Norton House Hotel

Norton House was always intended as a refuge from the hurly-burly of Edinburgh; the Usher family of Scottish brewing wealth once tucked themselves away here amid 55 acres of parkland and woods. Now we can all indulge in the luxuries of the plush country-house hotel, get pampered in the top-drawer spa and tuck into seriously good food. The designers have been at work inside, grafting on a tasteful contemporary edge to its period grandeur. A chic new black leather and dark-wood brasserie offers a relaxed way in to sample the kitchen's talents, but if you really want to see what the team is capable of, Ushers is the sophisticated fine-dining option. It's a soothingly stylish, low-lit space rather like stepping into an upmarket Parisian chocolatier with its luscious colours of café crème, caramel and milk chocolate brown. With just 8 well-spaced tables to care for, the staff deliver impeccable service, always attentive, arriving with first-class breads and clever canapés. The kitchen takes a modern tack with classic French cuisine; as with all top-level cooking, prime ingredients are the key here, impeccably sourced and put into the talented hands of a team that has the technical skills and confidence to let the materials talk for themselves. Dishes are composed with deceptive simplicity and precise, balanced flavours, as with torchon of duck foie gras married with a tangy rhubarb chutney and toasted gingerbread preceding pan-fried sea bass fillet with olive gnocchi and a cassoulet-style confection of butterbeans, tomato fondant, chorizo and caper berries. Unmissable desserts include a textbook prune and Armagnac soufflé with white chocolate cappuccino and bitter chocolate spring roll.

M8 junct 2, off A8, 0.5m past Edinburgh Airport
Nearest station: South Gyle

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