Deciding where to dine out in Edinburgh can be a daunting task, especially when you have an out of towner joining you and you want to impress them. There are so many fabulous restaurants to choose from, luckily we had three days to get round as many of them as possible.
We had organised a girly long weekend in our glorious capital. Three of us were coming in locally from Glasgow and big sis Dal was flying in to join us from Birmingham. We decided to meet up in Le Di-Vin, as it was handy for us Glaswegians, it’s a ten minute walk from Haymarket train station, and a good central location for Dal to get to from the airport. Despite the fact that we live closer to Edinburgh, Dal managed to make it to the restaurant before us, much to our shame! Luckily the restaurant staff were warm and welcoming and made her feel right at home until we arrived.
Nothing quite like bringing four women together and trying to cater for each of their individual needs. Our friend Sonia who had joined us, is on a gluten and wheat free diet, I am a pescetarian, Dal and Andrea decided to throw caution to the wind and dump their diets for the weekend, wise choice, as we had gathered with the sole purpose of eating, drinking and getting merry.
The definition of Le Di-Vin is to wine and dine! And that is exactly what the sole purpose of this weekend was, so it was as good a place to kick-start our weekend as any! Located in Edinburgh’s west end it’s handy if you wish to continue on to one of the numerous trendy bars nearby.
The restaurant and wine bar are housed in a former church, The Oratory of Saint Anne, perfect for food worshipers like us! There’s a lovely ambiance in the restaurant with the high ceilings and great lighting. We dined on Saturday and it was pretty packed.
As the name suggests the restaurant offers French cuisine. The proprietors Virginie and Ghislain have made a huge success of reinventing the place. Virginie Brouard is an experienced restaurateur, her husband Ghislain is a wine trade expert, the perfect partnership.
The bar is stocked with bottles of the finest red, white and rose wines France has to offer all hand selected by Ghislain. The menu offers simple classic food focusing on sharing platters of cheese, charcuterie, smoked fish and terrines.
Our knowledgeable waiter Will recommended some lovely dishes for us. We ordered a selection of food including Croque-Monsieur (Jambon, Béchamel and Gruyère Cheese), Jambon de Bayonne served with Grilled Goat Cheese and Red Peppers, and the Grilled Prawns, a couple of sides of French fries and olives. The food was plentiful and delicious and was served to us in a relaxed manner, we weren’t in any big hurry, we had a lot to catch up on and were enjoying our leisurely lunch. For dessert we ordered Sticky Toffee pudding which was served warm, with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream. According to Dal, it was heavenly!
Le Di-Vin also regularly holds cheese and wine tasting sessions, a great way to meet with others to taste and talk about the delightful food and drink on offer here. Like we need an excuse to return! Next time we think we will book into one of these sessions. Ghislain and Virginie seem to have an extensive knowledge of wines and cheese and it will be great to try out their chosen selection.
Le Di-Vin is the perfect place for unwinding in the heart of Edinburgh’s West End and proved a wonderful dining choice for our first meal together in the capital.
Le Di-Vin
9 Randolph Place
Edinburgh
EH3 7TE
0131 538 1815
Monday-Saturday – 12noon till Late / Closed Sundays
http://www.ledivin.co.uk/
