‘A love letter to Leith’ is how Chef Joseph Malik describes The Percy, his new restaurant on Easter Road, next to the long established Persevere Bar.
Decorated with abstract pictures of The Proclaimers and Hibs players, The Percy also has dishes named after local heroes such Eggs Irvine Welsh and the Chicken Mary Moriarty, dedicated to the legendary landlady at the Port of Leith.
Lizzard Café regular
Long in the tooth readers may recall Joe from another life back in the Nineties. One half of the hip hop duo Blacka’nized, Mr Malik was a regular in the DJ box at clubs such as the Lizzard Café.
More recently, he has been making waves for his kitchen skills. At bars such as Joseph Pearce, the Safari Bar and the Lioness of Leith, Joseph has designed menus that are fun, on trend, very affordable and served in hearty portions.
Ballotine Demarco
In the other bars, Joseph was working for other people. At The Percy, he is doing it for himself. You can view the menus here.
The 5pm Dining blog has its beady eye on the ballotine Demarco. Named after the veteran Edinburgh arts impresario Richard Demarco, it features a breast of poached chicken stuffed with Parma ham, walnut and rocket.
This scribbler doesn’t do football but, having eaten at The Percy on Friday, we can recommend the cabbage and ribs: slow cooked pork belly with braised cabbage, Hibernian mash and something called Turnbull’s Tornadoes hot sauce.
The popcorn mussels – plump mussels in a tempura batter – are another winner.
Apart from the steak, all of the main courses are under a tenner.