Romance Reviewed: Whighams Wine Cellar

I'd put eating at Whighams down as one of the biggest nights of gluttony I've ever enjoyed.

This Wine Cellar in Edinburgh is a dream of understated decadence. One half is decked out in fairly standard restaurant faire - all Beachwood tables and spot lighting - the other is like a collection of caves, dimly lit with candles and tea lights, like some French Resistance HQ from the 1940s.

The food itself was gout-inducingly rich. We started with Oysters, which tasted as if they were caught about 15 minutes before they were served. The menu was full of seafood staples - dressed crab, a platter that looked so full it could have been responsible for the North Sea over fishing crisis, we settled on fish cakes and a cut of fish I can't remember, because I was enjoying the white rioja a little too much…

But don't let my shortcomings detract from the splendour of Whighams. The service was attentive and knowledgeable, it a little on the slow side. It being a Sunday night and we being one of three tables occupied makes this a little difficult to forgive.

So an aperitif, starter, main, half a pudding and a bottle of wine came to about £80, the price my waistline paid, I shan't tell you.

Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Cost: £80, excluding tip

Whighams
Hope Street Lane
Edinburgh EH2 4EL