Castle Terrace unveils £1m refurbishment

21 January 2016 by Neil Gerrard

Dominic Jack's Castle Terrace restaurant in Edinburgh has reopened following an extensive £1m refurbishment and restructure of the dining room and kitchen area.

One of the most noticeable changes is a hand-drawn mural by Scottish artist Nichol Wheatley, showing an outline of Edinburgh Castle on the wall of the restaurant that conceals the view of the castle itself. Meanwhile, the dining space has been extended to 70 covers, and a new private dining room offers a naturally lit space for 16 diners.

There is also a distinctive chef's table and a new wine cellar. The interior of the restaurant has been designed by Michaela Kitchin alongside Glasgow-based designer Stephen Paterson of Burns Design. The pair have already worked together to design the Kitchin restaurant in Leith, which underwent its own £1m refurbishment early last year.

The space evokes tones of rich Georgian Heritage Blue, with gold velvet chairs, softened with grey and dark blue tones, tactile wallpaper and fabric coverings. There are two new fireplaces and a new bar front.

In the kitchen, chef-patron Jack and his team have at their disposal a new Maestro by Bonnet cooking suite, along with a third more space compared with the old kitchen. The interior of the kitchen, with its white brick tiles, has been inspired by a typical French restaurant kitchen in a nod to Jack's training in some of France's top restaurants.

Jack said: "Since we opened it's been an incredible journey. The restaurant, our business and the team have evolved and grown since we opened and the refurbishment definitely reflects this - it felt like a natural next step. The new space allows us to continue to push for excellence in the service we provide and also allows me and my team to continue evolving our food.

"The complete restructure of the new kitchen space is an absolute chef's dream and I can't wait to start cooking with all my new equipment. We've introduced the new chef's table to allow a select number of guests to see how our kitchen works. It's all about taking our guests on a culinary journey; they can see our wine cellar and understand the level of detail and passion that goes into each and every dish we serve our diners."