iberté Café-Bar & Brasserie and Bar 1819, the show-stopping new culinary venue located at Apex Waterloo Place Hotel in the heart of Edinburgh’s new town, is set to open today.
A launch celebration last night saw Edinburgh’s movers & shakers including industry icons like Tony Singh, and Honorary Consulate of Belgium Yves Lemarchand among others arrived in droves to be the first to see the new venue following its full renovation and kick off the festive season in style.
With its modern European brasserie feel, Liberté is a refined, yet relaxing place to gather, eat or drink with a menu celebrating the best of authentic Scottish produce. The venue is the centre piece of a close to £2 million ground floor renovation of Apex Waterloo Place, owned by Apex Hotels.
With an eye-catching design delivered by ISA, one of Edinburgh’s leading architectural and design firms, the new day/night venue oozes European style with stunning Georgian interiors inspired by the Palm Courts of the 1800s.
The new venue also benefitted from expert input from one of the UK’s top hospitality specialist Stuart McCluskey, former co-owner of the Bon Vivant, current owner of ‘Paz’ and recently opened ‘Little Capo’ and Ian McLaren – former Bacardi digital director and owner of drink marketing consultancy Neoteric Spirit.
Tucked away on Waterloo Place just off the bustling east end of Princes Street, Liberté combines a stylish bar with a brasserie restaurant and private dining area – La Belle. With its sumptuous range of banquettes, booths and cosy corners, the new restaurant delivers effortless style within a comfortable, relaxing setting.
Bar 1819 is an elegant and highly desirable cocktail bar and lounge set within Liberté, with an impressive range of drinks and signature cocktails curated by Stuart and Ian, each potent with big flavours to sip and savour.
Liberté and 1819’s stunning new menus showcase the very best from Scotland’s larder, using European influences and modern cooking techniques.
Liberté launches with day to night menus packed with locally sourced ingredients hand-picked for quality and provenance. Guests can dine from dawn to dusk, with fresh, locally sourced coffee and pastries available in 1819 for those morning meetings, to all day dining as well as a range of tasty snacks, shares and nibbles in the restaurant. Liberté’s seasonal festive fare includes a Christmas day menu and a bespoke private dining menu at La Belle.
Highlights from the menu include Balvenie smoked salmon, lemon creme fraiche and herring roe to start, Ox cheek in a red wine sauce, served with potato puree, bacon and gremolata for main and finishing off with Matcha Tea creme brûlée.
Bar 1819 and cocktail lounge will serve a wide range of drinks from specially crafted cocktails to hand selected single malts. Highlights include the Dubbel Malted Old Fashioned a mix of brewing, distilling and blending traditions – dark and malty Dubbel Trappist Ale Syrup mixed with Angostura Bitters and Homemade Whisky from Woven, the award-winning Leith whisky blender.
Other delights include ‘Negroni au Chocolat’ balancing rich chocolate with bitter orange and berry flavours and the velvety ‘Praline Espresso’ a heady mix of almonds, hazelnut, honey and espresso shaken to foaming perfection and served with freshly grated chocolate.
The 1819 menu is packed with delicious dishes to whet the appetite, from small plates to nibbles and sharing boards. Don’t miss the charcuterie with terrine, remoulade, balsamic onions, cornichons and mustard or the rump fillet tataki with ponzu, cucumber, spring onion and crispy garlic.
Provenance is a mantra of Liberté and 1819, with the restaurant partnering with some of the finest suppliers across Scotland – these range from oak smoked salmon from Campbells & Co, exquisite fresh mussels from the Shetland Islands to delicious, cured meats from East Coast Cured. Drinks partners include Newbarns Brewery, Royal Mile Whiskies, Liberty Wines and Mothership’s Lucky Liqueurs and Affinity brands.
Liberte opens for lunch at 12.00 noon, serving food until 22.00. 1819 opens at 8.00am until 1.00am Monday to Saturday and 8.00am until 11.00pm on Sundays.
Stuart McCluskey said: “It has been exciting to work with the team at Apex. Their enthusiasm for delivering this project has been infectious.
“Ian, Will and I have relished developing a beverage programme fit for such a beautiful setting, focusing on working with quality products and local suppliers.”
Did you know? Liberté was named after the Scottish spirit of freedom, combining Scotland’s passionate energy with elegant European influences. 1819 is a nod to the year when Waterloo Place, Edinburgh’s first purpose-built hotel – designed by famed Scottish architect, Archibald Elliot – was completed. Steeped in Georgian history, the venue is also a celebration of the many renowned guests that passed through its doors, from Charles Dickens to Earl Grey.
For booking details and further information please visit the Liberté website
