One of the latest bar/bistros to open in Edinburgh is Damm27 in Newington. Following an extensive refurbishment they have taken The Victoria in Causeway and made it into a super stylish, contemporary place to head to for all day dining, cocktails and a great selection of spirits and beers. Hidden Edinburgh was kindly asked along last weekend to check it out and here is what we thought.
Background
Damm27 opened in April and has already become the place to go when you are in Newington. The space has been completely renovated from local pub to a sleek bar with exposed brick walls, high chairs and super cosy booths and at the heart of it all a new central bar area.
Owner Andy McCartney, who recently opened bottomless brunch hotspot Embargo in Glasgow has created Damm27 to be a dynamic city bar but with a distinct European offering. Head Chef, Andy Keir has vast experience in classical French/European cooking and the menu he has designed draws on influences from France, Germany, the Alsace region, Spain and Italy. To complement the menu the extensive wine list has been designed to match the food and has classic wines such as Chablis, Albariño and Barolo as well as some more niche European vinos to try out.
Ambiance
We visited on a Saturday evening around 6.30pm and it was already starting to fill up nicely. I can see this being a great autumn and winter spot, it’s so cosy and the layout of the space keeps the tables separate to the bar area. So even when it gets busy you don’t have people standing next to you as you are trying to enjoy dinner.
Service
The service is spot on, a friendly face from behind the bar is there to welcome you and take you to your table, and the great service continues throughout your visit. Staff are friendly, really knowledgable and fun and you will never have to hunt around to find someone.
The Menu
Damm 27 offers all-day dining, with a menu inspired by classic European dishes. The relaxed approach to eating and drinking begins with coffee and European papers every morning, and continues with menus that run all day from brunch to lunch to dinner. On Friday and Saturday nights the resident DJ shakes things up whilst the Bottomless Brunch on Saturday and Sunday mornings keeps the celebrations going.
The main A La Carte menu is split into small nibbles, small plates which act as starters which you can do tapas style and have a few and skip mains. Main courses are focused around their gourmet burgers and muscle pots and to finish they have some cracking desserts!
What We Ate & Drank
Drinks
We started off with a couple of cocktails and they kindly helped us navigate the menu by showing us some of their new gins that they have in stock, if you like gin check out The Illusionist (on the left) it’s really good!
They have a range of their own cocktails conveniently split into daytime and evening based cocktails, but they can also create any classic cocktail you might want too.
Small Plates
We asked them to give us a selection of so some of their favourite small plates to kick things off. They are called small plates but for the price you get a big fill, we had four which was loads.
We started with the Spiced Aubergine Caponata & grilled Halloumi, which is a rich stew with flavours of capers, olives and tomatoes and on top fingers of Halloumi, which was gorgeous. we also went for the Rare Sliced Onglette Steak, which is very lightly sealed steak topped with Argentinian Chimmychurri which gives it a bit of a kick, and to balance the meat out a tomato and shallot salad.
From the fish section we went for the catch of the day which was salmon in a cheese sauce and the final dish was the Sausages and Sauerkraut.
For the price these are great sized portions and I was really impressed with them (I love the cute cast iron pots the dishes are served in). You might find a few of these will do and you don’t need a main and they are hearty dishes.
Mains
For mains we tried out the Drunken Muscle pot which comes with sauce made from Belgian wheat beer and fresh parsley. Again great sized portions, for £12 this is a massive serving which was really delicious.
And we also tried Franco burger which came with manchego, chorizo, and Guindillas chilli. I would say out off all the dishes we ate it was nice, but didn’t have the wow factor that the others did.It perhaps needed something else wedged into the burger to give it that stacked gourmet look I was expecting.
Dessert
By the time we got to desserts we were stuffed, but it’s always worth checking out the dessert menu and Andy recommended the Sticky Toffee Pear Pudding with Pistachio Ice Cream. It was unbelievable, it was one of the best sticky toffee puddings I have ever had, oozing with toffee sauce, and the pistachio ice cream really added to it. Three words ORDER THIS DESSERT.
Final Thoughts
Damm27 is a winner for us here at Hidden Edinburgh, great atmosphere, friendly staff and a comprehensive menu offering with a good price point. We recommend adding Damm27 to your list of new bars to try out this Summer/Autumn.
Address: 27 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1QF
Web: damm27.com
