La Garrigue

You'll find La Garrigue tucked behind Edinburgh's Waverley station down a somewhat dimly lit back street, but once you find it, the culinary lights come on... and how! The menu, in the most part, is pure Languedoc; simple rustic dishes that sit perfectly on the plate and palate alike.
For starters... Le pigeon rôti, gâteaux de petits choux et boudin noir and le soufflé de fromage de chèvre, compote d’oignon rouge. The roast pigeon breast was melt-in-the mouth tender and was perfectly balanced with the mashed sprouts and black pudding. The goat's cheese and caramalised onions were utter perfection, the balance of slightly tart cheese and sweetish onions was masterful.
For mains... Le magret de canard persillade de salsifis et pommes de terre and le Cassoulet comme à Castelnaudary left us both is fits of rapturous delight. Again, the tender duck was cooked to perfection and the accompanying salsify and potatoes both ate as well as they looked... perfect! The Cassoulet, served with a Walnut salad was utterly authentic and exceptionally tasty.
Dessert... La crème brûlée à la lavande and le nougat glace au fruits confits; wow, possibly the best crème brûlée I have had in years, perfect texture and with the slightest hint of lavender, this was as good as it can be. I wasn't so sure about the nougat, as it isn't one of my favourite sweets, but Mrs Shrek assured me that it was heavenly, and who would argue with Mrs Shrek??
The wine list was comprehensive and the in-house understanding of the cellar was excellent. We ordered our food and asked for a recommendation to accompany it and the choice was superb... Palagret 2005, at £26 at bottle, no complaints.
The service was quite excellent, seamless, attentive, informative and friendly. The surrounds were cosy, rustic, clean, modern and comfortable. All-in-all, for £50 a head (inc service) for 3 courses, including aperitifs and a bottle of wine, La Garrigue is great value and I highly recommend a visit.

This is one of Edinburgh's best restaurants - the city would be a much poorer place without it. Superb French cusine. High recommended.

Until now, I had never been to a proper french restaurant. I'm glad La Garringue was my first one! It set the high standard that all other french restuarants need to meet in my opinion! Its really nicely decorated and has a bit of a homely feel, yet its cool and sophisticated as well. The service is prompt, polite and very friendly. The menu choice is wide, many different dishes to choose from and several specials as well. Food arrived promptly and tasted divine. Couldn't fault anything with them, even the price wasn't excessive for what we had! I'll definately be going back, i suggest you do too!

Fantastic, taditional French cuisine, freshly prepared. The cassuolet is one of the best things I've EVER eaten!
The restaurant is lovely: nice decor, good views and friendly staff.
The set menu is very good value.
I've had a few celebration meals here - always have a great time