Noto

47A Thistle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DY
Tel: 0131 241 8518
Internet: notoedinburgh.co.uk
GPS: 55.954007, -3.199440

Restaurants come and go. There are soft, grand and occasionally star-studded openings. And then there are the closures, usually rather more low-key events, the final turn of the key in the lock signifying the end of an era in a restaurateur’s life. So cut-throat is the world of hospitality that one of these ‘eras’ can pass in the blink of an eye. Great talent can, despite everything, be cast aside in a tragically short span of time.

All of which makes Stuart Ralston’s success – a career rather richer in openings than in closures – all the more noteworthy. Having served his time in some notable kitchens, most pointedly in the case of Noto in Gordon Ramsay’s first US opening, informatively christened Gordon Ramsay at The London (a restaurant which opened in 2006, but closed its doors in 2013 – see, not even the most famous names are immune), Stuart planted a flag on the Edinburgh dining scene in 2014 when he opened Aizle.

When I called in on Aizle for the first time it was located on St Leonard’s Street, on the east side of the city. There, in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat, I was swept up by a sequence of eye-popping animated dishes of sometimes breathtaking flavour. There was none of the ridiculous theatre that comes with some coveted dining experiences – no scented smoke-filled cloches, no audio recordings of the sea to listen to while you munch on edible sand – as all the theatre was to be found within the food. It was a menu rich in exciting combinations and innovative ingredients, and years later I can still remember many aspects of the meal, particularly the way the katsuobushi flakes danced in the dish.

Since then much has changed; Aizle has relocated to a more central and upmarket address, and Ralston has expanded, developing a miniature dining empire in the process, Auld Reekie’s Aizle having been joined by the pasta-themed Tipo, the Michelin-starred Lyla (a relatively recent opening, on the site of the old 21212), and Noto. With this latter eatery Ralston looks back to his time in New York for inspiration, although the food here is a long way from what diners at Gordon Ramsay at The London were once served.

Situated on Thistle Street in the heart of Edinburgh’s new town, Noto presents a discreet frontage, but it extends right through to the back of the building; I ended up squeezed into in a small first-floor extension looking out onto the exotic vista of Thistle Street North West Lane, all cobblestones and wheelie bins. The name Noto is a nod to Stuart Ralston’s old New York flatmate, Bob Noto. Often described rather glibly as “a photographer”, Noto was in fact renowned as one of the world’s most prolific and respected visual documentarians of restaurant and gastronomic trends, his passion for haute cuisine matched only by his talent with a lens. He passed away in 2017, and Ralston’s Noto was opened in 2019; there is no better place to pay homage to the late Bob Noto’s work than here.

Noto might have a New York inspiration but the menu is strongly influenced by Asian ingredients and themes, and it feels like the spirit of Aizle courses through its dishes. Throwing the clearly outdated concept of starter, main course and dessert out into one of the Thistle Street North West Lane wheelie bins, the menu at Noto offers a selection of small and not-so-small plates; the only way to deal with such a menu, I have realised, is to order as many dishes as pique my curiosity, and hope the kitchen have enough sense not to send them all out at once; they’ll either get it right, or they’ll get it wrong. Happily Noto falls into the first group.

I started with North Sea crab, butter and sourdough (pictured top of page), a dish of dressed crab, the meat submerged in a small lake of butter which filled the upturned shell. Pressing the sourdough bread into service, both crab meat and butter were soon liberated and consumed; I am not sure I would call it haute cuisine, but I can’t deny the combination of fresh sourdough, melted butter and soft crab meat was deliciously easy to eat. Just don’t eat this the day before your cardiologist plans to check your cholesterol level.

Alongside came the trout temaki, yuzu koshu, daikon and keta (pictured above), a miniature dish of cured and cubed rainbow trout on a seaweed temaki base, fashioned into a shallow cup. Lifted by the citrus and chilli notes of the yuzu koshu, this was a tasty bite. Or two bites, anyway. Well, I did say they were miniature.

While this opening salvo from the kitchen was good enough, the table-slapping began with the arrival of a tiny platter of Anster, mushroom and truffle croquettes (pictured above). These were croquettes that would have me writing poetry – titled, I suppose, Ode to a Croquette – were I so talented; the texture was velvety and mouthfilling, the aromatic truffle flavours intense and yet so fresh. The only problem was that they numbered five, which meant 2.5 each. I did the chivalrous thing and took only two. A great sacrifice.

I didn’t go hungry though, as was able to tuck into a slightly larger platter of stone bass, ponzu, wasabi mayo and pickled squash (pictured above) to myself. I adored the stone bass, the thin slivers of white fish possessing a dense but lightly meaty substance, and while the wasabi mayo and pickled squash provided mouth-watering contrasts of flavour, sourness and texture, the ponzu – with its tangy citrus and rather earthy, umami-rich soy sauce elements – just seemed to jar with the purity of the fish. It reminded me of the sea bass I ate at Benedicts a few months ago, which was served smothered in summer truffle, which also did nothing to enhance the flavour of the fish.

Chicken yakitori (pictured above) has been a staple dish on the Noto menu almost since it opened, and I could not resist having it on the table. Cooked with mangalica lardo, pork fat from woolly Mangalitsa pigs, and a soy-bean miso pesto, these little skewers were a delight. As was the dish of confit cod with keta beurre blanc and sea purslane (pictured below), a rich cube of sweet and dense cod meat dressed in a beurre blanc sauce swirled with more wasabi and cod roe. Delicious!

While I recall the katsuobushi flakes of Aizle with fondness, I have less favourable memories of the wine list, which lacked a little inspiration, and I didn’t feel any different about the wine list here at Noto, which does not match the level of joy and excitement generated by the cycle of dishes that arrived at our table. Sourced from a local on-trade specialist, there are two by-the-glass options from just four sparkling options; we kicked off with a couple of glasses of the Cava Brut Reserva Organic from Bodegas Sumarroca, which was a rather simple, plump and fruit-driven style.

After that I popped the cork on the 2020 Saskia from Miles Mossop, a blend of Chenin Blanc (yes, of course that’s why I made this selection from the rather brief wine list) with Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Verdelho and Viognier which started off in a rather anodyne fashion, but opened up a little over the course of the evening, helped by being poured ever-so-slightly on the warm side. It ended up being good enough, but didn’t tingle my tastebuds in the ways I would have liked.

Throwing caution to the wind I checked out the dessert menu; just two dishes were offered, which makes it a simple choice for two diners, provided you are prepared to swap and share. Half expecting disappointment – desserts are too often an afterthought – both of these dishes were superb. A chocolate miso bar (pictured above) was rich and just a touch crumbly, the accompanying hazelnut and salted milk ice cream divine, while a yoghurt parfait had the density and weight of Brillat-Savarin, but with a creamy-sour yoghurt twist, and it was lifted beautifully by the cap of brined umeboshi plums and sorrel (pictured below). This is the kind of yoghurt I could eat every day.

I am not exactly the first Edinburgh diner to call in on Noto, the restaurant having opened its doors back in 2019, but I am glad I finally made my way here. This was a great meal, and while one or two flavours jarred, on the whole I enjoyed this parade of small plates. Yes, I would certainly dine here again. Although I can’t help thinking a return visit to Aizle in its modern location, or maybe even to Tipo or Lyla, might first be on the cards?

Prices: The crab was £13, trout temaki £14, stone bass £14, Anster croquettes £14, chicken yakitori £16 and confit cod £22. The two puddings were £11 each. The cava was £8 for a rather uninspiring 125 ml glass, while the 2020 Saskia from Miles Mossop was a subjectively over-priced £65. The bill for two diners came to £220.50. (28/2/25)