[This review was first published in Bite Magazine.]
Since it opened five years ago, the 1820 Rooftop Bar of the Johnnie Walker Experience on Princes Street, Edinburgh, has become celebrated for its spectacular, almost 360-degree, views of the capital city. On the (thankfully sunny) day I visit, the balconies giving unfettered access to unique views to Calton Hill, along Princes Street, over to the Castle and right round to the West are a magnet for a constant stream of smartphone-wielding customers, and for good reason. This gorgeous modernised Art Deco building, formerly House of Fraser and Binns department store, is a stunning location in the heart of the city.
Now I reckon a bold new development from within means these celebrated views have a serious rival: a renewed focus on the food and drink under the experienced hands of the award-winning Scottish chef Scott Smith and the cocktail consultant Mr Lyan Studio, founded by the bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana. It’s a collaboration that reflects Johnnie Walker’s Scottish roots and the famous whisky brand’s global reach.
On both menus’ visual appeal alone, my attention is snatched away from the window and onto what’s in front of me. A tall glass arrives with a Loop-the-Loop Swizzle, a cocktail of Johnnie Walker Green Label, lavender, sour elderflower and red artichoke tincture that morphs from pale pink to deep red through a kaleidoscope of crushed ice. It’s a nod to John Wardley, the British theme park and rollercoaster designer behind Alton Towers’ Nemesis, and sure enough my taste buds experience quite a thrilling ride through sweet to raw vegetal. A trio of Carlingford oysters dressed in ochre-hued jalapeño and instense green kelp hot sauce are good to look at while delivering the intrinsic briny flavour of the molluscs.
The same could be said for chef’s whole lemon sole with seasonal, locally-sourced chanterelles kombu butter. The miso, soy sauce and mirin in the butter delivers a salty-sweet kick tempered by the woody breath of the mushroom without smothering the delicate flavour of the fish the least bit - in fact, I’d say it actually enhances it. This dish is one of two mains in the small-sharing-plate menu, the other being Wagyu with charred lemon, lard and bordelaise sauce which I sadly didn’t try.
Aberdeenshire-born chef Scott trained with Geoffrey Smeddle at the Michelin-starred Peat Inn and founded both the acclaimed modern-Scottish Fhior and Norn restaurants in the capital. He now runs his Blank Plate Creative restaurant consultancy and his focus on provenance, flavour and storytelling is apparent, perhaps even more so here as he harmonises the unusual and adventurous cocktails with his modern Scottish food menu. I’d say it also stands on its own, though a milky Amber Sour of mango whey, golden turmeric and haggis spices is a simply delightful and playful accompaniment. My non-alc choice simply removes the Cardhu 15-y-o but doesn’t take away from Scots-born Johnnie Walker label’s cultural reach so cleverly illustrated throughout the menus.
Four dinky pork belly skewers, precisely cut into mouth-sized squares, are glazed with shio koji and humorously served with a dipping brown sauce. A lip-smacking combo that, tasted with a sip of a (non-alc) Harbour Gimlet of JW Black Label 12 y-o, grocer’s cordial, yellow pepper and lime zest, again emphasises this interesting collaboration. Enough to help me also enjoy a plate of barbecued whole baby squid with kaffir lime and a grilled courgettes with sunflower seed, ajo blanco and lovage oil.
By the time I leave, the 1820 Rooftop Bar is buzzing and the conversations seem to be much more focused on the menus. Proof perhaps that the spirit of Kilmarnock-born Johnnie Walker really delivers a window on the world. - in more ways than one.
1820 Rooftop Bar is at the Johnnie Walker Experience, 145 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 4BL. Open seven days a week.
www.johnniewalker.com/en-gb/visit-us-princes-street/rooftop-bar-dining