The restaurant will serve fresh cocktails and a set-menu dinner made up of the day’s best market offerings. It is co-owned by chef Stuart Ralston and mixologist Krystal Goff, a husband-and-wife team who intend to bring their own style of French bistronomie to Edinburgh.
Aizle is unique in Scotland as it has no traditional menu. Instead Ralston will utilise seasonal products from farms and suppliers available at the time. A four-course tasting menu will cost around £35 and is available with or without matched drinks. The restaurant will seat 50.
Ralston said: “We’re both very excited to finally have our own place in Scotland. During our journey towards opening we’ve been gathering and refining some great ideas that we’re dying to reveal. In essence, our concept is about giving people an enjoyable, stimulating, tasty and affordable evening out that they will remember for all the right reasons, and hopefully return for again and again.”
The couple are putting years’ worth of culinary and bar experience in countries throughout the world into this venture. Ralston’s culinary career has taken him through kitchens in the UK, the US and the Caribbean, working with chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Paul Liebrandt.
Taste for adventure
As a Scot, Ralston was keen to return home to cook his style of food incorporating the various techniques he has learned during 13 years in the trade. Goff was born in Seattle but has fallen in love with Edinburgh since meeting her husband.
She has worked behind the bars of some of the hottest establishments in New York and intends to bring her unconventional style of mixology with her to Aizle. A whisky-driven list is expected during the launch period. Wines are being provided by Tarquin de Burgh and include a number of exclusive vintages.
Goff said: “I’m really impressed by some of the brilliant mixology going on in Scotland right now. People here seem experimental with a taste for adventure, and that excites me. Having said that, sometimes there’s nothing better than a classic mixed drink, a good beer or a perfectly chilled wine as an accompaniment to good food. At Aizle, you will have that choice.”
The restaurant premises are on St Leonard’s Street where Chinese restaurant Karen Wong’s stood previously. Ralston and Goff are overseeing a complete makeover of the site, aiming for a light, airy and casual dining space which will host a mixture of tables and banquettes as well as a bar with eight dining stations.
Aizle will open at 107-109 St Leonard’s Street in April.