The Gardener's Cottage, Edinburgh

A Secret Garden style restaurant opens in the centre of Edinburgh on Saturday 7 July 2012. The Gardener’s Cottage, so-called because it was actually the gardener’s cottage is jointly owned by chefs Dale Mailley and Edward Murray. Sitting at the foot of Carlton Hill in Royal Terrace Gardens, the B-listed building was originally designed by William Playfair but had been sitting derelict since the gardener’s widow died five years ago.

During the refurbishment Ed and Dale knew they wanted to avoid the formality of fine dining where the kitchen is enclosed away from the diners and tables are miles apart – the restaurant certainly sounds like it has elements of a professional supper club without the enforced intimacy. There will be two main dining rooms inside with an open kitchen in the middle so that the chefs can talk to the customers. Indeed, customers can talk customers if they choose – at large communal tables made from teak decking that was reclaimed from the Glasgow-built ocean liner SS Olympia. There will be a set menu of five small courses each evening, at around £25 per person, there’s brunch at weekends with informal sharing plates at lunchtime. Al fresco dining is an option with a dozen covers in the garden.

Dale and Ed have also been running pop up restaurants around Edinburgh – below is their restaurant in a pop up yurt at The Insider Festival, complete with fairy lights – and let’s face it – fairy lights are always a good thing. The Gardener’s Cottage is already taking bookings.