One of Edinburgh’s oldest independently run restaurants, Iggs flies the flag for authentic Spanish cuisine. The restaurant’s owner, Iggy Campos, opened Iggs in Edinburgh’s Old Town in 1989. This was long before Spanish tapas took over the world and, in many ways, Iggs is still ahead of the pack. Next door, his Barioja bar specialises in tapas but Iggs is more about a marriage between seasonal Scottish produce and modern Spanish restaurant cooking. While Iggy will happily praise Scottish ingredients, when it comes to wine, his heart remains true to his homeland and his award-winning wine list is almost exclusively Spanish.
Edinburgh has many tapas bars but Iggs is its best known proper Spanish restaurant. The dishes on offer at Iggs range from timeless classics like the fabada or white bean, chorizo and jamon soup to more modern arrangements like the roasted scallops and razor clams served with a tarragon and chestnut puree. If you don’t want to walk too far from the well beaten path then a dish like the ribeye steak, pepper sauce, wild mushroom and patatas bravas won’t scare the most cautious of diners. More adventurous souls might like to try a dessert like the cold plum soup, bramble sorbet and candied cucumber. As well as pork, practically Spain’s national meat, fish and seafood play a central role at Iggs. Think along the lines of grilled fillet of hake, langoustines, globe artichoke, pea puree and a coral jus. Bravo, as Iggy might say.