Photo of
Jonathan Trew
May 1, 2017
Chop House
Scottish beef takes centre stage at the Chop House restaurants in Leith and on East Market Street.

Have you eaten at either of Edinburgh’s Chop House restaurants yet?

The original opened on Constitution Street in Leith in 2015 while a second branch opened in the new East Market Street development by Waverley last year.

Scottish beef and seafood are at the heart of the menu and both restaurants are keen to emphasise the communal aspects of eating out.

Their menus are designed to encourage sharing. In particular, they offer the following sharing cuts of steak: bone-in rib of beef, Chateaubriand and Porterhouse.

Book in to Chop House via 5pm Dining

Both restaurants are part of the Compass Group who also operate Sygn, The Westroom and Monteiths. As we mentioned a few days ago, they are also working on the launch of White Horse Oyster Bar on Canongate.

You can book into the East Market Street Chop House via 5pm Dining.

We were invited along to the Leith branch to try the menu and sample several Highland Park cocktails. The Orkney-based distiller has just launched a new embossed bottle for its whiskies and was keen to show people the new design.

Our evening got underway with Maxxium Portfolio Ambassador Teddy Joseph mixing up some Kirkwall Copper drinks.

Made with 12-year-old Highland Park, a splash of Oloroso sherry and Fevertree Tonic, these made light, refreshing aperitifs. Very summery.

Chop House
Maxxium Portfolio Ambassador Teddy Joseph gets to grips with the Kirkwall Coppers at Chop House in Leith.
Highland Park has given its bottles a new look to reflect Orkney's Viking heritage.
Highland Park has given its bottles a new look to reflect Orkney’s Viking heritage.

The new look bottles drew inspiration from an ancient Stavkirke, a type of wooden church found in Norway. Go back a thousand years or so and Orkney was ruled by Vikings from Denmark and Norway.

The revamped packaging riffs on that heritage. And, we imagine, won’t hurt when it comes to boosting Highland Park sales in Scandinavian territories.

 

Steak tartare flavoured with capers, mustard and harissa. The beef is coarse cut which gave it a good texture. Great, punchy flavours from the condiments.
Steak tartare flavoured with capers, mustard and harissa. The beef is coarse cut which gave it a good texture. Great, punchy flavours from the condiments.
The Chop House Scotch egg is chunky enough to be used in mini-rugby games. Lovely, gooey yolk and crisp casing.
The Chop House Scotch egg is chunky enough to be used in mini-rugby games. Lovely, gooey yolk and crisp casing.
Oysters with a classic shallot and red wine vinegar accompaniment.
Oysters with a classic shallot and red wine vinegar accompaniment.
Chop House
Shrimp tempura with a Bloody Mary ketchup plus roast scallops with white port and garlic butter. The Chop House restaurants source their seafood from the West Coast of Scotland.
The Chop House restarants dry age their beef in-house. They buy from Shaws, a family butcher that sources beef from around a dozen different farms. Aberdeen Angus, Charolais and Limousin cattle are all used although the restaurants take the view that the way the beef is reared is more important than the breed.
The Chop House restaurants dry age their beef in-house for at least 35 days. The tag shows the cut of beef, the breed and the farm where it was reared.

Chop House buy their meat from Shaws, a family butcher that sources beef from around a dozen different farms in the Borders. Aberdeen Angus, Charolais and Limousin cattle are all used although the restaurants take the view that the way the beef is reared is more important than the breed.

The beef is aged for at least 35 days in special meatlockers. Himalayan salt blocks are used in the dry aging process. Aging draws out moisture; makes the beef more tender and intensifies the flavour. The restaurants also sell beef aged for 50, 60 or even 70 days as specials.

Bone-in rib of beef. Aged for 5o days in the restaurant's meat lockers. Himalayan salt blocks are used to draw out excess moisture. This was rich, slightly gamey, tender and with an agreeable tang of smoke from the char grill.
Bone-in rib of beef. Aged for 50 days in the restaurant’s meat lockers, this was rich, slightly gamey, tender and with an agreeable tang of smoke from the char grill.
Salted caramel fondue with doughnuts and marshmallows.
Salted caramel fondue with doughnuts and marshmallows.

If this has whetted your appetite, remember that you can book into the East Market Street Chop House via 5pm Dining.