ARTICLES: IGLU, EDINBURGH

March 2006

© MARK FISHER published in The Herald

EATING OUT

THE BEST FOR A VEGETARIAN CHRISTMAS

IGLU

2b Jamaica Street, Edinburgh

0131 476 5333

Style: intimate

Food: ethical

Dinner: £25 for three courses

Wheelchair access: No

Five years ago you couldn't imagine a restaurant such as Iglu even existing. It defines itself as an "ethical eatery", a description which, until recently, would have had so many holier-than-thou connotations that no one apart from church groups, hippies and social workers would have come near.

But Iglu isn't like that at all. In a room over a pub in a quiet New Town side street, it's a regular modern restaurant, tastefully decorated with an exotic fish tank in one corner, paintings on the white walls and jazz on the stereo. The menu has dishes such as Shetland mussels, oak-smoked partridge and lamb chops and behind the bar is an eye-catching selection of fancy liqueurs from Demijohn, Edinburgh's self-styled "liquid deli" in Victoria Street.

This is not the kind of ethical eating that requires denial, restraint or sack-cloth and ashes. Rather, it's a reflection of the restaurant's belief that "the sooner we become sustainable the less messed up the planet and the less human suffering there will be". What it means in practice is a dedication to local produce (to cut down on air freight) and a reliance on organic meat and vegetables (to eat more healthily and with a clearer conscience).

When you see the occasional asterisk on the menu it means an item is non-organic. A "w" means the food is wild: deer, wood pigeons and fish live a lovely free-range life, but there's no telling what they've been eating.

In an age of global-warming, the organic argument has gone mainstream, no longer the preserve of cranky ecologists. Why ship food around the planet when it's tastier, fresher and happier on your doorstep? It surely can't be long before all restaurants are following Iglu's lead and offering organic dishes in the same way that it's become routine to include a vegetarian option on every menu.

Of course, going organic is not a panacea. For the past few months, I've been getting an organic veg box delivered: it's great, but I've yet to taste a tomato that's as succulent as those you'll find routinely in southern Europe. And the finest produce in the world is no help if you don't know how to cook it.

Happily, Iglu doesn't suffer from that problem. Whether it's in the quality of the ingredients or the imagination with which they're put together, the food is very good. You'll be hard pressed to choose between the regular menu and the list of specials - at this restaurant more than any, a guarantee not just of freshness but of sensitivity to seasonal variations in the availability of food.

What Iglu is good at is the judicious combination of textures and tastes. So, after starters of a smooth sweet potato and orange soup and an organic antipasti platter (olives, fennel, carrots, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and big enough for sharing), we moved onto two excellent main courses. The organic pork escalope made a succulent contrast to the marinated smoked venison, and both were offset by deliciously crispy roasted potatoes which, oddly, were non-organic. There was a similar sense of variety in the feta, chestnut, mushroom and red onion tart - one of the specials - which hit a fine balance between the crisp tang of the cheese and the sweet slipperiness of the onions.

As if to prove there's nothing holier-than-thou about Iglu, which with a capacity of around 20 is a delightfully intimate discovery, the puddings were divine. I don't suppose even Green & Blacks 72% dark chocolate makes the baked chocolate delight less of a guilty pleasure, but its crispy exterior and runny middle was irresistible. So too was the remarkably light topping on the Bramley apple crumble.

In addition to the friendly and relaxed service, the final evidence that organic has gone mainstream is the bill. With main courses ranging between £7.95 and £14.95, the moral high ground doesn't come at a high price.

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