&
3 Singh for your supper
The owner of Edinburgh’s stylish Oloroso restaurant is turning his hand to Indian cuisine with new restaurant Roti, writes Barry Shelby.
loroso restaurant is among
a select few stylish.
upmarket restaurants that have notably changed the character of dining out in Iidinburgh in the new millennium. Now chef and owner Tony Singh is trying to alter the face of Indian eateries. too.
He says his new venture — Roti —- is a ‘restaurant that serves Indian food‘ rather than simply an Indian restaurant. What this means. in pan. is that the signatures of typical curry houses are absent: no bowls or copper handis of kormas or vindaloos. (‘ourses are plated tip before being served. as a ‘proper‘
restaurant would do. Indeed. staff
have been known to reposition dishes in front of diners so that they face in the correct direction. Not a common practice at your average kebab shop. it has to be said. Dishes such as ‘Adraki hirna‘ push the boundaries: it‘s a tandoori venison. marinated and then cooked
7. .9".
118 THE LIST If) I)(3(: .7005) 5) Jan 7006
on a skewer. served still quite pink with a ginger sauce. spicy mashed potatoes and green beans prepared ‘south Indian style‘. It‘s proved popular. And at £l-l.5(). it signals that Roti is aiming to be as aspirational as ()Ioroso is.
Indeed. the two operations share some design elements. from the san serif typography to the predominantly ivory and charcoal colour scheme. Roti's entry off the admittedly dingy north Rose Street lane. however. is painted in bright
EAT&DRINK
‘THE SPICY FOOD HEATS PEOPLE UP AT THIS TIME OF YEAR'
saffron useful for anyone not familiar with this alley (between I‘rederick and (‘astle streets).
I.ike Martin‘s restaurant. which Roti replaced. it will not benefit from much passing trade; although the detour from the pedestrianised and busy New Town thoroughfare entails only a 30 second walk. Iivening diners have been lured so far and until 23 December. a set- price four-course gourmet lunch (£24.50) is offered as well.
‘(iuests like the quiet location.’ says Singh. ‘lt makes a great getaway from the mayhem at this time of year. and an added bonus is that the spicy dishes heat them tip. The gourmet menu is ideal for a festive business or oflice lunch and our concept of proper Indian food is
just right for people looking for‘
something a bit different.‘
Dishes on the recently introduced lunch menu include aloo tikki (crispy potato fritters); gosh! aur pudine ka shorba (lamb and mint broth); masala batak. saag aloo aur cabbage thoran (corn-fed chicken breast with spinach. potato and south Indian-style cabbage) and kesari keer (saffron rice pudding with (‘hristmas sweet meat).
Singh has also obtained permission from the licensing board to stay open into the wee sma' hours of the night. So watch this space for late dining options in some sort of after-hours curry club.
Roti, 70 Rose Street North Lane, Edinburgh, 0131 225 1233.
Side Dishes
News to nibble on. . .
I As promised a fortnight ago, here’s more commentary from the dinning public, who have sent back ‘feedback forms’ on The List’s Eating & Drinking Guide web pages [pictured]. Just this month, the curse of the microwave upsets Joanne of Glasgow, who found her food at a popular, tow-priced eatery near the Playhouse in Edinburgh ‘cold in the middle’. To make matters worse, she complains about a lack of ‘charm’, as well as a cook who ‘came out and smoked his cigar’ near her table. John of Edinburgh’s West End accuses one prominent Indian eatery in the capital of resting on its laurels. ‘The first curry I couldn’t actually finish — or want to,’ he says. A fashionable Glasgow restaurant gets it in the neck from an anonymous correspondent (‘terrible food, poorly presented’) who was told increduloust by staff that ‘there had never been a complaint before’. Amid more tales of the bum’s rush and indigestible dinners, however, praise has come in, too. A correspondent only identifiable from an email tag - ‘lunarboy 2000’ - raves about a leading Leith restaurant. ‘It cost a small fortune, but it was worth every penny.’ How was it for you? Go to www.list.co.uk, click on the ‘Eating Out’ link and use the ‘feedback form’.
I As we go to press the finishing touches on a fine dining restaurant in Glasgow — whose chef and co-proprietor has earned two Michelin stars in England — were being completed. Michael Caines at Abode (formerly the Arthouse on 8th Street) will feature dishes such as pumpkin and wild mushroom risotto with mascarpone and pumpkin oil: roast sea bass with cod brandade. salsify, courgettes and a red wine sauce; or cranachan souffle with honeycomb ice-cream. Caines' Michelin distinction was earned at Gidleigh Park in Chagford. Call Abode at 0141 221 6789.