Dinner at The Devil's Advocate

Well, heck, the food posts are back!

So. I'm currently in Edinburgh, on holiday, so I decided what the heck, I was going to go somewhere the prices would normally chase me off.

I've ended up at The Devil's Advocate in Advocates Close. Mostly because (at least according to Google) their cocktails have a good rep.

Well they weren't wrong.

To be fair, there's few enough places that actually seem to take their cocktails seriously, so when you find one it's worth making a note.

Ok. To the meal, and as a heads up, I somewhat accidentally decided to do flavour contrasts more than flavour pairings.  I'm still figuring out the ins and outs of choosing appropriate cocktails for the food I choose.


I chose the Doorknocker, which is tequila blanco, peppered pineapple, grapefruit bitters, citrus and soda.
It is lovely. Tart with a very soft, tiny hint of sweet finish when you drink it by itself, and the pepper comes through in a little burst which you can get more of from the sugar rim on one side. (artful glass prep my friends. Useful)

For dinner I went with the baked North sea cod, which came with cauliflower, sundried tomato, and an absolutely delightful medley of something it was too dark to make out, but hoooooly wow was it good!

The fish was light and moist, and just came apart perfectly. The flavours from the sauce were excellent, and the different tastes you got depending on which bit of veg you ate it with were a great deal of fun to sort through.

The cauliflower had (so my tongue informed me) been cooked with some stronger spicing, so when you had that it didn't quite overpower the cod, but it was more present. If you then followed up with a sip of the Door knocker, the pepper notes came through much more clearly.

The green bits (might have been beans? Small, perfect crunch) were probably the smoothest flavour combo with the fish.  It balanced perfectly with the sauce, and that followed by a drink made the sweet come out in the cocktail.

The tomatoes though. They just sang. The sweetish with a bite worked beautifully with the fish. I savoured those mouthfuls.

I also didn't pay nearly as much attention to the following sip of this delightful thing. Sorry.

Then decided to indulge in dessert.  I am so, so glad I did.

I got a milk chocolate and espresso pana cotta with a whole pitted cherry sauce (I really want to know what kind of cherry!) and amaretti biscuit crumbled on top.

It was glorious. The pana cotta was smooth, rich but not too rich, with a lovely chocolate flavour.  Pair that with the sweet/tart of the cherries with a bit of crunch for texture from the Biscuits? Perfect.

Also, I gotta say. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find places with cherry desserts that actually taste like cherries?  And are good? It's really hard! That is quite literally the best dessert with cherries in that I've had in a really, really long time that wasn't something I watched get made.

Another thing that made it fun was the contrast between everything.  The drink was at first glance light, but the flavours packed a punch when put together.
The dinner was light flavours with hints of a bit more.
And dessert? Dessert was thick, rich flavours that just fill your mouth up and leave you wanting more, except that it's also just the right amount.

All in all, well worth the money when it comes to the food and drink, and the staff are very friendly and quick. Would definitely go again.