GO! Pop-up restaurant Dram and Smoke, Edinburgh

By Dayna McAlpine

When you mention the Fringe to any Edinburgh local you’ll be met with two emotions; the first, sheer despair, as the city fills to the brim and heaves with tourists and home-comers as Edinburgh life evolves into a month-long equivalent of London rush hour. The second is a buzz of excitement as it’s the one time of year when us ‘Edinburgers’ get to show off our city and invite the the rest of the world into our home.

What better a time then for Edinburgh pals Paul Ross and Nick Fulton to bring their pop-up restaurant project, Dram and Smoke, back onto home turf. Setting up in a former Biscuit Factory for the month of August and with numerous sold out runs in a variety of unusual locations back in London, Dram and Smoke promises a celebration of Scottish produce and hospitality. Heading back over the border, I visited the pop-up on its second night to take part in this unique festival dining experience.

We were greeted with a welcome cocktail, given a seating plan to show our place on a communal table (there’s no quiet dining tables for two here) and invited up the industrial staircases of the Biscuit Factory to the top floor.

The food on offer comes as a four course set menu; to start, a meaty smoked ham and haggis terrine served, on a plank of wood, so we could all help ourselves.

 

The next course was a pearl barley risotto packed with Scottish chorizo and spoots (razor clams). Next came the braised beef brisket, which we were invited to carve ourselves, served with roasted hasselback tatties, chargrilled leeks with Scottish cheddar and a green bean and celeriac slaw.

Dinner was rounded off with jars of rhubarb and custard and a huge slab of heather honeycomb, served with a hammer, to share around the table.

Don’t expect to head home once the tables are cleared. There’s live music every night as well as a well-stocked bar – guests dance their way into the wee hours. What better way to round off a meal than by washing it down with one of each of the Naked Grouse whisky cocktails from the bar? You can take the girl out of Scotland…

www.dramandsmoke.com
£40pp for a four-course set menu, there is also a vegetarian option available
Wed-Sun throughout August
The Biscuit Factory, 4-6 Anderson Place, Edinburgh, EH6 5NP

You can buy tickets to Dram and Smoke here.