Le Monde
When I think of where to get food around George Street, there are many places that come to mind but Le Monde is not usually one of them.
The last time I visited was many years ago for Valentine’s Day but since being back things have changed up big time. Le Monde is a boutique hotel, bar and restaurant located at the end of George Street in Edinburgh’s city centre.
The venue itself is absolutely stunning — there are a few sections which break up the place. At the front, you’ll find a relaxed seating area, some booths and their small bar (which is in no way small!). If you then walk further into the restaurant and past the stairs which take you up to the hotel, they have a large statement bar right in the middle of the floor with seating all around. Lastly, up at the back, there is (you guessed it!) a more secluded seating area, along with a cute flower wall.
Their aim with the menu is to take you “around the world”. All dishes on their menu are named after a different cosmopolitan city, such as New York, Barcelona and Tokyo. In my opinion, menus like these can become very tricky to execute well because:
- The chefs can’t focus and hone in on one cuisine — this can result in the quality lacking from each dish.
- The menu still needs to feel cohesive — every dish from different areas of the world still needs to work together as a 2/3-course meal.
With that being said, the Le Monde team have smashed this one out of the park. Every option available has clearly been well thought out as there was no dish that felt out of place. My partner and I started off with a mocktail each. I got the passionfruit mojito and could have drank a bucket full. We then ended up choosing a small plate for our starter, a ‘grill’ dish for our mains and then a dessert to finish off.
Let me break down each dish for you!
To start:
‘Berlin’ – A German bratwurst plated up in the middle of crispy shoestring fries, zingy sauerkraut and curried ketchup. This felt like the perfect ode to German cuisine.
‘Beijing’ – A bouncy bao bun filled with peking pork, a crunchy sesame slaw and garnished with some spring onion.
‘Rio’ – Picanha (Brazil’s most popular cut of beef, also known as a ‘rump cap’ in the UK!), topped with a fresh chimichurri with a side of fries.
‘Atlantis’ – A large piece of freshly battered haddock which came with thick-cut chips, crushed peas and a side of tartare sauce — a classic.
’New York’ – An indulgent double chocolate cheesecake with vanilla ice cream.
‘Sydney’ – A sweet and slightly tart passionfruit pavlova.
Considering the range of different cuisines and flavours the chefs were cooking with, they still managed to cook each dish to perfection. The cut of steak came out medium-rare, as requested, and was as tender as can be. It was so tasty it almost didn’t need the chimichurri…but it did help elevate the dish even more!
Overall, Le Monde is such a wonderful spot to visit for dinner, especially if there’s a special occasion to celebrate. I was really impressed with how much the food has come on since my last visit many years ago and on top of that, the interior really does give off the wow factor!
- Le Monde
- 16 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2PF
- 0131 270 3900
- www.lemondehotel.co.uk
- Reservation recommended
- £30-£50pp approx.
Disclaimer: This was a PR Invite but all views are my own.
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