By Simon Bennison, Food Writer
Kyloe is an early 19th century term for Highland Cattle, and the title of Edinburgh’s finest gourmet steak joint. It sits to the west end of Princes Street, overlooking Edinburgh Castle.
As we arrived up the stairs into the bright sunny room, were seated in a large window facing booth with cowhide covered seats, and introduced to a glass of prosecco and a Lone Star beer. This was going to be a good day.
A feast demands a starter. I ordered the carpaccio of beef. To say this melted in the mouth would be an understatement, it was so tender it almost disappeared (in a good way). Aged for 60 days and paired with rich truffle dressing, crisp rocket, and light and delicate parmesan, it was a superb start to the meal.
My dining partner had researched the menu before our visit, and sought out the steak tartare. This was diced Aberdeen Angus fillet, with shallots, cornichons, and parsley. The larger dicing gave bite to the beef fillet without forsaking any of the tenderness, and interspersed with the crunchy sweet cornichons gave fantastic flavour. A free range egg yolk in the shell and a few beef dripping chips provided a little saltiness, and convinced us a larger portion must be ordered with our steak.
Our waiter, Kris was the perfect gentleman and regaled us with the story of his first steak tartare. A homemade wistful goodbye to his grandma’s dairy cow. I wonder if all the waiters here have a similar tale to tell, and a scorecard in the back notching up the number of customers who bought the story.
For the main event, we selected the porterhouse steak from the huge array of cuts available, which Kris took the time to talk us through with the aid of a packed steak board.
A perfect t-bone for two, dividing 800 grams of sirloin and fillet, combined into one of the greatest steaks I’ve ever tasted. We ordered it medium-rare, as the chef recommended and it arrived sliced on a block of timber, along with bearnaise sauce.
When asked which mustard we wanted, our only viable option was to order a little of each.
The watercress salad and cooked tomatoes that accompanied the porterhouse were not our only nod to the vegetable. Green beans with garlic and chilli added a highly welcome freshness and crunch, whilst huge onion rings and the incredible beef dripping chips complemented the steak to perfection.
For dessert, a milk and dark chocolate pave, with hot caramel sauce and crème fraiche was sweet and rich and high in cocoa. The ideal companion to a double espresso and the last of the fruity Pinot Noir.
With the final minutes of sun still in the sky, off we went, happy and full, for a cocktail or five in front of the open fire at The Last Word in Stockbridge. Friday afternoons don’t come much better than this.
Kyloe can be found at 1-3 Rutland Street, Edinburgh EH1 SAE