It has been twenty years since the first guest checked into Macdonald Holyrood Hotel but it is not resting on its laurels.

Located just around the corner from the Scottish Parliament, the hotel recently rebranded its restaurant and re-launched as Surf & Turf.

Inspired by Scotland's incredible larder, the restaurant showcases the country's best beef, lamb and seafood.

Last night, the 5pm blog attended a launch event at the hotel where suppliers such as George Campbell & Sons and ScotBeef demonstrated the skills needed to fillet various fish and break down a hindquarter of beef into usable cuts.

The Surf & Turf concept was initially trialled at Macdonald Rusacks Hotel in St Andrews. It proved a huge success and was rolled out in Edinburgh.

Seafood extravaganza

Marco Truffelli, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts managing director for Scotland, said: 'The Surf & Turf restaurant has received phenomenal feedback, and we wanted to do something extra special to cement its opening here in Edinburgh. 

'Working with our suppliers, we were able to transform the whole restaurant into a culinary heaven, taking inspiration from traditional fish and meat markets.

'Provenance of ingredients is crucial to our offering and it was a delight to share the journey of our dishes with the city’s biggest foodies and friends of the hotel.'

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts Surf & Turf regional executive head chef Glenn Roach (main pic), who created the menu, said:

'Our menus are driven by a blend of constant experimentation and passion.  The creative freedom we are afforded allows us to deliver unique recipes using quality local produce. 

'I’ve been passionate about food since I was a wee boy. But I was never picky and loved all good, tasty, high-quality, lovingly created food. That’s why I fell in love with the surf and turf concept – it’s the best of both worlds. The tastes and textures of succulent steak and fresh seafood complement each other perfectly.'

You can see the full menu here.

The rib-eye, sirloin and fillet steaks are all aged for a minimum of 32 days and are available in a variety of sizes from 200g to a whopping kilo.

Signature Surf & Turf dishes include the 32-day aged Scottish sirloin with langoustines. The beef is rubbed with BBQ salt and it comes with a garlic mushroom and grilled tomato.

We also like the look of the sharing platters. The Scottish Beach on a Platter features a grilled whole sea bass, hand-picked mussels, crab croquette, fresh oysters, pickled seafood slaw, crispy seaweed, tossed new potato and a Hollandaise sauce.

The Taste of Scotland's Farms platter includes slow-cooked Scottish brisket beef, haggis bon bons, stovies, turnip, sautéed broccoli, carrots and leeks plus an Eden Mill whisky sauce.

Book into Surf & Turf via 5pm and you can enjoy a 10% discount on the à la carte menu.