Restaurant: The Kitchin, Edinburgh (Leith)

I think I've found foodie heaven!

I was up in Scotland to play golf at Muirfield and Loch Lomond, both ranked in the Top 10 courses in the UK & Ireland. So I decided to tack on a few days in Edinburgh and bring the wife.

Top of the list was a table at The Kitchin. I knew Tom Kitchin from programs like Saturday Kitchen and The Great British Menu. I knew the restaurant had a Michelin star. But I still had no idea how good it was. The first clue was that I couldn't get an early table on a Saturday night when I rang about 6 weeks ahead. I don't like eating at 10pm and later so declined a late table.

Thinking that I might not get there I was looking at other options. Then I mentioned it to a friend of mine who just happens to have an Amex Centurion card. He said leave it with him and he'd get me a booking. Sure enough he texted later that day with a booking for 18:30 table.

We arrived at about 18:20 and took seats in the bar to have an aperitif and peruse the menus. Tom popped around to say good evening to everybody before heading off to run the show.

We were shown to our table which just happened to be the best table in the house. There are only three tables on a raised part of the main floor that have a view into the kitchen through a glass window. Our table was the middle one of the three and had the widest view of the cooking area and the pass.

The wife obligingly sat with her back to the window so that I could observe all the goings-on in the kitchen. The one thing that I can report is that the whole time I was there Tom was in charge of the pass, checking the quality and presentation of the dishes before they left the kitchin. A Michelin-starred chef who actually works in his kitchen.

We were served from a basket of good, but not exceptional, breads. This was the only part of the whole evening where I could find room for improvement.

Then the amuse bouche arrived and this is where the magic began.

I had never considered making fennel soup but the little cup of soup served to us was one of the most delicious things that I've eaten in years. It was topped with some tiny squares of smoked salmon and crispy crumbs and had an added kick from some cumin. It was bursting with flavour & texture and was described by my wife as truly historic.

My starter was a langoustine stuffed courgette flower with roasted tomatoes and tomato consommé. The flavours were amazing. The deep flavour from the consommé and the deft cooking reminded me of Marco Pierre White when he was at The Oak Room.

My wife went for the pan-fried foie gras served with haggis, neeps and tatties a’la Kitchin. This was served with additional extras including fresh broad beans and peas. Whilst my wife didn't pronounce this as historic she was still oohing and aahing about the flavour and texture.

For my main I had ordered the hake with a herb crust, girolles, broad beans and a girolles jus.

It's not often you see hake on the menu in the UK so once I spotted it I was instantly sold despite the waiter, in a very nice way, recommending the chef's favourite of confit salmon.

I couldn't have chosen better as it was a perfectly cooked piece of fish, nice and moist, with a delicious jus and little bursts of flavour from the accompaniments in each mouthful. A triumph.

My wife chose the seabass with red pepper piperade, croutons and herbs. She loved every mouthful. Another triumph.

When it comes to dessert I have to brag. Nobody makes a better panna cotta than me. And my wife agrees with me so much that she will no longer order it when we are out as every one we've tried, even in the top restaurants, can't match the texture I achieve using my magic ingredient. In fact, some panna cottas are downright disgusting and overset.

In my humble opinion the best panna cotta should be just set enough to come out of the mould and stand up but still have a wobble.

However, unlike my wife I nearly always try other panna cottas if only to a) prove that mine is still the best or b) in the hope that I might find one that's at least as good.

I can now admit that for the first time anywhere in the world I have had a panna cotta that can stand up to mine. My wife asserts, and I agree, that I still have the edge on texture but the overall treatment of the dish is what gives The Kitchin a slight edge. But I'll learn from this!

Their gooseberry panna cotta with creme fraiche ice cream, gooseberrys, blackcurrants and a gooseberry jus was stunning. As fine a dessert as I've ever eaten. The combination of creaminess, sweetness, tartness and the cold ice cream was divine. Historic beyond belief.

To add to this I took the waiter's advice and had a superb Niagara Ice Wine to accompany it.

My wife had a lemon & sorrel tart with meringue ice cream and fresh berries which she declared as fantastic.

Service through the whole meal was excellent. Just the right mixture of formality and friendliness.

This was easily the best meal I'd had in over a year. Tom Kitchin is a genius and IMHO is serving up the best cooking in the UK right now. If I lived in Edinburgh I would set up a rolling monthly booking to eat at The Kitchin. It's that good.

List of favourite Paris restaurants

Each year in June I drive to Paris from London on a golf trip with 3 friends. We stay 3 nights and play 3 different courses on each trip. We've been doing this for 6 years. Interspersed with the golf trips are other trips, with my wife, on business etc.

The reason we keep going back to Paris is that, apart from some fine golf courses, we love trying new restaurants. As the organiser of the trip, and the chief foodie, it rests with me to find the restaurants.

Our rule of thumb is that we'll do two nights in smaller, bistro-style places and on the last night we'll splurge a bit maybe by going to a Michelin-starred place.

Overall we prefer the bistro-style restaurants to the well-known temples of gastronomy. We prefer the cosy atmosphere, the rustic setting, the classic french dishes and quite often the camaraderie with your fellow diners, often including the sharing of food. For me this is the real joy of eating in Paris.

Prior to our golf I spend many weeks of research each year reading all the various guides looking for the places that will delight us and rarely have I failed to come up trumps.

I always pre-book my restaurants at least a couple of weeks before I travel. Once I've chosen the 3 restaurants for the trip I then want to be certain I can get in so I don't leave it to chance.

So on the back of these visits I offer my list of favourite Paris Restaurants. These are not ranked per se. Which one to choose will usually depend on what type of food or experience you want.

1. Chez Georges (1 Rue du Mail, 75002, Paris). For me this is Paris in a nutshell and it's a place that I always bring people to. It is everything that I love about Parisian bistros. They serve classic French comfort food in a cosy, buzzy atmosphere with tightly packed tables. The starter portions are HUGE. One starter can easily serve two or more people. The sole filet with pouilly sauce is addictive. The service has always been good. I can't fault this place.
2. Stella Maris ( 8, Rue Arsène Houssaye, 75008 Paris). This place is everything that Chez Georges is not. It's a modern sterile room with no atmosphere. The type of place I would normally avoid. Apart from the fact that it's got a Michelin star, what drew me to book there was the combination of a Japanese chef serving up classic French food. It sounded interesting. And boy was it interesting. The four of us shared the Tasting Menu and to this day we still reckon that it was one of the meals of our lives. The Mi-Cuit Salmon (cooked sous vide) was one of the all time great dishes that I've ever had. I've been back there a second time (for lunch) and wasn't knocked out as much by the food but I didn't have the Tasting Menu that time but overall Stella Maris deserves its place on this list.
3. Le Pré Verre (8 Rue Thénard, 75005, Paris) is a firm favourite for its innovative take on French food with Asian spices. The chef, Philippe Delacourcelle, spent some time working in the Far East and he has managed to blend oriental flavours with classic French food to deliver some of the most interesting cooking available in Paris. The cod with cassia bark and the suckling pig were two of the stand-out dishes we had.
4. Chez l'Ami Jean (27 rue Malar, 75007, Paris) is a small Basque bistro down a quiet side-street not far from the Eiffel Tower. It's everything I like about Parisian bistros i.e. tightly packed tables with a real buzzy atmosphere. The food is based on Basque cuisine with a modern inventive touch. Four of us lapped up everything put in front of us and even managed to share some food with our Maltese neighbours. The only down side is that they are very keen to turn the tables around so towards the end you can feel pressured to leave especially if there are people waiting. I'm happy to accept that they need you off the table after two hours if they tell you that when you book but we got chased off after 90 mins because we had finished dessert and were sitting chatting.
5. Mon Vieil Ami 69 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Ile, 75004, Paris is the Paris outpost of a 3-star chef from Strasbourg. It's on the small island in the river and has a very contemporary black interior. They serve some wonderful bistro food with a big focus on using lots of fresh vegetables. The flavours were delicious and after 3 courses I left there replete but not bloated.
6. La Rotisserie d'en Face (2 Rue Christine, 7500,Paris) is another bistro owned by a Michelin starred chef, Jacques Cagna. It's in the heart of the Latin quarter and is the only restauarant on this list that I turned up at without a reservation (it was after 10pm however). There is only one dish you need to order here and that's their famous spit-roasted free-range chicken, with traditional mashed potato. Don't even consider ordering anything else. I promise you that you will think you've died and gone to heaven when you taste the chicken. Three of us that night had the chicken and still today we talk about it as the best chicken we've ever had in our lives. I try to explain to people about the chicken and they look at me as if to say "Yeah but it's just roast chicken". Well let me tell you that it's not just any roast chicken. I don't know what they do with it but you have never tasted chicken like this.
7. Chez Denise - La Tour de Montlhéry (5 Rue Prouvaires, 75001, Paris) is another classic, unpretentious little bistro with tightly packed tables and red-check tablecloths. They serve rustic bistro fare such as steak frites, pot au feu, andouille sausage etc all in huge portions. The atmosphere is lively and aided by the cheeky waiters who know how to poke fun without offending. The house Brouilly is delicious and is served in carafes which they keep topping up as you need. One of the best nights we had in Paris was here, sharing food with the tables next to us. NB: Our taxi driver didn't know where this street was. He had to look it up on the map. Oh for a decent London cabbie in Paris!
8. Chez Dumonet - Josephine (117 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006, Paris) is yet another classic French bistro that looks like it's been there for hundreds of years. I love starting with the help yourself bowl of marinated herrings with warm potato salad. Easily enough to serve more than two people. Then choose from a range of bistro classics such as boeuf bourguignon or confit de canard. One thing is for sure and that is that you won't leave here hungry. Tip: Try and get a table in the front room rather than in the back.
9. Ze Kitchen Gallerie (4, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006)  is as good a place as any in Paris to get your fix of fusion food. Food here is a mixture of asian flavours with western dishes (e.g. brandade with thai herbs). I really enjoyed the food here but my wife was less impressed. She's a more fussy eater than me and there were too few options on the menu for her. If you're a big foodie like me then you'll enjoy it here.
10. Kim Anh (51, Avenue Emile Zola, 75015)is a fine dining Vietnamese restaurant in the 15e. Yes you can get cheaper Vietnamese food but this is a place for a bit of a splurge and, unlike many Vietnamese restaurants, you can reserve in advance. It's not cheap but the food is high quality and full of fabulous flavours. All four of us were unanimous that the spring rolls were the best we'd ever tasted. The beef salad was also superb. Be warned though that one of the specialities could be seen as a rip-off. The tôm càng rim (gambas simmered in caramel sauce) was absolutely delicious but 37€ for two (yes 2) medium-sized prawns is just silly.