Date Night at Checkpoint

Hello!

Friday night tends to be ‘date night’ for many couples. It is not something I have really bought into much in the past for some reason but I decided to give it a go.

Edinburgh in general is full of great date spots and Checkpoint is one of them, so I was excited to be invited along to try out their dinner menu.

Situated just round the corner of George IV Bridge, Checkpoint may be fairly newish to the Edinburgh scene (opening their doors in 2015) but they have already made their mark in the capital.

The bar and eatery at Bristo Place was voted in The Times’ "25 coolest restaurants in Britain" and you can really see why.

Inside it is very modern and fresh without being too “hipstery”. Yes, they have a shipping container inside but it is subtle and effectively done.

Dim lighting and candles on every table set the scene for a perfect ‘date night’ vibe without being too overly romantic.

The Starters 

Normally I like to go for something a little out there with my starter. Since it is a smallish dish, starters give you the opportunity to try something you maybe wouldn’t normally pick out.

This time however I ended up playing it safe. It was a mixture of not wanting to fill myself up too much and an intense love for sweet potatoes.

You may think that was a boring choice but those sweet potato fries were anything but boring. Beautifully crisp and seasoned to my taste, the za’atar yoghurt which came with them was an added little bonus.

My partner decided to follow suit but instead of sweet potato he went for the triple cooked chips. Thick and fluffy, they were how chunky chips should be.

The Mains

I seem to be running with this “let’s always have fish for my mains’ theme. This time I decided go for something a little different. Skate wing can be a little scary at first, all those bones can be pretty off putting. It kind of reminds me of the facehuggers from Alien....

However this skate wing was delightful. The fishy meat just flaked right off the bone. It was paired up with the biggest green beans I have ever seen in my life and battered potato croquettes.

For my other half’s main, the pork belly was calling his name. Served up with black pudding, chorizo, celeriac and crunchy pork scratchings. I’ve mentioned before about my lack of love for pork so sadly I didn’t get try this dish out for myself but I did steal a few bites of the black pudding. Full of flavour and spice, it was exactly how black pudding should be!

The Desserts

I am going to try keep this short and sweet (get it, desserts, sweet…). This was my favourite part of the meal. Yes, the chips hit the spot, of course I loved the fish but my chocolate and rosemary torte was pretty much perfection.

Creamy without being too sickly, I was even surprised to find out it was actually vegan. Seriously you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Raspberry frangipane with pistachio ice cream was my partner’s dessert of choice. I really wanted to try this bad boy as it looked incredible. Did I get to try it? No, he ate it all up before I could even get a chance!

Overall I had a fantastic time at Checkpoint. Modern setting, beautiful food and friendly staff, it ticked all the boxes.

Checkpoint has a great relaxed vibe which made for a great date night venue. So if you are looking to impress a potential partner, this is the place to head. Not too intimidating but still pretty special.

After sneaking a peak at their breakfast menu, I know where I will be going to next for a fry up!

Do you do date night? Have you been to Checkpoint before?

Till the next time!

X

*Though my meal was complimentary, all views shared are my own.