Bistro Du Vin Edinburgh

A staple in the Edinburgh Food scene, Bistro Du Vin has always been a place I’ve recommended to family, friends, colleagues and tourists. Located on Bristo Place, its just around the corner from The National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street (its a 2 minute walk), across the road from the McEwan Hall (so ideal for graduations) and a few minutes easy walking from the Cowgate, the Grassmarket and the Royal Mile. The entrance to Hotel Du Vin is quite enchanting, especially at night time, with the twinkling light walkway. From the street you’ll enter the courtyard with its cosy cigar bothy and then through the doors into the hotel. The bistro is located to the right of reception. The decor is very French. The walls a mustard yellow, wooden tables and chairs, large wooden dressers, wine, carefully chosen and curated plaques and trinkets, dimmed lighting and a crackling fire all creating a very cosy intimate vibe. A bistro, a café, or a troquet is essentially a casual French type of restaurant that served tasteful, inexpensive French traditional food. The dishes and menu are often homestyle cooking or baking and are simple yet refined and put a spin on classic dishes. This is exactly what you can expect at Bistro Du Vin. Both my plus one and I liked quite a few of the same dishes, so we decided to order the ones we liked the sound of and go for a sharing/mezze kinda meal. I love this sort of dining as it gives you the opportunity to taste more and have a nibble of this and a nibble of that. Petit Lucas Olives (£4.95) green olives from the Languedoc with a light creamy vanilla flavour. Fougasse (£6.50) light and fluffy Provencal style focaccia served with black garlic aioli. This was warm and light, and just the perfect dipping bread for soaking up the French Onion Soup but also the garlic chilli butter from the prawns. Tiger Prawns (£11.95) with chilli, garlic and pastis butter with aioli dip. These were sweet and succulent. The pièce de résistance was without a doubt this Soupe A L’Oignon (£7.95) or Classic French Onion Soup. The cheesy crouton on top, this thick and dense soup with soft sweet onions, is sensational. It’s on the lunch and dinner menu and I urge you to go dine here for this alone. Every guest at dinner on this night, ordered this soup. It’s incredibly popular and no wonder. Ideal for a luncheon or a small dinner, order this soup and the fougasse and you’ve got a super tasty hearty meal that your belly will appreciate and your heart will love for around £15. As I mentioned above, a Bistro is somewhere that offers elevated homestyle cooking; its simple and classic but tastes scrumptious. The Main dishes are familiar, they’re classics, they might even be dishes your mum use to make. As far as an Autumn/Winter menu goes, each one of these dishes will make you smile, wrap you in a warm hug, place you by the fire and keep you happy. The mains list dishes like Cassoulet (£15.95) with confit duck, pork belly and Toulousse sausage in a rich bean stew. It’s Moules Mariniere (£14.95) of mussels steamed in white wine, cream, shallots and garlic or the Pumpkin and Sage Gnocchi (£12.95). Hungry yet? We went for good ol Sirloin Steak (£32.95) with pomme frites cooked just how we asked, a medium rare and the Grilled Chicken Normandy (£15.95) with petit salad and chips. Sides of Cauliflower Cheese (£4.25) and Glazed Carrots (£4.25). The Chicken and Chips came with the most insanely silky gorgeous chunky garlic butter that initially was drizzled over everything but then spooned; the garlic and parsley chunks had settled at the bottom of the copper pot. Oh what deliciousness lay there! Pot Au Chocolat (£7.50) chocolate mousse with cream chantilly and Creme Brulee (£7.50). Just the right sized desserts to finish off an evening of really good well cooked food. Hotel du Vin is so worthy of a visit. They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner is a warm, friendly and peaceful setting. The staff are superb and can offer expertise across wine, cocktails and the food menu.