i mentioned recently that i was headed to edinburgh for a ‘meaty’ weekend, and whilst in town we took the opportunity to dine in what is arguably one of the city’s best restaurants: lisa & andrew radford’s timberyard.

rather aptly named for the building’s former warehouse incarnation, timberyard has a strong farm-to-table ethos with ingredients supplied by small, local, artisan growers, breeders, producers, suppliers & foragers, so was the perfect place to begin our scotch beef & scotch lamb adventures.

industrial chic meets cosy scottish heritage in the cavernous dining room, which we were hastily led through to the ‘inner sanctum’; a cosy stone clad private dining area with a wood burning stove, known as the ‘shed’, where owner andrew radford was waiting to introduce the evening’s fare.

timberyard‘s menu divided into four sections – ‘bite’, ‘small’, ‘large’ and ‘sweet’ – with the influence of contemporary scandinavian cusine (think kadeau, relae and noma) evident in the lack of description for each of the dishes, simply listing the ingredients without any explanation of preparation or cooking style.

radford also took the time to explain how timberyard came to be; from a chance stumbling across the crumbling facade of an old timber warehouse in a ‘seedy’ part of town, to the 100 day challenge to renovate on a budget of just £100,000. given that his previous two restaurants, atrium and blue, had been runaway successes in their time it seems like a shrewd move and one which has certainly paid off if the constant praise and continual accolades the restaurant receives are any indication.

happily, we were about to find out for ourselves..

after a quick poke around the restaurant’s inner courtyard, secret herb garden and kitchen, we settled in for the night in our cosy back room and tried to pick out a cocktail from the rather eclectic list. pine sap, caraway, sherry & aquavit anyone? noble fir, unripe berries, vermouths & sparkling wine? both delicious actually, if you’re wondering…

the unusual ingredients and exciting flavour combinations were not just limited to the cocktails; our tasting menu, with a firm nod to the scotch beef and scotch lamb nature of our trip up north, was just as intriguing on paper and definitely as delectable on the palate.

we began with crusty malted sourdough and butter whipped with crowdie cheese, which we were encouraged to season generously with juniper pepper and angelica salt. having abstained from dairy for the past year it felt like the night to indulge, and my oh my am i glad i did: pure heaven.

the next four courses swiftly followed – each as deliciously light and fresh as the previous – until we ended the night fully sated, yet somehow still able to find room to squeeze in a little salted caramel truffle to round off the evening’s delight.

BITE: raw scotch beef, bone marrow, mushroom, shallot, linseed, quail yolk

SMALL: halibut, mussels, lobster, pea, broad bean, leek, broccoli

LARGE: scotch lamb, squash, onion, mushroom, beetroot, juniper, kale

SWEET: strawberry, elderflower, buttermilk, woodruff, biscuit

[icon name=”location-arrow” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] timberyard, 10 lady lawson st, edinburgh eh3

[icon name=”handshake-o” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] i was hosted in edinburgh as a guest of scotch beef and scotch lamb. all opinions & photography my own.