There are many things in life that warrant the phrase "blogger problems". Be it, always eating cold food in restaurants because you take half an hour photographing it first. Or low wifi area's meaning that you can't instagram your #FWIS live. The constant battle between wanting to desperately try a new product but you haven't photographed it yet, or travelling for an hour to get to your OOTD destination to realise you've forgotten your memory card. But the hardest one of all - in a total first world problem/"it's totally not hard or a problem but blogger life" sense - is having such an amazing trip that there's actually too much to write about.
I recently went away to Edinburgh to discover One Square's very own One Square Gin - which, *spoiler alert*, is incredible - stay in the stunning Sheraton Grand hotel and Spa and generally just eat all the good food, drink all the good alcohol, see all the good sights and gain all the extra weight humanly possible in the space of 3 days.
Sounds like the perfect trip to me...
... and it was. It really was the most incredible trip, which is why I wanted to do a "3days in Edinburgh" type post however I have so many photographs and amazing restaurants/experiences to tell you about that I thought I would break it down for you (so that it doesn't bore you to death take you 4 hours to read the post) into two posts. The first post focusing on the incredible One Square restaurant (which, side note, was the most accommodating place ever for a gluten free diet) and One Square Gin, and the second on all of the places that I'd recommend seeing/doing/staying in in Edinburgh (so keep your eyes peeled for a review on the gorgeous Sheraton Edinburgh and the most magical, mythical restaurant in that post!)
Sound like a plan? Sounds like the best plan you've ever heard, you say? Oh brilliant...
One Square Gin
So, One Square is a beautiful restaurant situated in the equally beautiful Sheraton, Edinburgh that not only makes the most incredible food - afternoon tea's, dining at The Pass, the breakfasts of dreams for example, but more on that later - it's recently brought out it's own gin aptly named, One Square Gin. One Square, who already had their own Gin bar and a huge passion for the spirit, actually partnered with Pickering's Gin who masterfully crafted the final masterpiece. With over 15 botanicals from all over the world including mediterranean liquorice, orris root, juniper, scottish heather as well as lemon, lime and anise to name but a few, One Square say that their gin is best served on the rocks, with fever tree tonic and garnished with pink grapefruit peel and thyme. Enjoying it best on the terrace looking over Edinburgh Castle. In 8 degree heat, we personally stuck to drinking by the gin bar but the rest I totally agree with. An absolutely stunning gin that has totally turned me from a red wine chugger drinker to a G&T kinda girl...
But we didn't just receive the complimentary gin and tonic in our rooms, pictured above, we were lucky enough to attend a gin tasting session at One Square followed by some beautiful food from their new Paired menu (which in short, matches food to the perfect wine/beer) and it was the perfect start to our evening.
Afternoon tea
Next up on the "Oh my god this incredible restaurant does absolutely everything" list is the Afternoon tea. You all know I am the biggest pig afternoon tea fan so when I was told that a completely gluten free tea was totally possible, you could say I was just a little bit happy. And then I started to dig into the sandwiches... [insert heart eye'd and hand clapping emoji's here].
After starting with the secret garden cocktail (because who can resist a name like that) followed by a mint tea because, balance (... my version of balance/health is as laughable as my ability to turn down cake) I then tucked into a mixture of salmon, ham, olive tapenade and duck gluten free sandwiches and each one was absolutely stunning. Leaving me desperate for more...
... and more food there certainly was. The most perfect mixture of sponge cakes, chocolate and berry tarts, white chocolate apple sauce pops - which I would be lying if I said didn't blow my mind! - and various other chocolate/flap jack and mousse like beauties.
Oh, and scones. The most perfect, moist scones that gluten free dreams are made of.
I genuinely could not have been any more impressed with my gluten free afternoon tea from One Squared and highly, highly recommend checking it out if you're ever in Edinburgh.
Dining at The Pass
Now, as much as I love Afternoon Tea and gin, the next experience is really, really special. I am blessed to be able to visit a lot of gorgeous restaurants, but dining at The Pass is an experience that I'll never forget. 9 courses, sat in the kitchen watching the chefs work and a dessert that would blow anybody's mind.
After powering through Duck sausage, beetroot mousse, goat's cheese panna cotta, the dreamiest venison and roasted veg medley that I have ever eaten (seriously!) and chocolate orange brownies amongst many others sensational courses, we were then sent outside to wait whilst the chef prepared our final dessert. We had absolutely no idea what it could be, taking bets from fondue's to DIY desserts, but none of us even got close.
We walked back in to a completely blank worktop - not quite the chocolate volcano that I guessed - to see the chefs start to smear fruit foams all over the table top (just in case anyone was in any doubt, "sweet foams" is definitely not the technical term). They then went on to add meringues, popping candy, flakes of chocolate - and so much more that I couldn't possibly even remember - before cracking a chocolate egg open to reveal all the dessert goodness inside. From Gin ice cream to every fruit imaginable, and caramel cream to honeycomb crunch... this dessert was something that not only took my breath away/nearly made my hand drop off from the constant photography, but also gave me an experience that I'll never forget!
So that brings this little One Square restaurant rave to an end. There are many restaurants that I really love, but not one has come close to One Square in terms of a) being so totally gluten free friendly and accommodating b) equally as good in each department (and I didn't even get to mention how fab the breakfast was) and c) just being totally unique and creative in everything they do.
I mean, they even made their own gin. (Which was seriously good, have I mentioned that already? Oh I have, 20 times, sorry about that...)
I would love to know if you've visited the Sheraton Grand hotel and spa or the One Square restaurant before? Also, are you gin kinda girl/boy? I always love to hear your thoughts!
As always, thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post.
xx
Labels: Coeliac, Edinburgh, Food, Food blogger, Gluten free, Lifestyle, Scotland, Travel, Travel blogger
