THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Despite the name, nothing about Le Petit Beefbar is small: not the room, nor the flavors, and certainly not the impression it made on me.
The restaurant, which opened on July 10, 2023, is one of more than twenty Beefbars in the global portfolio of Ricardo "the Beefboy" Giraudi, who created the concept in Monaco in 2005. (Note: the first Beefbar in the United States is set to open in Tribeca this year.) As explained to me by our server, Giraudi Meats signed an exclusive license to become the first sole importer of certified Kobe Beef from Japan in 2014. As a result, his restaurants in the United Kingdom are the only ones to have consistent access to Kobe beef.
According to Giraudi Meats, Kobe is the highest quality beef in the world, "known for its refined, rich sweetness and unique aroma." It comes from a specific strain of Wagyu cattle raised in Kobe City, Japan, a tradition apparently dating back to 1200. The calves must meet a variety of care and other specifications, and true Kobe beef has a high grade of marbling that melts when you cook it.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is understated and chic, complementing the exclusive fare. I saw an imaginative pairing of French Riviera-inspired colors (blue, teal, and terracotta) and motifs (marble, rattan, and seashells) with Edinburgh New Town bones (ceiling roses and sash & case windows). I've been to steak houses that were trying not to look like steak houses (the burlesque-inspired Strip House comes to mind) and this is something else.
The food and drink were, in one word, exceptional. We started with the Kobe Beef Jamón, comprised of paper-thin slices of cured leg of Kobe beef. The meat was dark, vibrant pink with black edges presumably from the curing process. I expected it to have that strong beefy aftertaste that accompanies most jerky and tartare, but it was much subtler, as well as salty and complex like the best Iberico ham.
We asked for recommendations from our server for the dishes that followed, and he presented us with the KFC (Karaage Fried Chicken), Insane Rock Corn, Baby Quesadillas, and Croque Sando. Each of these dishes was delicious. The KFC involved a crunchy casing on Cinzano vermouth-marinated chicken and Sichuan pepper dipping sauce. The texture and taste of the chicken fry batter rivaled some of my favorite fried chicken from home (NC). The Insane Rock Corn was a delightful surprise – corn kernels fried in tempura, clinging together like a mountain ridge, with a spicy sriracha mayonnaise. The savory Baby Quesadillas were made of braised short rib, "Kobe karasumi," mozzarella, and chimichurri sauce.
For me, the pièce de résistance of our first course was the Croque Sando. Imagine someone has offered you a mouth-wateringly rich Croque Monsieur. Now imagine that they've changed the ratios, replacing ham with 45-day cured beef striploin prosciutto, substituting thick slices of fried crustless toast, and supplementing with a smattering of mozzarella, topped off with a pour-over sauce of butter, herbs, and truffle oil. The pleasure shock to my brain made me gasp in delight.
Believe it or not, that was just the start of our ascension to the heights of food ecstasy. For the next course, we had Veal and Wagyu Bolognese, Miso Black Beef, Centre Cut Rib-eye, Classic Mash, Seasonal Vegetables (is that a carrot?), and of course (because you can't dine in Scotland without them) Straight Cut Chips. All of it was delicious but the standout, unsurprisingly, was the 140-day corn-fed Black Angus Rib-eye from Creekstone Farm USA.
With an evenly distributed char like black sandpaper, the steak was flawlessly cooked (medium as recommended). Sometimes I suspect that steakhouses cheat by slathering meat with butter to improve an otherwise bland cut. But here this was clearly not the case. The beef was delicate, natural, and sweet, with perfect seasoning. It was undoubtedly the best steak I have ever tasted.
I shouldn't fail to mention our drinks. I tried the Leaf Garden cocktail (Edinburgh gin, Cocchi American vermouth, basil, egg white, lemon, sugar syrup, and coriander bitters). As you might imagine, it was creamy and refreshing. At my table we also tried the 2019 Vachnadziani Saperavi Classical, a red wine from Kakheti, Georgia, which was excellent (we tasted tobacco). For a non-alcoholic treat, we had the Pentire Adrift, a botanical spirit, with lemon, lime, maraschino, and Double Dutch soda.
Finally, dessert! Our server recommended that we try the French Toast and the Gelato for 2. We were deeply suspicious about the Gelato – isn't that what you order if you don't like anything else? Never a first choice for me anyway. How wrong I was. Arriving on our table was a small wooden tray topped with marble bowls of varying sizes. White gelato in the center, surrounded by rich strawberry, caramel, and dark chocolate sauces, caramelized nuts, and shortbread. It's hard to convey how extraordinary this dish was. The French Toast was similarly delicious – a large fried bread rectangle doused in caramel sauce and accompanied by sweet and sour creams.
Before I went to the restaurant, I had no inkling of the rarefied cuisine we would experience. The website is relatively unassuming and doesn't hit you over the head with the nature of the food or the global context of the operation. In addition, because it is attached to the InterContinental Edinburgh The George, a lovely but not hoity-toity hotel, I didn't have any specific expectations. When I left, I felt astonished, like I had discovered a secret treasure.
In sum, if you have the chance to try this restaurant, you should do so. Take your spouse, your granny, and your 10-year-old (I did!). Your vegan date can have the cauliflower steak or even vegan steak frites. There is something for everyone to appreciate in this house of haut beef.
