You may think that Gordons have a lot to answer for. Gordon Brown has given us higher taxes, Gordon Ramsey has a mouth that makes a dirty potty look squeaky clean and Gordon Sumner (Sting) gave us the painful desire to sing a song about a French hooker at karaoke (Roxanne, in case you’re wondering).

Luckily not all Gordons are bad boys, one (Gordon Minnis, previously of Haldane’s and Jackson’s) has given Edinburgh the delights of Californian wine and cuisine, in the form of Calistoga.

The Venue
The first and most homely of the two Edinburgh Calistoga restaurants is on St Leonard’s Street, parallel to South Clerk Street, beneath the imposing Sailsbury Crags. Do not be put off, although this is a little way from the centre of town, Edinburgh is not that big and food this good is worth the effort.

The brightly coloured and wood panelled shop front, with its little arched windows, has the appearance of something a little more South American. For a restaurant whose inspiration hails from a country renowned for the colossal size of everything in it, Calistoga feels decidedly Scottish in dimension. The nudging of elbows, limbo-ing into the wall-side seats and squeezing passed the staff to frequent the toilet makes the restaurant feel intimate and cosy. It is adorned with a huge wine rack and assorted oenological paraphernalia.

The Atmosphere
The black and white tiled tables add a happy clatter to the constant chinking of wine glasses, contented banter and Californian radio. Due to its size you can expect to have a conversation with your neighbours at some point and it is easy to surreptitiously eyeball their dinners to help your own choice. The staff, usually including owner Gordon, are heart-warmingly friendly, eager to help and able to explain some of the more complicated terms on the menu. Once settled, it is extremely difficult to leave. The reward cards also make it hard not to keep coming back.

The Food
The food is very reasonably priced at £23 for three courses. Refreshingly there are no hidden supplements and the portions are well sized to ensure that your hunger is satisfied without leaving you feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. Californian food seems to be a boundary-free and highly technical fusion with big Mediterranean, South American and Asian influences. The joyously difficult decisions begin with tempting treats such as a ripe and salty goats cheese on crunchy baguette crostini topped with toasted almonds and a perfectly balanced sweet and sticky ginger and balsamic dressing, or beautifully salty but still succulent cod and coriander spring rolls perfectly finished with a tangy citrus and mirin based ponzu sauce.

The dilemma becomes more complicated with main courses such as a falling-off-the-bone, crispy skinned, slow roasted duck leg, which turns out to be two, accompanied by oven cooked orangey Japanese rice and an inspired pistachio and pepper pesto, or an expertly spiced Thai-curried tofu and vegetable strudel. Each dish is a master class in balance, technique and fantastically fresh ingredients, with a liberal splash of experimentation and artistic touches thrown in for good measure, such as a tumbleweed of wafer thin chilli strips or dots of roasted garlic mayonnaise expertly decreasing in size in an arc around the plate.

Puddings continue the high standard with a rich white chocolate truffle tart accompanied by equally tart brambles, or a trio of cheeses with sweet quince and paper thin charcoal wafers.

The Drink
The wine list is extensive and delightful, they're all Californian wines, such as smooth Sangioveses, sun-filled Chardonnays, plump Pinot Noirs and a gorgeous GSM to name just a few. The staff are more than happy to help if it looks a little daunting and the wine list includes alcohol contents to keep tabs on how strong your choice is. All the wines on the menu have a standard £5 mark up on the retail price, this is significantly lower than most establishments, making this not only one of the best wine lists in town but probably the best value. Splash out, it is worth it.

All puddings have a recommended accompanying beverage, including sweet raisin-y muscats and fruity ports; these are beautifully matched and finish the meal perfectly.

Next door to Calistoga is its wine shop Sideways. Within this phone box sized Aladdin’s cave of wine delights, you can find all the wines on the menu for sale as well as beers and bourbons (American whiskey, not the chocolate biscuits). They also offer superb, knowledgeable yet completely unpretentious wine tasting at the tiny bar and free delivery for wine orders within the city. Could they be any more likeable and accommodating? Probably not.

The Last Word
In a single course the fabulous Calistoga manages to repair the damage done to Californian tourism by the cringe worthy advertisement featuring Rob Lowe, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chris Isaak. Gordon Bennett, it is good.

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