New Chapter is a family-run, award-winning restaurant tucked away in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town. Renowned for its warm, friendly service and delicious food we really think this is one of Edinburgh’s best hidden gems. Read our Q&A with owner Matthew Korecki to find out more about this much loved restaurant.
New Chapter is a real hidden foodie gem located in the heart of the New Town, tell us more about the restaurant and your journey to opening it?
I’ve always been passionate about the industry. In my first 12 years of living in this city, I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of true talent, but the working environment was not always the greatest. I always dreamt of a place that would not only be loved by the customers, but also the employees, and this has not changed. My first joint venture was The Atelier, which quickly topped the Edinburgh TripAdvisor rankings and became a favourite with locals. My wife and I then sold this restaurant to start our new project together – and that’s how New Chapter was born. I met Maciek Szymik, our Executive Chef, whist I worked for Stuart Muir in Harvey Nichols 4th Floor Restaurant, and I always thought of him as the best chef I ever worked under. He was the only person we ever considered to run our kitchen, and I’m so happy he’s been on board since the start, almost four years now.
Sourcing your ingredients locally is a big part of your product offering, tell us more about some of the suppliers you work with and why you have chosen them?
Local produce has always been at the heart of what we do and we always try our best to support our local community. Our fish, for example, is sourced from Welch Fishmongers in Newhaven, our meat from Henderson’s Butchers and cheese from I.J. Mellis. They are all businesses, like ours, which are family-run, based in Edinburgh and with top quality produce.
Tell us about some of the menu options, where you find inspiration for your dishes and what can people expect when they dine here?
Maciek Szymik, our Executive Chef, is the creative mind behind every single dish on our menu, and he draws inspiration from his travels, trends and even the produce itself. I think this also describes the style of Maciek’s cooking – fresh, local produce, beautiful presentation, a perfect balance of flavours and textures. The dishes often reflect current culinary trends, and our Scottish produce sometimes takes on international twists. Our menu is very carefully curated, with only five main courses and a steak option at a time – and no dish is ever safe on our menu, Maciek replaces them ruthlessly! We hardly ever change the whole selection all at once. Instead, we’ll swap the dishes one or two at a time, so every time you visit, you can try something new from Maciek’s fantastic repertoire.
We loved your wine selection how do you choose the wines and how often do you change the listing?
This is the fun side of running the restaurant! We have a very close relationship with our wine supplier L’Art Du Vin and the company’s director Richard Bouglet. L’Art Du Vin is, like ourselves, a small local business, and I can think of countless reasons behind why they supply so many of the city’s top restaurants. I think the charismatic leader with true passion, and wines hand-picked from small suppliers, is what makes L’Art Du Vin quite special. Their wine selection also reflects our restaurants very well, as they are all made by small, artisan & independent producers. They all believe you can only produce quality wines if you produce healthy grapes, hence a lot of them are certified organic and biodynamic.
The wines also have great faces and stories behind them, like Gran Cerdo produced by Gonzalo Gonzalo (yes, the same first and second names), a fantastic wine that our team love chatting to our customers about. Everything on our wine list is hand-picked by myself, my wife Carol, and Richard, after which all of our team are invited for tasting and training, which believe me, is even more fun. We change our wine lists quite often, but there is no actual schedule, sometimes it’s a just a couple of vintages and sometimes a complete overhaul – there are no rules we stick to. Everyone on our team is also offered third party wine courses, so most of the waiting and management team have WSET Level 2 certifications – they can chat about our wines for hours.
We joined you last week for your jazz evening which is a weekly fixture at New Chapter and thoroughly enjoyed it, what made you pick jazz?
There is just something very romantic about live piano, great food, dimmed lights and flickering candles. When we were looking for the pianist, I had the pleasure of meeting Robert Pettigrew and Kenny Ellis, who make a great duo and fit perfectly with New Chapter’s vibes, hope you’d agree!
Do you have any other evenings planned into the calendar?
We always have plenty ideas and lots down the pipeline, and you will be among the first to find out.
Another element to the restaurant that people may not know about are your two private dining rooms, tell us more about the occasions these are best suited for?
Both New Chapter and its sister restaurant, Otro, have become very popular for private dining. At New Chapter, we have two private dining rooms on the lower level, which are interconnected and can be hired individually or together for parties of 10 to 46 guests. We don’t usually charge room hire or request a minimum spend from our guests, which sets us apart. We also have two dedicated event managers, who take our customers through the whole process from start to finish, and what could have seemed like a difficult operation at the beginning of planning, turns into a pleasant experience – at least from the feedback we receive! This, in addition to fantastic food, a great team and very competitive prices (from £28 for a two-course dinner), means that our guests choose to celebrate their milestones with us, and I think we have hosted most of them in the past – from birthdays, wedding anniversaries, baby showers to actual weddings, and we love them all!
Finally, where is your own ‘Hidden Edinburgh’?
Having lived here for a long time, I’ve visited and dined at a lot of fantastic new places. I think with the city having so many great chefs and amazing restaurants, the competition is very high, but very high standards really go in line with this. My hidden gems are very local – there is this small Japanese restaurant, Yamato, near Haymarket that serves the best quality and freshest sushi you’ll ever taste. The Barony is a great little local pub, with a fantastic selection of drinks and friendly service. Good Brothers Wine Bar is a tiny bar hidden away in Stockbridge, and I love the vibe of this place. Their chef is fantastic, creating different small plates every day and the wine selection never disappoints. I think it’s small places like these that really deserve a lot more recognition, where the passion for produce really shines through.
To reserve a table at New Chapter call 0131 556 0006 or visit the website www.newchapterrestaurant.co.uk
To reserve a table at Otro call 0131 556 0004 or visit the website www.otrorestaurant.co.uk
