Morag Bootland heads to Lucky Yu on Edinburgh’s Broughton Street to find out why it caught the eye of the foodie bods at the prestigious Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland.
When you reach my age and you go to a new place to eat you might find yourself playing a guessing game to try to remember which businesses have previously occupied the space. In the case of Lucky Yu it was at one time Smoke Stack, a retro-styled steak restaurant and favourite haunt of my younger self.
Since its launch in 2018, Lucky Yu has been causing a stir with its Asian-fusion, small-plate dining. And its 2023 move to the Broughton Street site gave it the space it needed to grow. The restaurant is full of happy, chatty diners as I arrive to meet a friend – who is also suitably mature enough to remember the places that came before – for a hump-day dinner.
Lucky Yu recently caught the eye of the equally lucky folks who are paid to eat for a living at the Michelin Guide, who promptly added it to their prestigious list of recommended restaurants.
The menu is packed with choice and equally appealing to vegetable and meat-eaters. While I wait for my dining companion (whose train is delayed), I make a shortlist of sorts in my phone notes of the dishes I fancied and that I thought she’d plump for.
On her slightly harried arrival it turns out to be remarkably accurate. So, we hand it to our friendly waiter who copies it down while marvelling at our organisational prowess. Little does he know that at our age, the only way to remember anything for longer than 30 seconds is to write it down.
We sit with chopsticks poised in anticipation as our food arrives in fits and starts. The dirty rice proves the biggest challenge without a fork, but it is more than delicious enough to warrant perseverance. Packed with shrimp, short rib brisket, pork belly and topped with ribbons of katsuobushi, the zing of the chillies is well balanced by the creamy coconut.
Another highlight was the grilled monkfish tails from the specials menu, perfectly fresh and perched on a tangy, crunchy sambal salad. Crispy potatoes are definitely an easier option for us chopstick amateurs and the spuds are elevated by glorious condiments – umaminaise (creamy and earthy) and tonkatsu sauce (rich and spicy). There’s also a portion of pork gyozas; awesome king prawn crackers, that I think I could enjoy daily without ever tiring of them; a large crispy-coated floret of tempura cauliflower stuffed in a billowy bao bun; grilled pak choi, with a deep black garlic sauce and salty furikake and chunks of roasted aubergine with miso and sesame.
It sounds like a lot of food, and I’m not going to lie, it was. So much so that we took a short recess to enjoy a wee cup of sake. I’ll be the first to admit that my knowledge of Japanese rice wine is woefully inadequate, so we defer to our lovely waiter, who expertly recommends a juicy plum sake and a sweet and sour yuzu version.
Buoyed, we decide to share a dessert of apple pie gyozas. And I’ll be forever grateful that we did. The deep fried, crisp little parcels of loveliness were tart, yet sweet and perfection when dipped in the Chantilly cream and blackberry jam.
Lucky Yu is a great place to eat with friends and family. The bare plaster, exposed stone and minimalist light-wood tables and chairs are softened by cute poster and neon lighting The food is great and the staff are happy, friendly and fun ensuring the vibe is completely relaxed.
Lucky Yu, 53-55 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3RJ. www.luckyyu.co.uk
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