As we mentioned yesterday, your blogger has been elsewhere for the last couple of weeks so here is a quick catch-up from Edinburgh's food and drink frontline.

The end of February saw Whiskers Wine Café open on Raeburn Place.

Open from breakfast through to dinner - as well as offering wine to go - Whiskers is a family affair with Jonnie Cook taking the helm in the kitchen.

Chef Cook (was any other career possible with such a name?) has a CV listing stints at Greywalls, the Chop House restaurants and at One Square in the Sheraton so he knows his onions.

Wine is also a passion and Whiskers has a relatively short but carefully selected list that flits from Australia's Barossa valley and Spain's sherry-producing region to Mendoza, Bordeaux and beyond.

As you might imagine, they are more than happy to recommend wines to go with dishes. For instance, if you had your heart set on the cured sea trout with avocado, gin-cucumber and nori, then you might want to pair it with a glass of their Riesling from Sybille Kuntz.

Sharing platters and small plates

The menu at Whiskers has three sections. The all day menu runs 9am to 5pm and includes choices such as porridge, croissant melts, soup, sarnies, salads and toast.

Alternatively, you could graze from a sharing platter of East Coast charcuterie, cheese or patés and terrines.

The sharing platters are available noon to 10pm; same as the small plates menu.

All the dishes are made with seasonal ingredients from local suppliers. This means that the menus change according to the produce available.

The current sample menu lists dishes such as Shetland mussels in a classic marinière sauce; salt-baked potatoes with red pepper, saffron and garlic mayonnaise plus a dish of haricot beans, red onion, cherry tomato, spicy Nduja sausage and bread.

The pic above shows a lush beef stew and is taken from Whiskers' Facebook.

Grazing by Mark Greenaway

Looking a little further into the future, the high profile chef Mark Greenaway has announced plans to open a new venture in the ground floor brasserie space of the five-star Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh.

Grazing by Mark Greenaway is scheduled to open mid-April.

We will cover this in more detail nearer the launch date but this is what Mark had to say of his new venture:

'The brasserie in the Waldorf Astoria is an excellent restaurant space, lending itself to a relaxed dining experience in a stunning location with its own entrance from Rutland Street. It will undergo a complete overhaul at the start of April as we freshen up the space to provide guests with an entirely new dining experience.

'Being part of such an historic building within Edinburgh’s city centre is what we see as the natural evolution of our offering – a delectable experience in grand surroundings, yet relaxed and accessible to all. Our focus will be on helping our diners to share and enjoy wonderful food in a leisurely fashion – grazing at their own pace. We have some new and unique dishes to present, but my loyal visitors can expect to see a few recognisable touches and some familiar faces too.'

Reservations for Grazing by Mark Greenaway will open on 2nd April. If all goes to plan, the chef's next venture is likely to be a fine dining establishment.