Why eleanore is the Restaurant of the Year in Edinburgh

Roberta Hall-McCarron and Shaun McCarron

The restaurant was founded and is run by chef patron Roberta Hall-McCarron and her partner Shaun — marking their third successful endeavour since 2018 (the others being The Little Chartroom and The Little Chartroom on the Prom, a Porty-based pop-up lockdown hit). You may recognise Hall-McCarron from her appearances on the BBC’s Great British Menu 2020, on which she won the regional heats and went on to become finalist. Before launching her own line, she honed her craft working in Tom Kitchin’s Michelin starred restaurant. Like The Little Chartroom, eleanore follows the Scottish coastal theme that’s close to her heart; indeed the restaurant has been named after the family boat, recognising Hall-McCarron’s love of sailing that stems back to childhood.

Location and design

Found on Albert Place in the heart of Leith’s foodie neighbourhood, eleanore took its place in what used to be The Little Chartroom’s premises, after its sister restaurant relocated to larger premises close by on Bonnington Road. The bijou space offers candlelit tables with chic high bar style stool seating for around 20 covers. The recently established Studio Niro — also a Leith-based enterprise — was responsible for the venue’s interior design, producing an appropriately nautical palette of blue and white. Cream tongue and groove panelling adorns the walls, with prints and paintings (including one of the restaurant’s namesake) artfully balanced on a picture rail and menus hang to the sides of tables in specially designed slots, ready for diners’ perusal. The understated aesthetic is refreshing yet calming and unpretentious — a perfect backdrop for the imaginative food, which is served in equally stylish, grounding earthenware.

On the menu

The marina theme continues into the menus, which make the most of the fruits of nearby coastlines and calls on some of the recipes cemented at its beachside sister venture in Portobello. It suits those with little or large appetites, as small plates can be ordered to suit your level of hunger, and shared, to make the experience sociable and friendly. At lunchtime, there’s a set lunch menu priced at £35 per person, which includes three snacks, a choice between two main courses, and a dessert. Dishes are seasonal, so change frequently, but some examples of the kinds of fare you can expect to encounter at eleanore include: mackerel tartare with yuzu and nasturtium; duck dauphine with gribiche and gooseberry; BBQ monkfish with crispy lamb sweetbreads, carrot hot sauce and Thai basil; tempura oyster “Kilpatrick” with cured trout blini; shiso strawberry, creme fraiche with sake and pink peppercorn; and tirami-choux, a regular on the menu. And of course, you can add paired wines to your meal, chosen from a carefully curated list.

Authentically local, yet nationally significant

With such a stellar reputation already garnered across the capital and beyond, eleanore has a loyal clientele, many of whom return on a weekly basis to experience as many different dishes as possible. This manages to be an authentic neighbourhood haunt, yet attracting national interest. Eleanore’s kitchen is very accommodating of dietary requirements and the friendly service is attentive. Those who passed by or ate at The Little Chartroom on the Prom may be familiar with chefs Moray and Hamish who had been regular faces at the pop-up; both can now be found in eleanore’s kitchen, wowing their patrons day and night. 

Come, see and taste for yourself what all the buzz is about. Eleanore is open on Fridays from 5pm to 11pm (last orders are at 8.45pm), Saturday through to Monday 12-4.30pm (last orders at 2.15pm)  and dinner 5.30-11pm (last orders at 8.45pm), as well as for drinks through the afternoon. As there is limited seating and it’s one of the hottest places to dine in town, booking well ahead is advised, particularly during peak service times.