It’s a hearty ‘Bonjour’ from the 5pm blog to Edinburgh River Life, a French and Caribbean restaurant which has just joined the ranks of 5pm Restaurants.

The venture opened on Edinburgh’s Dalry Road back in July last year and has been winning friends ever since.

Caribbean food

Over the years, a couple of restaurants serving Caribbean food have come and gone in Edinburgh but I’m pretty sure that River Life has the field to itself at the moment.

Mario Leon Caneval is the owner and chef at the restaurant. He started learning about French food on Guadeloupe and then broadened his knowledge during a stint in the French army.

Since then, he has worked in Scottish kitchens such as Peebles Hydro, Gleneagles and both The Caley and Dalmahoy in Edinburgh.

Provencale cooking

According to Leon, classic French cooking, particularly Provencale style cooking, is similar to Caribbean methods.

You can see Leon’s Provencale menu here and you can get a flavour of his Caribbean menus here.

On the first Sunday of every month, River Life puts on a Caribbean feast buffet serving dishes such as chargrilled spicy jerk chicken leg; Caribbean style oxtail and citrus vegetables.

Discount offer

5pm Restaurant bookers have given the food a cheery thumbs up and, should you need any more incentive to visit, River Life is currently offering 5pm bookers a 15% discount on the Provencale menu.

As an added bonus, River Life is currently operating a BYOB policy.