The Cellar Door, Edinburgh

Finding a good restaurant can be a labourious process, especially when visiting on a short holiday. You feel pressured to get things right, to justify the time and expense in such worrying and uncomfortable times, to spend your money on something that you will both remember from your trip.

The Cellar Door provided us with such an experience. As we are off travelling in a few months the opportunity to bring our own wine was much appreciated, effectively subtracted multiples of ten off the final bill (depending on how much you like wine!) To start I had the fantastically warming haggis fritters that had both texture and moistness and bite from the coarse black pepper, all finished with classy side salad. My G/F opted for the 'special' of Curried sweet potato soup that managed to both comfort and refresh without the need to overpower the pallet with thick gelatinous goo that you can get with a potato-based soup. It was devine.

For main my G/F opted for the chicken on chargrilled spring veg with pine nuts and balsamic jus. Everything looked interesting, was cooked to perfection and tasted delicious. (the ONLY negative here of the whole meal was the lack of any pine nuts). For my main I went for the rump of lamb on tomato and chive mash and buttered swiss chard. Due to the positivity of the reviews below you can safely assume that making the choice to visit this restuarant would be a safe-bet but if you need one reason to go then this would be it. The best dish I have ever had, without exaggeration. Perfectly cooked buttery mash with hints of sweetness and fragrance, delicate chard that struck that perfect balance and then perfectly cooked lamb that literally melted in your mouth, even though you wanted it to stay much much longer! I cannot quantify through words how much I enjoyed this. Perfect.

For dessert we were again treated to a vesture of taste. Quietly embarrassed, looking round to see if the people near us could see we were getting excited and giddy by the food provided for us. I opted for the trio of chocolate, an enticment of texture and taste that only provided you with a longing to repeat the whole three courses again. All made in the upstairs pattisserie the mint chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake and the mousse sent your tastebuds racing in a hundred different directions but meeting in the middle to agree on their set course. My G/F opted for the trio of ice creams that from her face, somehow managed to deliver an equal amount of satisfaction.

I know my words won't do this justice and I never usually write reviews it's just this place isn't even in the Lonely Planet guidebook (although their accuracy with maps is scandalous, so hardly surprising!). Sometimes it's just the little things which make you yearn for a return and despite the fact that it was definitely one of my top dining experiences it was the hospitality, the perfect timing balance between courses, the ambience and the atmosphere that won me. 10/10 in every respect and I can't wait to return to Edinburgh for round two.

Also, £51 for two eating three courses each with a brandy and Amaretto to finish plus the £4 corkage for our wine! Extraordinarily good!