L'Artichaut

It may be unfair but vegetarian restaurants sometimes have a reputation for being more wholesome than enjoyable. Since opening in Edinburgh’s New Town in 2009, L’Artichaut has done its bit to debunk that theory and proved that vegetarian food can be inventive, imaginative, fun and refined as well as healthy. It is owned by Jean Michel Gauffre who also operates La Garrigue French restaurant. L’Artichaut is his way of preparing vegetarian food using predominantly European cooking techniques rather than the Indian or Asian methods which are more commonly employed. In brief, you could summarise L’Artichaut as a restaurant that cooks with vegetables rather than a vegetarian restaurant.

It is an approach that makes L’Artichaut stand out from Edinburgh’s existing vegetarian restaurants. L’Artichaut runs several menus but seasonality is key to them all. This is most obvious in the ever changing Ripe Menu which builds a selection of courses around one ingredient when it is in its prime. An example might be February’s Jerusalem Artichoke Ripe Menu which featured a risotto with roasted Jerusalem Artichoke and fresh thyme and a baked Jerusalem Artichoke and white chocolate cheesecake among its choices. One of L’Artichaut’s strength’s is that while it avoids gimmicks, it often puts on dishes that can pleasantly surprise. Lapsang Souchong barley risotto with butternut squash and Alpine grassland leaves would be an example as is the dessert of lime and pink peppercorn meringue with lemon curd and dark chocolate sauce. It is dishes like that which make L’Artichaut unique among all of Edinburgh’s restaurants, not just the vegetarian ones.