Acclaimed American chef Rodney Wages has confirmed the opening of his first UK restaurant, Avery, in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge on 21st May.
Avery Edinburgh is the evolution of Wages’ Michelin-starred restaurant of the same name which opened in San Francisco in 2018. In 2023, Wages decided to close Avery San Francisco and move the restaurant across the Atlantic to Edinburgh, having fallen in love with the Scottish capital on a family holiday the year before. Prior to opening Avery, Wages honed his craft at some of America’s best restaurants, including The French Laundry, Benu, Saison and Atelier Crenn.
Wages’ cooking takes inspiration from the sea and the wild, as well as the bold, bright and imaginative style of the restaurant’s namesake, American artist Milton Avery. Unique, hand-crafted tableware is used to complement the flavours, textures and aromas of each dish, resulting in memorable, playfully-presented plates that reflect Avery’s elevated yet relaxed atmosphere.
The 15-course tasting menu will change regularly to celebrate the best seasonal ingredients, with a particular focus on Japanese cooking techniques. Avery’s menu combines menu mainstays from San Francisco with new creations inspired by the fruits of Scotland’s land, sea and air. Signatures include Tortellini in brodo: handmade tortellini filled with a broth of cultured butter and mushrooms, served in a broth infused with roasted garlic, burnt onion butter and chives; and Cheese tart, a reimagining of a classic pecan pie with toasted pecans, honeycomb, cognac and sharp Loch Arthur cheddar.
Also on the menu is Æbleskiver, a Danish pancake filled with Scottish spider crab, grilled Swiss chard and roasted garlic; Live scallop with cherry vinegar, preserved cherry blossoms and raw sesame; ‘Bits and Bobs from the Sea’ with poached mussels, grilled langoustine and fresh cockles sitting in a seaweed and chorizo broth and Gorse-infused custard on a vanilla genoise with macerated rhubarb, raspberry and cognac sauce, mint oil and herbs.
Wages will be working closely with Scottish suppliers to bring local produce to Avery’s menu, particularly foraged ingredients, game and seafood from Castle Game, Wee Folk of the Woods, The Free Company, Fungi and Forage, Woodwinters and David Lowrie.
A world-reaching, Champagne-forward wine list complements the menu, with particular attention given to French, Italian and Californian wines. Sake is also central to Avery’s drinks programme, with an extensive selection in the cellar to be paired with the menu.
The intimate, 20-cover restaurant combines dark paintwork with bright accents of colour from paintings by San Francisco-based artist, and friend of Wages, Victor Reyes. Ceramics, tableware and furniture have all been brought over from America to bring the spirit of the San Francisco restaurant to Edinburgh. Avery will open Tuesday to Saturday for dinner only, 5pm to 8:30pm.
