Morag Bootland discovers a fine dining phenomenon at Avery in Edinburgh.
It can’t be a common phenomenon for a Michelin-starred chef to up-sticks and move their restaurant lock, stock and barrel to a different continent. But that’s exactly what chef Rodney Wages did when he relocated Avery from San Francisco to Edinburgh in 2024.
Chef Wages was in search of a great place to raise a family, a change of scenery and somewhere with incredible produce on his doorstep. And there’s no doubt that he found all three in the capital. Reopening in Stockbridge in May 2024, Avery regained its Michelin-star in 2025 and has retained it this year. It would seem that Wages has taken to Scotland like a duck to water.
In some ways Avery is a modest restaurant. Seating only 20 guests, the basement property on St Stephen Street is so unassuming that you might wander by without noticing it was there. But any pretence of reticence disappears the minute you cross the threshold. The walls are almost black and adorned with huge, striking pieces of art. Dark wood tables and velvet chairs provide an air of luxury, while gold cutlery and an unusual penchant for golden monkeys bring a touch of fun to proceedings.
The tasting menu at Avery is local and seasonal, something that is of great importance to Chef Wages. We aren’t given a physical menu and are delighted to sit back and marvel at the experience as dish after beautiful dish emerges from the kitchen. Kicking off proceedings is a live scallop, well it’s not quite alive, but we are assured that it was mere minutes before it arrived at our table in a pool of bonito vinegar with diced shallots and a zingy ribbon of chilli. It doesn’t get much fresher than that. The menu is heavy on the caviar, and all the better for it, but one of my highlights comes in the surprising form of a meaty piece of barbecued eel, reclining on a bed of impossibly crispy deep-fried wild nettle leaf and tucked up below a fine blanket of smoked pork fat. The flavours and textures combining to create something far beyond the sum of their parts. Arriving alongside the eel, a pretty and earthy beetroot rose.
More fish came in the form of bits and bobs from the sea. We’re told that this dish changes depending on the catch of the day and for us the bits were melt in the mouth turbot and the bobs a sumptuous and silky fermented chilli and coconut broth. There’s a wee langoustine from Dunbar on a creamy fish butter rice and a spicy XO sauce, which comes alongside a large gold monkey holding a ball of broccoli and roasted garlic loveliness that is an aebleskiver – a spherical Danish pancake.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a menu that is heavy on the caviar, the drinks flight is heavy on the champagne. There’s also a wonderful red from Margaux to enjoy when things get meatier. But the most interesting is definitely Avery’s own cask of 50-year-old single grain whisky from Invergordon distillery. Chosen by Chef Wages, this gorgeous dram is spicy, yet as smooth as honey and is bottled at 46.1%, so there’s no risk of it overpowering the food.
Another favourite is as close to comfort food as you’re likely to get in a Michelin-starred establishment. A bowl of mushroom-stuffed tortellini in brodo bobbing around in a bowl of roasted garlic broth. The pasta is beautifully soft and yielding and the filling rich and earthy. The bowl garners almost as many plaudits from us as the pasta, with its elevated base just inviting it to be scooped up to drink the last of the glorious broth. Chef Wages admits he has what is bordering on an obsession with ceramics, and it is clear as dinner goes on that each course is matched as carefully to its receptacle as it is to the drinks that accompany it.
The charcoal roasted sika deer is beautifully tender and garlicky, with a fresh skewer of asparagus on the side. We have great fun slicing this wee roundel of perfectly cooked venison with a huge gold knife that would do Norman Bates proud.
A cheese tart that is sweet with honey and topped with a generous portion of tangy aged cheddar transitions us to dessert. A sumptuous set vanilla custard with apple and Cognac which is as pretty as a picture.
Eating at Avery is an experience that’s more than just a dinner. The staff are friendly enough to put you at ease but expert enough to know their onions. The food is outrageously beautiful, and perfectly showcases the passion Chef Wages has for the incredible larder that prompted him to make a bold move and call Scotland home. The restaurant is stylish, yet unfussy and the ceramics are on point. Oh, and the toilet deserves a special mention with its two loos separated by a shoulder-height dividing partition. Perfect for anyone who has too much chatter to go alone; and there’s no doubt this is an evening that we’ll be talking about for quite some time to come.
Tasting menu: £169 per person. Drinks Pairings: £189 per person. Avery, 54 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh EH3 5AL. www.averyedi.co.uk
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