroduced at a later date ensuring flavour and sustainability is at the heart of everything they do.
Scott, excited by the launch of the new restaurant, said: "This has been a goal of mine since I was about 13, I’m still pinching myself and half expecting the keys to be taken away. Opening in the former site of The Plumed Horse makes for some big boots to fill, but we can’t wait to get open and will be doing something very different to what was there before.
“I’ve spent a lot of time developing the concept and sourcing ingredients: We want to showcase the amazing larder and producers that we have in Scotland and this in turn will dictate to us what will be used on the menu. Having a fixed menu allows us to serve the produce at its best as it becomes available, and encourages the restaurant to be more sustainable. It also gives us, as chefs, an on-going creative challenge allowing us to constantly evolve the menu.
We can’t wait to open our doors in May, we hope our guests enjoy what we do as much as we will enjoy creating it."
The restaurant’s wine list will be looked after by Marseilles-born natural wine expert and sommelier Sandro Colavolpe who has come from Brawn in London and previously worked at Terroirs. The wines will be sourced from small, artisanal winemakers, where growers tend to favour more traditional methods, producing sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines which are delicious and refreshingly different.
The fresh and bright dining room will seat 32 at beautiful Scottish ash wood tables, with four seats at an ash wood bar overlooking the pass and into the open kitchen. Food service will come courtesy of the chefs who will bring the dishes from the kitchen to the table with detailed knowledge of everything they have prepared. Quirky, contemporary artwork comes from local Scottish artists adding a light-hearted touch to the dining room.
