First impressions
After a 10-minute walk along lively Leith Walk from the train station we catch our first glimpse of 21212, an elegant listed Georgian townhouse on sweeping Royal Terrace. Following a £4.5m revamp the building has been given new life but retains many of its period features. We gaze up at the high ceilings, huge chandeliers and into the elegant dining and drawing rooms, filled with opulent, leaf-patterned furnishings.
The rooms
The four large bedrooms are split over the two upper floors. Ours is hugely comfortable and has a beautiful view over the gardens and Calton Hill. (From the front rooms you can see the Firth of Forth.) It is stylish and modern, with dark wooden floorboards, cream and brown furnishings, lots of mirrors and, the best bit, a remote-controlled skylight blind.
The food
The 38-cover dining room, which is open to non-residents, has a glass partition so that you can watch the seven chefs at work – including Michelin-starred boss Paul Kitching. Four years ago, visiting his restaurant in Manchester, Observer food critic Jay Rayner described Kitching as "on more than nodding terms with genius". He moved to Edinburgh this year to set up 21212 and last week it was named Britain's best new restaurant at the Restaurant Magazine awards.
The menu explains the hotel's name – there are five courses in all, with two choices for starter, main and dessert, and only one for the soup and cheese in between. My starter is delicious – baked guinea fowl with wild cherries, ham and Welsh rarebit brûlée. Paul loves adding cheeky surprise ingredients, which initially sound surprising, but are mischievously brilliant – hiding in the smoked haddock starter are pink peppercorns and pineapple. After a sweet potato, chestnut and mushroom cream soup, my main is even better – glazed breast of Gressingham duck, an exquisite local black pudding and assiette of apple. Cheeses follow, and – after an unusual milky drink comprising porridge and strawberry to prepare my palate – I finish with a baked set lemon custard with apricot, chocolate and cinnamon.
The verdict
It's not cheap, but 21212 has the highest standards. It's warm and welcoming, and the food is out of this world.
The price
Hotel 21212 (0845 22 21212; 21212restaurant.co.uk). Double rooms from £250. Five-course dinner £60. Edinburgh is served by National Express Rail (0845 722 5225; nationalexpresseastcoast.com).
