steak

steak on stones... love it. this is the secondtimethere, thistimewith a itison voucher. good service, amazing cocktails and fab steak. i know some people say it's a gimmick but it's great cooking your steak to your liking.
only moan is that i wouldn't have paid full price for the donut dessert. think it's a bit expensive.

so for the firsttimein 2015 i find myself sat at the laptop, listening to the ramones, yes they are a band, not a clothing line (the kids really don't get it sometimes) and trying to think of a pithy introduction, but i am struggling. i should just take a leaf out of steak's book and keep it simple. i'd like to think that there wasn't an expensive pr company involved when the owners sat down and had a conversation something like

once upon a time, i didn’t like red meat (apart from mum’s steak pie) and anytimesteak was the only choice, it had to be well done. after being refused a well done steak in a restaurant, i agreed to suffer through a medium fillet. well that changed everything, and since then, the rarer, the better!

i was lucky enough to be invited along to steak on stones, which opened it’s doors on march 19th 2015, as the newest offering from steak edinburgh. it serves steak that you have to cook yourself on a hot lava stone at your table. you can pick from a variety of sides and sauces, and have your steak your way.

we were instantly impressed. the staff were so friendly, and directed us to the bar while we waited to be seated. the drinks menu was great, with a good selection of wine and craft beer, as well as some intriguing cocktails!

the food menu, as well as being very reasonably priced, had just enough choice. for me, there’s nothing worse than spending half an hour trying to decide what to have from a menu with a million things on it. but steak on stones is to the point, with a few other options for those not in the mood for steak. the dessert menu has a choice of freshly made filled donuts, that we’ll be sure to try nexttimewhen we’re not so full!

the steak is 28 day matured orkney beef, served in portions of 200g. we ordered 400g, 4 sides and 4 sauces to share. mr c loves his food, so there was no risk of anything going to waste at our table! they bring out the hot lava stone along with a dish of salt to sprinkle on the stone before cooking the steak. it was to die for! as i like rare steak, it didn’t take long to cook, and we had it along with chips, sweet potato mash, peas with leek and bacon, and mixed chili greens. combined with sambal, pepper, jerk mayo and wasabi hollondaise sauces, it was delicious! those peas with leek and bacon have to be one of my favourite things ever! we may have had a small falling out over the last piece of steak, but i won, so it’s fine.

the restaurant is beautiful as well. the tables are quite big, and once we saw all of the plates coming towards us, we knew why! we also wondered why we weren’t given steak knives, but after cutting into it, we found they weren’t necessary! the beef was so tender it just fell apart. the decor is modern but cosy, and the staff were attentive without being annoying!

steak on stones would be the perfect place for a first date (or a 51st date) since it’s an interactive meal and a conversation starter. you can try new things on the menu, share, try a bit of everything. i would say to be a bit braver than your standard steak and chips, you won’t be disappointed! it’s perfect for groups, because you can all get involved. it’s more than just a meal, it’s a dining experience.

we’re already making plans to return!

i've been to steak a couple of times and everytimehas been good. i was lucky enough to win a steak and shake via twitter so headed along for the steak and shake deal. although we didn't pay for the steak and shake it's great value at £15 and good portion sizes. 

the chips were slightly salty for my taste but the steak was perfectly cooked and the peppercorn sauce nice and spicy! we decided to have pudding (well why not). i opted for the custard tart and my boyfriend had the chocolate parfait.  the custard tart had a slight gingery taste and was the perfect end to a great meal. 

the staff were very attentive and made good recommendations. definitely worth a visit!

so for the firsttimein 2015 i find myself sat at the laptop, listening to the ramones, yes they are a band, not a clothing line (the kids really don't get it sometimes) and trying to think of a pithy introduction, but i am struggling.

i should just take a leaf out of steak's book and keep it simple. i'd like to think that there wasn't an expensive pr company involved when the owners sat down and had a conversation something like

“lets open a restaurant that serves mainly cow derived dishes”

“what like lots of different cuts of beef?”

“yes just like that and different breeds too, for more variety”

“i like it, but if we are being that simple we will have to do it brilliantly”

“exactly. we will be the best in edinburgh”

“sounds great, but what will we call this restaurant”

“ooh that's a tough one, what will we call a steak restaurant, that serves mainly steak and assorted steak accoutrements”

“hmmm..... i dunno!?!”

“hmmm me neither.....”

once they settled on steak i would imagine the conversation continued:

“what do we need to make our restaurant successful?“

“a good location?”

“directly opposite the playhouse that'll be a good start.”

“decor?”

“chic, modern, trendy but relaxed.”

“staff?”

“chic, modern, trendy but relaxed, oh and friendly and efficient. a telephone call confirming the internet booking, taking coats at the door and carrying customers drinks from the bar to the tables, all good indicators of quality service.”

on the day we went this is exactly what we experienced and good indication that we would be well looked after. however the three musketeers didn't go to steak for the good service, oh no no no we went for the food, so we skipped the starters and went straight to the carnivore course. i do regret not trying the haggis soup or the beef haslet or the smoked haddock pate, but i was saving myself for something special.

once athos and porthos had decided they would not be sharing food and wouldn't split a chateaubriand or beef wellington i knew that the only thing i wanted was the t-bone. 500 grams ( or 17 ½ ounces in old money) of medium-rare cow was duly ordered. i could have chosen further extras such as prawns, mussels or even a fried duck egg, (porthos thought about saying something about quails eggs, but after the brea argument thought better of it!) but kept it simple ordering just a peppercorn sauce that is included in the price.

although not prepared to share their meat*, the guys were happy to split some side orders, so we ordered mash, creamed leeks, peas and bacon and the intriguing combination of cauliflower, apple & hazelnuts.

*tut tut if you had a wee childish giggle at this, you know who you are!!!

we didn't have long to wait for our food, ordering medium rare helps reduce the cooking time, but our attentive waiter hadtimefor a chat and to check our glasses were full.

the t-bone when it arrived was as you would expect perfectly cooked, lets face it if they can't cook a steak right they may as well shut up shop now. a beautifully tender piece of beef pulled away from the bone and melted in the mouth. the accompanying peppercorn sauce was lively, but smooth and a great complement to the steak, although sometimes it seemed a sin to be dipping this sublime steak, especially when the flavour of the seared meat alone was so sensational.

the side dishes made the meal though, the mash with a touch of shallots was creamy and light, the peas were fresh and sweet, the bacon and leeks balancing the flavours nicely. the cauliflower though is awesome, the sweetness of the apple and the crunch of the hazelnuts just hit every taste-bud in the mouth, the flavour, the texture, the smell, wow.

service remained good throughout, the first check that the steaks were cooked to our satisfaction was met with nodded heads and thumbs up as it was perfectly timed for when the three of us had tucked in to our first bites. our drinks were kept full and the table was cleared with no fuss soon after we finished our last mouthful.

despite the best efforts of the waiter to tempt us into desserts, not that the mixed berry jam doughnuts really needed much selling, we remained strong and resisted. although we did take a ten minute break before revisiting the menu one last time, just to check we really did want to skip dessert.

i'm not going to say dinner was cheap, £33 for the steak alone, my cut of the sides and drinks and a healthy tip left little change from fifty pounds, just for a main course! however that was my choice and i could have had a sirloin for twenty pounds, or one of the other main courses for £15, but that would be like going to alton towers, just to look at the gardens. ultimately you get what you pay for and i was quite happy with my choice and the price i paid, especially as the service and ambiance of the restaurant commands a premium price. if you want a good steak in edinburgh, you know the name of the place to go to...

i have been to this restaurant and uncountable number of times and everytimehas been a delight. i mostly go for the steak & shake deal or the pre-theatre. its beautiful steak and the chips are definitely cooked in something special to make them a step above regular chips. 
ive had the triple cooked beef dripping chips but actually prefer the regular chips more. ive had some sides, garlic mushrooms are amazing and im not a big mushroom fan normally. the friend blue cheese macaroni didn't have as strong a blue cheese punch as id like but was lovely regardless. the creamed leek, pea and bacon was such a winner i went home and made it myself that weekend. 
the milkshakes are so ummy!! 
the deserts ive had there have been nice but not outstanding (below is the honeycomb parfait) and ive felt the same about the starters but ive only had a salad, soup and the potted beef shin but when your paying £16.50 for 3 courses your not looking for 3 outstanding courses. the steak is always the outstanding course and that's what im there for. 
heading back again this tues for steak & shake :)

to hear more about some of my visits see my august posts title: is it o.k to be in love with two sisters? and august titbits

s.o. and i are never ones to pass up a good steak. i did a recent blog post on start up restaurant daft jamie's which we visited twice in one week because the steak was so good. happy was i then when i stumbled across a blog review for steak (i can't remember which one it was now!), which promises a wonderful menu of meat on meat.

we chose the pre-theatre menu, which is a brilliant way of road testing a new restaurant on a budget. i chose the 'salmon pate, cucumber & beetroot crisps' and s.o. went for the 'steak tartare'. we were highly enamoured of our dainty starters. mine came out looking incredibly jewel like and was almost too pretty too eat. s.o. had never eaten tartare before and loved it, i have to agree it was deliciously done. sadly, my photos don't illustrate how perfect these dishes were and my phone died shortly after so there are no further images of our wonderful meal!

it was incredibly dark in the restaurant anyway, so photos weren't really possible. however, they were not the priority. s.o. remembered when the space was a nightclub, and agreed that they had really made the most of the vast industrial space. i really fell in love with the high ceilings and low lighting, which gives steak a really cool evening vibe. very cosmopolitan feeling.

for our mains we went for the steak, naturally. the waiter, who was very informative and attentive, asked how we would like ours cooked but the steaks were so thin (minute steaks) that it didn't really matter, they came one way. however, the quality of the meat was such that we didn't lament their size for long. the french-fries were fairly standard but the sides we chose to accompany our dishes were exceptional. i went for the 'lemon spiced spring greens' and s.o. chose the 'sauteed garlic mushrooms'. the greens were just like my mama makes, and the mushrooms were an excellent compliment to the yummy beef.

normally, by thetimewe have finished our mains we are too stuffed to proceed, and this was very true on this occasion also, but we were so keen on the 'honeycombe parfait' we thought we could share one desert. sadly, they only have coffee parfait as a substitute but we went ahead anyway. the parfait was delish, as was the chocolate tuile but the toffee nuts could have been left off as they were a bit too tough for our liking.

overall, steak is an ambient, delicious eatery that we will be back to again in no time.

to read the full review, please visit: http://gastronomicum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/steak-edinburgh.html

we recently ventured down to steak for their lunchtime option, which seemed reasonably priced at £9.95 for two courses, with the 'option' of a glass of wine for an additional £3.50.

this was our firsttimehere, we'd been meaning to come down for sometimeto try out their big juicy steaks but instead settled for a light lunch - if this went well we'd plan a return visit to work up some meat sweats at a later date.

it's a lovely restaurant, much bigger than imagined and what one in the trade would describe as swanky.

the waitress took us to the table closest to the radiator to help warm us up a little, we sat back and admired the butter tray which was soon accompanied by some fresh and tasty bread.

we are a blog with simple tastes, butter and salt on a chunk of wood set the tone and cloth napkins sealed the deal. we love cloth napkins.

first up (after bread) was wine, one red and one white to enable as wide a coverage of the menu as possible.

for our starters we ordered the lentil soup and apple and walnut salad. the soup was a great starter, very earthy and moreish, it certainly got me in the mood for my main. my dining partner's salad was also incredibly tasty, it was filled with lots of wonderful surprises. the walnuts were caramelised and addictive, as chief reviewer i had to get involved in tasting this as much as possible. fresh and light, what a delight.

on to the mains, my dining partner ordered the coley fish and chips, whilst i (surprise, surprise) opted for the rump steak and chips.

at first glance, edinbloggette was feeling short-changed on the chips, but this was lunchtime and as it turned out the portion size was perfect. the fish was lightly battered, delicate and flavoursome, edinbloggette didn't fall in love with the chips but i suspect this was a generous plan to share them with me. how thoughtful.

i asked for my steak to be cooked to medium specifications, but when it arrived i wondered how this would have even been possible. the steak can't have spent more than a few seconds cooking and there was little opportunity to cut through to reveal a juicy pink interior, it was simply too thin for this. that's not to say it didn't taste good, it most certainly did, but i had my heart set on something which would need my steak knife skills.

what we kept on forgetting was that this was a lunchtime deal, for £9.95 these two courses represented great value for money. there's no chance you would be able to order a big fat juicy steak for such a low price - if you could then suspicion would probably come as a side order.

if our meal at steak taught us one thing, it's that we can't wait to come back in the evening and try the main event. we've even started entering the #steaknshake weekly competition in the hope of saving some blogging bucks. i'm not sure why we're sharing that information with you as you're only going to make our chances of winning slimmer than my rump steak, but as a blogger we must share everything, otherwise what else will we go on about?

for full review, please visit:
http://www.edinblogger.com/2014/steak-edinburgh-review