Established 2006 Head chef Tom Kitchin Street address 78 Commercial Quay | Current owner(s) Tom Kitchin Food type French cuisine | |
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The Kitchin is a quality restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland, run by Tom Kitchin and his wife Michaela (née Berseilus). It serves fresh Scottish produce in a French style from Kitchin's time spent with Alain Ducasse. It was awarded a Michelin star within six months of opening.
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Description
The Kitchin was opened by Tom Kitchin and then fiancée Michaela Berseilus in June 2006. The building is a former whisky bond on the waterfront in Leith, Edinburgh. The imprint of Kitchin's work with Alain Ducasse and Pierre Koffmann is noticeable in the style of food served, and the restaurant has received support from other chefs that Kitchin has worked with; including opening with the cutlery and plates formerly used at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant La Tante Claire, operated by Koffman. The interior of the restaurant is decorated with dark woods and shades of grey by design company Cubit Design, and wallpapers by Jocelyn Warner. A window opens from the dining room onto the kitchen area itself, and it has a conservatory-style bar serving snacks and light meals.
The food merges seasonal Scottish produce with French styles and techniques; the restaurant has the mantra "from nature to plate". While chef Tom Kitchin was away filming The Great British Menu for the BBC in March 2008, Pierre Koffman came out of retirement to stand in as head chef.
Within six months of opening, The Kitchin was awarded a Michelin star. In 2009 the restaurant was voted as the second-best restaurant in Britain by Eat Out Magazine, and the best restaurant in the UK by Observer Food Monthly in 2010. The team behind The Kitchin opened a second restaurant, Castle Terrace, in July 2010.
Reception
A.A. Gill, writing in The Sunday Times, gave The Kitchin five stars out of five, praised the common-sense approach of the menu construction, and described his food as "the best and most agreeable dinner I’ve eaten all year". The Independent's Terry Durack gave the restaurant sixteen out of twenty, praising the informality and the avoidance of normal Michelin-star cuisine, but said that the fish course was the "duff note of the night". Zoe Williams of The Telegraph said that "The food ranges from extremely good to totally brilliant", but criticized the pricing, saying "This is one of the most expensive meals I've had in a year, and not, hands down, the classiest, or most effortful, or most luxurious in terms of ingredients", and gave an overall score of 7.5 out of 10.