<a target="_blank" href="http://www.auroraedinburgh.co.uk/">Aurora</a>

187 Great
Junction St.

EH65LQ Edinburgh

Scotland,
UK

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;JUNE 09, 2023The Food:

Salmon, kohlrabi with rock samphire
and white gazpacho

Sardines with apricot, pine nuts and
bay leaf

Asparagus with chickpeas, dill,
potato and yeast

Croquette of duck confit with kimchi
and spring onion

Cjarsons with hazelnut butter, cocoa
nibs and rocket

Dry aged pork belly with black
pudding, porcini and whisky

Aubergine with potato, vine leaves
and baba ghanoush

Plant-based cheeses

Dark chocolate with mezcal, mango,
habanero and peanuts

The Wines:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>2008 Henri
 Boillot Meursault Les Cras 1er Cru</td>
 <td>90</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2013 Domaine Hubert Lignier
 Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er Cru&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
 <td>91</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1986 Cheval Blanc</td>
 <td>94</td>
 </tr></tbody></table> I love Edinburgh. The
history, the castle, the bohemian atmosphere, the haggis, black pudding, kids
in kilts, tartan tarmac, dogs in sporrans…On every street corner, someone is
tossing the caber. Perhaps my view of the city is skewed by the fact that every
time I go north of Hadrian’s Wall, clouds clear, and the sun comes out. Who
said Scotland was perpetually rainy? And, of course, it boasts a thriving,
dynamic restaurant scene that is second to none. I spent a weekend in Edinburgh
for reasons I will explain in a future Vinous Table, suffice to say that on the
first evening, a good friend booked a restaurant that typifies what makes
Edinburgh a gastronomic nirvana.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686258156268-aurora+amuse+bouche_copy.jpg">Aurora amuse bouche 

Technically, Aurora is not in
Edinburgh. It’s in Leith, the port area north of the city, down towards the
Firth of Forth. En route to the restaurant, I was informed that the two
distinguish themselves from each other: You are either from Edinburgh or Leith.
That said, Aurora is only a 10-minute ride from the town center. The area is a
bit like East London, a once down-at-heel part of the city that attracted
younger people who have created a vibrant and culturally-active part of town, which
has inevitably led to investment in its empty industrial spaces. As is frequently
the case, that has spawned a dynamic restaurant scene that can be hard to keep
up with. In fact, Leith has the highest concentration of Michelin stars in
Scotland, with destination restaurants such as Martin Wishart and The Kitchin
attracting epicures from afar.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686258202589-aurora+salmon_copy.jpg">Salmon, kohlrabi with rock samphire and white gazpacho Chef-patron Polish-born Kamil Witek
opened Aurora, though I noticed his name is not mentioned on their website for
some inexplicable reason. It is a tiny restaurant, so small that we almost
drove straight past its front doors. I bet many do the same. The frontage must
be little more than a couple of meters wide. Inside is virtually the size of a
living room, probably around 18 covers, with a small serving area on the left, and
the kitchen is at the rear. It is spartan in terms of Nordic décor, all
stripped floors and bare pine tables, though it conjures a homely, cozy ambiance
thanks to the candles and a touch of greenery. The menu can be described as
modern European with an emphasis on local ingredients and several courses with
either/or options, which is much more preferable to take-it-or-leave-it menus
that abound these days. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686258433786-aurora+sardines_copy.jpg">Sardines with apricot, pine nuts and bay leaf Every course was outstanding. From
start to finish, there wasn’t a single dish that did not impress. The technical
detail and the execution were quite brilliant and belied its unassuming exterior.
The amuse bouche augured that we were in for a treat, a dish of vine tomatoes
and pine nuts with a scoop of fresh mozzarella packed full of flavor.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686258472931-aurora+asparagas_copy.jpg">Asparagus with chickpeas, dill, potato and yeast The salmon tasted like it had been
caught five minutes earlier, disguised under a mousse of kohlrabi, rock
samphire and white gazpacho. Like most dishes, it was more of a tapas-sized
portion, so I savored every mouthful. The sardines with apricot, pine nuts and
bay leaf were perfectly cooked and seasoned; likewise, the asparagus that came
with dill and a brittle potato and yeast wafer.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686258447439-aurora+duck+confit_copy.jpg">Croquette of duck confit with kimchi and spring onion 

The croquette of duck confit oozed
with succulence, the kimchi sweet and not overpowering, the spring onion
imparting pepperiness that lent the dish a slightly bitter edge. The Cjarsons,
a traditional pasta from Friuli, was the most aesthetically-pleasing dish, served
with hazelnut butter, cocoa nibs and rocket. This was subtle in flavor with a
lovely texture. I nabbed some of my neighbor’s dry-aged pork belly that was
accompanied by black pudding, porcini and whisky, though I actually preferred
my own aubergine that was wrapped in vine leaves, served with baba ghanoush
inside a crunchy shell. I could have eaten this three times over.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321691716-aurora+cjarsons_copy.jpg">Cjarsons with hazelnut butter, cocoa nibs and rocket I skipped the quartet of plant-based
cheeses, each served with its own unique jelly. I headed straight for the dark
chocolate brownie and ganache flavored with mezcal, mango, habanero and
peanuts. Stunning.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321710557-aurora+pork+belly_copy.jpg">Dry aged pork belly with black pudding, porcini and whisky The restaurant’s wine list is short
and leans towards low-intervention wines. Customers can pay extra for a
wine-matching menu, though we had prearranged to bring our own bottles.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321724453-aurora+aubergine_copy.jpg">Aubergine with potato, vine leaves and baba ghanoush 

The 2008 Meursault Les Cras 1er
Cru from Henri Boillot comes from century-old vines. It is a
typically seductive wine in the Boillot mold: generous on the nose with light
honeyed scents, frangipane, vanilla pod and grilled hazelnut aromas. The palate
has impressive weight for the vintage, slightly lower in acidity than its peers,
with maybe a little more sugar than I would have liked. Yet it is still
well-balanced, a kind of “guilty pleasure” Meursault that doesn’t deliver the
intellectual aspect of white Burgundy but tons of irresistible flavor. It’s
drinking perfectly now.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321739405-aurora+cheeses_copy.jpg">Plant-based cheeses The 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin Morey
Aux Combottes 1er Cru from Domaine Hubert Lignier is still a couple
of years outside its drinking window. With blackberry, iodine and a subtle dab
of camphor on the nose, I felt that the aromatics remained rather closed despite
aeration. The palate is quite bold in style considering the vintage, ripe and
grippy with a slightly obdurate finish that needs time to mellow. Give it three
more years. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321802835-aurora+chocolate_copy.jpg">Dark chocolate with mezcal, mango, habanero and peanuts Finally, the 1986 Cheval Blanc,
a vintage that I had not tasted for several years. This was not a renowned
growing season for the Right Bank, but this Saint-Émilion bucks the trends to produce
one of its most attractive wines. It has a gorgeous bouquet that you could lose
yourself in with red berry fruit, quite tertiary at first, and scents of meat
juices, fennel, juniper and wilted flowers. This is complex but also has the
warmth I normally associate with the 1985s. The palate is medium-bodied with
melted tannins, exquisite balance, light sous-bois and black truffle
notes that infuse the dark berry fruit towards the persistent finish. It’s like
a less extravagant version of the 1985. It’s probably at its peak now, though
this bottle suggests it will drink well for many years. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321856625-meursault+boillot_copy.jpg">It was a perfect start to my short
break in Edinburgh. The standard of cooking at Aurora was exemplary, and with a
six-course menu at £65.00 per person, you would be paying twice as much in
London, perhaps more. You could probably fly up to Edinburgh and save money.
The service was superb, the room manned by two young Spanish ladies whose
beautiful accents became a vital ingredient. Naturally, such a small restaurant
means that you have to book in advance, but it is well worth traveling across
the ”border” to Edinburgh…sorry, Leith…to experience one of the finest restaurants
that I’ve visited north of the border.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1686321947229-cheval+blanc+1986_copy.jpg">© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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