Japanese Garden in bloom at Tigerlily Edinburgh with House of Suntory

Welcoming the change of season with open arms, Morag Bootland heads to Tigerlily on Edinburgh’s George Street to bask in the glow of its Japanese Garden.

SPRING has officially sprung, there are lambs in the fields, and blossom on the trees. And nowhere is this more evident than at Tigerlily, where its cherry-blossom filled Japanese Garden is now in full bloom. The garden provides the perfect place to explore Tigerlily’s new cocktail collab with House of Suntory, as well as taking a few shots for insta as you relax amongst the beautiful blooms, paper lanterns and shimmering golden suns.

The cocktail menu showcases three of Suntory’s most popular spirits with its Toki whisky, Haku vodka, and Roku gin using exciting twists on Japanese inspired tasting notes. I’d recommend: the ‘Kanji Colada’, a ‘juicy whisky Colada’ with Toki Whisky, white peach, passion fruit, strawberry, coconut and garnished with an icing sugar dusted physalis and a theatrical firework cocktail stick; or the ‘Dragon’s Tail’, ‘a fresh mojito twist’ with Roku Gin, Velvet Falernum, passion fruit, peppermint, pressed lemon and garnished with a bamboo leaf. Or try out the ‘Rising Sun’ with Haku Vodka, inspired by a Japanese lemon posset pudding, using yuzu sake, pressed lemon and Jersey cream; the result is sharp and juicy with a rich, velvety finish. Served with a red Mademoiselle Macaron garnish symbolising the rising sun.

My sister and I popped along for an early dinner and enjoyed sampling a couple of the new cocktails along with our food. Kicking off the food offering I enjoyed my crispy salt and pepper squid sat on a bed of rice noodles with a tangy hot and sour dressing (£9). I bravely purloined a small mouthful of my sis’s Serrano ham and manchego croquetas and found them rich and cheesy with an impossibly crisp crumb coating. Delicious with the saffron aioli (£9.50).

Mains were a steak for sis, chargrilled perfectly to her request and served up with triple-cooked chips and a portobello mushroom. Feeling less carnivorous, I plumped for the Thai green curry, pak choi, peppers and steamed jasmine rice with sweet potato and broccoli (£17.95). This was creamy and mild in flavour with the veggies cooked until just tender. The creaminess of the curry was perfect with the sharp citrus of the Dragon’s Tail gin cocktail cutting through it.

Puds were a triumph and my hunk of decadent sticky toffee pudding (£7.95) certainly put a smile on my face. Especially when enjoyed with the sweet fruit and mild spice of my Kanji Colada cocktail. The dark chocolate and orange tart (£7.95) was sticky and rich, although the pastry to filling ratio was skewed slightly too far in favour of the pastry for my sis’s liking. This certainly didn’t stop her from clearing her plate with a satisfied sigh.

The cherry-blossomed spring garden will run at Tigerlily until mid-June, but there’s no time like the present to experience this decadent little taste of Japan in the heart of the capital.

To book, please visit www.tigerlilyedinburgh.co.uk/booking/

Tigerlily
125 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4JN

Tel: 0131 225 5005

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