Roberta Hall McCarron’s Eleanore to ditch tasting menu

Chef Roberta Hall McCarron and Shaun McCarron have announced plans to drop the evening tasting menu at their Edinburgh restaurant Eleanore once it relaunches this March.

According to its website, the restaurant will close for a month-long refurbishment from 25 January and reopen on 26 February with a new menu focused on accessible bistro dining.

This is not the first time the owners have changed concepts – Eleanore opened as a restaurant and wine bar in late 2021 after roughly four years of operating as the Little Chartroom.

The relaunched Eleanore will see long-standing head chef Hamish McNeill working with the current team to showcase a seasonal, frequently changing menu combining modern bistro dishes with hearty mains.

Guests will be able to choose between a two- or three-course set menu, with snacks such as oysters with rhubarb ponzu and hot sauce available as add-ons.

Starters will include the likes of beef tartare with kale and kohlrabi or mussel Thermidor, while mains will feature confit duck leg with puy lentils and watercress and sharing steaks.

Meanwhile, desserts will lean towards nostalgic crowd-pleasers like sticky toffee profiteroles.

Helix Wines, the importing business founded by Little Chartroom head sommelier Finn Porelli and operations manager Johanna Cole, will feature heavily in the 25-bottle wine list.

The refurbishment will result in a full kitchen refit, while the dining room will feature a bar in the space of the original kitchen counter, holding 20 covers in total.

Hall-McCarron said: “We wanted to take Eleanore back to its roots, giving guests the freedom to shape their own experience, from how long they stay to what they spend. There’s a lot of nostalgia tied up in this restaurant for us, and this felt like the right moment to reinterpret that in a way that reflects how people want to eat now.

“By bringing our kitchens and wine collections closer together across Eleanore, the Little Chartroom and Ardfern, we can operate more thoughtfully and pass that value on to our guests, without compromising on quality.”

Eleanore opened as Hall McCarron’s second restaurant in 2021, named after a childhood boat owned by her family.