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March 24, 2014
[Stuart and Krystal take a break from prepping Aizle.][1]
Stuart and Krystal take a break from prepping Aizle.

The 5pm Dining blog is getting excited about the imminent opening of Aizle in Edinburgh. Named after an old Scots word for ember or spark, Aizle is being billed as ‘Scotland’s first neo-bistro’.

It’s an attention-grabbing title and, while it might be easy to snark at the idea of a ‘neo-bistro’, Aizle’s plans certainly don’t lack ambition.

Scheduled to open in April on the former Karen Wong restaurant site on St Leonard’s Street, Aizle is co-owned by husband and wife team Stuart Ralston and Krystal Goff.

NYC and Barbados

The chef/mixologist couple are bringing their style of French cooking to the capital via New York City and Barbados.

The 50-seater restaurant will serve a set-menu dinner and fresh cocktails made with that day’s best market offerings, five nights a week.

Aizle won’t have a traditional menu – something completely unique to Scotland and to most of the UK. Instead, Stuart will have the freedom to utilise the best produce from farms and suppliers on that day.

Market menu

While the kitchen will be flying by the seat of its pants, the customer can, hopefully, look forward to a meal in which every ingredient is at its peak.

A 4-course tasting menu will cost around £35, and will be available with or without matched drinks.

Krystal has worked behind the bars of some of the hottest NYC establishments and brings her eclectic and sometimes unconventional style of mixology with her to Aizle. Expect to see a whisky-driven list during the launch period.

Before working on Aizle, Stuart and Krystal travelled all over the world, cooking and making drinks for high-profile people in luxurious surroundings.