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Apex Hotels is set to launch a new F&B concept within its Edinburgh property on 28 November.
Liberté Café-Bar and Brasserie and Bar 1819 will be the new culinary venue opening at Apex Waterloo Place Hotel in the heart of Edinburgh.
With its modern European brasserie feel, Liberté is a “refined yet relaxing” place to eat or drink with a menu offering “the best” of Scottish produce. The venue is the centre piece of a close to £2m ground floor renovation of Apex Waterloo Place.
With a design delivered by ISA, one of Edinburgh’s leading architectural and design firms, the new day/night venue features a European style with Georgian interiors inspired by the Palm Courts of the 1800s.
Liberté combines a bar with a brasserie restaurant and private dining area – La Belle, with its range of banquettes, booths and “cosy” corners.
The restaurant will launch day to night menus featuring locally sourced ingredients. In the morning, guests can dine with coffee and pastries available to all day dining as well as a range of snacks, shares and nibbles in the restaurant.
Mains 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, and for desserts Matcha Tea creme brûlée.
The new venue also benefitted from expert input from Stuart McCluskey, former co-owner of the Bon Vivant, current owner of Paz and recently opened Little Capo, as well as Ian McLaren, former Bacardi digital director and owner of drink marketing consultancy Neoteric Spirit.
Within Liberté, Bar 1819 is an “elegant” cocktail bar and lounge set, with a range of drinks and signature cocktails curated by McCluskey and McLaren.
Bar 1819 and cocktail lounge will serve a range of drinks from crafted cocktails to hand selected single malts, including “Negroni au Chocolat” and “Praline Espresso”. The 1819 menu includes charcuterie with terrine, remoulade, balsamic onions, cornichons and mustard and the rump fillet tataki with ponzu, cucumber, spring onion and crispy garlic.
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.”
