Lobster toastie from spry

Spry Wines

Spry in Edinburgh, sister to Ante, is a wine bar, bottle shop and restaurant at the top of Leith Walk. After spending some time downstairs sitting outside and enjoying a coffee, I was drawn in by their chilled atmosphere and minimal yet cool decor.

Exterior of spry
Interior of spry

After sitting down at what I’d class as the best seat in the house (the window seat so I people-watch!), I had a browse of Spry’s dinner and drinks menu. They specialise in naturally made wines and any bottle on the menu can also be bought to take home for £10 less than what it’s priced on the menu. I ordered a glass of the Sylvaner 2022 from Domaine Stoeffler which was fresh and zippy — the perfect accompaniment for the food that was about to come.

food menu at spry

As for the food (served from 1 pm-8:30 pm), their menu changes often but one thing always stays the same — the focus on using local, seasonal produce. I tried their a la carte menu which is small in the best way possible. I asked how much food I should be ordering because it’s quite hard to tell at first but the Spry staff kindly let me know that all the dishes are small and great for sharing. With this in mind, I ordered 4 dishes to enjoy alongside my wine:

  • Ante sourdough with salted butter (£4)
  • Cured sea trout with sauce vierge and Isle of Wight tomatoes (£10)

 

The bread from their in-house bakery downstairs was the perfect way to start the meal. This came out alongside the cured sea trout, an exceptional small plate for cured fish lovers that tasted unreal paid with the sauce vierge and tomatoes.

  • Lobster toastie with Thermidor emulsion and tarragon (£12)
  • Charred asparagus with hemp seed chutney and toasted buckwheat (£10)

The next two dishes that came together were the lobster toastie and charred asparagus. If there’s one dish you order when you visit Spry, please make it the lobster toastie. The crispy rolled bread was filled with the lobster and then drizzled with a rich, creamy sauce — unreal. And you know a vegetable plate is great when it can shine on its own. Asparagus season may be coming to a close for the year but I’m glad it was still on the menu when I went and was able to get a moment of its own.

a selection of wine from spry

From the food to the wine to the service and even the interior, everything about Spry is very special indeed. Edinburgh is lucky to have a wine bar and restaurant as good as this and I very highly recommend any food and wine lovers make the trip to try it for themselves.

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