Noto — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Finally getting around to typing up my reviews for this year and it is finally time for my favourite Noto

Was really looking forward to Noto as the menu looks amazing and my wife had an earlier great experience. I was a bit underwhelmed, overall.

We were warmly greeted by the staff on arrival, felt very welcoming. It's a really nice white washed bar space you walk into. Going into the dining room is a similar decor with the whitewashed walls having the barest of vine decor. It feels really comforting for some reason, which I liked.

The staff were first class. Super attentive, and very knowledgeable about the dishes and drinks.

A nice glass of orange wine and a cocktail were quickly brought out to get us started. Perusing the lovely sounding menu got us to the position of ordering seven dishes to be delivered in a tapas-esque format.

The first dish of brioche with both butter and a whipped tofu chilli dip was delicious. Would of been happy just scoffing more of this all night!

I was really looking forward to the crab as a seafood fan. It is more of a melted butter dip than crab. The smal bit of crab is completely overwhelmed by the quantity of butter. Works well as a dip for the nice sourdough, so maybe it needs to have the description changed to be more accurate about what arrives.

The fried buttermilk chicken was nice and crispy, but the kimchi didn't pack enough zing to freshen it up.

The tempura vegetables were really well done. Cooked perfectly, however veg is usually a lighter/fresher choice and the deepfrying obviously negated that quality of the veg. A citrussy dip might have been good?

The duck bao was nice enough, but a lack of sauce inside made the meat feel a bit dry, and not loads of flavour.

The arbroath smokie croquettes were delicious and very rich. The sesame seeds complimented them well. Maybe 6 was too many given the richness?

The last course was a big chunk of beef rib. Deeply dark meat, and with a very rich gravy. Again, the dish was very rich and heavy, with nothing to freshen it up. It did exactly what you expect of beef rib, but nothing more which might raise the meal up a level.

The main problem for me is that none of the dishes had any freshening ingredient or acidity. It just felt very heavy without an element to cleanse your palate or cut the richness.

Undoubtedly excellent quality, I could only suggest a lighter touch with the cooking. Hats off the the FOH staff, they...

So my daughter chose this restaurant for her birthday meal. We like to try different eating places and cuisines.

The restaurant is unassuming, tucked away on Thistle St near some other interesting businesses, like the wee vintage clothes shop. The concept is Japanese inspired dishes.

Inside the restaurant, it's rustic decor, informal and clean with good toilet facilities. We liked it.

Food is small plates for sharing. We liked the concept.

Stars of the show - tasty, different, stunningly presented dishes. Rich food. Service was great all round. A special mention for Hamish who had a lovely way with him - attentive but not overly so; discreet; professional; charming; respectful and helpful. But the service generally was very good - very professional, customer-focused service.

Other comments:

If you like, and can tolerate raw fish and rich food, no issues.

Don't expect to visit this restaurant for a plate piled high with copious amounts of food. You will be disappointed. Not their concept. But even so we felt that the plates for two could have been slightly bigger for the price.

Booking - I was asked for my credit card details to confirm booking. Unusual.

Also if you cancel without enough notice, a charge of £50 pp. Seems a bit OTT. Wondered if this restaurant has been stung a few times by people booking and not turning up?

C'mon fellow diners - if that's you, not fair! Why?

Well the business loses out - could have made the table available to others looking to book - who also miss out because you didn't think to free up the table.

Employed staff need to be paid - loss of income to pay them. We all need to make a living.

Food wasted perhaps? Who can afford to waste food with the cost of living as it is?

And next time you try to book a restaurant, it might not be so easy for you. Word gets around the dining community.

So let's be fair - help the restaurant, help others, help ourselves.

Thanks to all at Noto - a different...