When it comes to fine dining in Edinburgh, we're lucky that we're often spoilt for choice, with the city boasting an array of fantastic eateries to choose from.
However, if we were to give some recommendations, the new 'Tasting Experience' at MONO would most definitely be at the top of our list, after we headed down to try it last week.
Located on South Bridge, the usually Italian inspired restaurant has combined their love for Italian food, and mixed it with some of Scotland's finest ingredients, and it is quite the pairing.
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Decorated beautifully, the space was bustling when we arrived, with many tables also well underway into their tasting experience. We opted for the five-course tasting menu that comes accompanied with a wine pairing for each course, however there is also a seven course option for those who really want to go all out.
Costing £115 for the five courses and wine pairings, or £65 without, the experience is on the slightly more expensive side, but trust us when we say it's more than worth the money if you're looking to treat yourself.
To start off, we had a series of amuse bouche and homemade bread, and it was clear to see from the first bite that this was a dinner we were going to enjoy.
The first official course was the 'Canolo di Zucchina', courgette filled with both ricotta and goat's cheese, which was accompanied with a stunning white wine.
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The second may have been one of our top contenders, with twin scallops in a shell, accompanied with black garlic mayo, a sun dried tomato mousse and a parsley and wild garlic gremola. This course also came with what was definitely our favourite wine, a Pipoli Bianco white which was delightful.
Moving on to the courses accompanied with a red wine, we had the black summer truffle risotto, which was wolfed down in minutes, and then a lamb dish, which was cooked to perfection.
Finally we moved onto dessert, which was the most unique course for us, coming with not only an incredible crème brûlée with wild flowers and a cherry consomme, but also a drink that we can't say we've ever tried before.
Introducing those who might be from out of town to whisky in a new way, we were served up a glass of dessert wine, as well as a syringe filled with Caol Ila whisky.
Explaining each course as we went along, our fantastic servers shared that we should try and combine the flavours, adding a different amount of millilitres depending on the strength and taste we wanted.
Although not one you would usually think of, as not huge whisky drinkers, we were astonished at how tasty the pairing was, and happily sipped away on the creation as we polished off the crème brûlée.
After an amazing evening and experience, we headed off home, and can guarantee we'll be back.
MONO’s new Tasting Menu is available as a five or seven-course experience (meat or veggie) with an optional wine flight and cheese course, available from Tuesday-Saturday at MONO Restaurant, South Bridge, Edinburgh.
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