Martin Wishart Opens The Honours

Anticipation surrounding renowned, Martin Wishart's latest venture has ended with The Honours opening its doors on 58a North Castle Street in Edinburgh's historic New Town.

With over 1200 bookings made prior to opening, demand is high for the new 60-cover contemporary brasserie.

The Honours will be serving a wide range of tempting dishes that blend traditional French cuisine with the flavours of the Scottish market.

The seasonal menu, created by Martin and The Honour's head chef and business partner, Paul Tamburrini, has been carefully designed to balance high-quality ingredients with an excellent price tag.

Along with small bite options, the menu offers delights such as a starter of Line-caught Yellow Fin Tuna Tartare with avocado cream, ginger and soya butter sauce (£7.95); and mains including Rabbit A La Moutarde with pommes sautées (£16.95) and Poached Fillet of Sea Bream with peas and onion à la Française, coriander and mint mousseline (£14.50).

For diners with a sweet tooth, The Honours has a tempting menu of artisan homemade ice cream sundaes, including Black Forest Gateau, Pina Colada and signature The Honours Sundae.

The Grill Menu is also set to prove a popular option. It offers a variety of prime cuts of grass-fed Scottish beef, dry-aged between 28 and 36 days before being grilled over charcoal at 650°c on a Josper grill, said to be the ultimate way to cook a steak.

Commenting on The Honours, Martin Wishart said: "Opening a brasserie is a long-term personal ambition that has at last come to fruition.

"I love the energy and buzz that a brasserie creates and it allows a much more informal style of dining.

"My business partner, chef Paul Tamburrini, has done an excellent job putting together a large and varied menu which offers fine ingredients and fantastic quality in a casual, but beautiful setting.

"I felt that there was a gap in the Edinburgh market for contemporary brasserie dining. As a team we have worked hard to ensure the food, design and ambiance have all come together to create what I hope will be an enjoyable and memorable dining experience for our customers."

The striking interior of The Honours has been expertly crafted by award-winning Ian Smith Design. Having worked with Martin Wishart on all his previous ventures, Ian Smith had an intuitive understanding of what was required for The Honours.

Ian Smith said: "I was delighted to be invited by Martin to design the interior of his new restaurant, which is a brand new concept for him.

"By its nature, a brasserie is a bustling, vibrant space so the presentation needs not only be to the highest standard, but also a practical environment for the staff to work in. I wanted the design to be glamorous, no gimmicks, atmospheric and chic, the type of brasserie restaurant you find throughout the capitals of the world.

"Back in 2005 when we started to work together, Martin told me 'Ian, I would not expect you to come into my kitchen and tell me how to cook. I am not going to start to tell you how to decorate'. My aim in decorating the restaurant was not to detract from the food, but enhance it."

Martin Wishart opened his eponymous restaurant in Edinburgh's historic Port of Leith in 1999. Since then it has become known as one of the UK's most acclaimed dining venues, currently holding one Michelin star, 4 AA rosettes and a score of 8/10 in the Good Food Guide.

Martin was voted UK Chef's of Chef of the Year in September 2010 by the AA guide and most recently was named as joint number one of the Top 50 French Restaurants in the UK by TopTable.com in July 2011.

Find out more about The Honours.

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