Chef Jimmy Lee to open Salt & Chilli Oriental in Edinburgh St James Quarter in July

Celebrity Jimmy Lee is preparing to open his first Edinburgh restaurant in the city's new St James Quarter.

Salt & Chilli Oriental Edinburgh will be housed within Bonnie & Wild's Scottish Marketplace which opens in July

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A mash-up of East and West, old and new and salt and chilli, the restaurant will offer a taste of Hong Kong’s frills-free street food.

The new restaurant, Salt & Chilli Oriental Edinburgh, will be housed within Bonnie & Wild's Scottish Marketplace set to open to the public in July.

When the site opens, Cantonese street food will be reimagined, remastered, and given a playful twist and will serve comforting Chinese classics alongside fusion concoctions, mixing conventional Hong Kong street food with a strong dose of modern Scottish attitude.

Spearheaded by chef Jimmy Lee, who has previously appeared on BBC’s Great British Menu, Channel 4’s My Kitchen Rules, with Kirstie Allsopp on 'Kirstie's Handmade Christmas' as well as presenting his popular STV cookery series, 'Julie and Jimmy's Hot Woks', and his team, the new Edinburgh restaurant joins a vibrant and exciting community of chef-led eateries within Bonnie & Wild’s casual-dining food hall, including Creel Caught by Gary Maclean, The Gannet, Rico’s Pasta Bar, Erpingham House, CHIX, east PIZZA, Broken Clock Patisserie, and Joelato.

From tangy peking ribs and chicken satay with spicy dip to bao filled katsu chicken or pulled aromatic duck as well as the signature 'Salt & Chilli Menu' with options of chicken, king prawn, crab, calamari or tofu salt and chilli - all served with yutaka slaw.

The Salt & Chilli Oriental menu will be homely and hearty cantonsese with 'small bites' available for £5 and 'big bites' including Katsu Chicken Curry and Macau Beef Curry from £9.

Chef Jimmy Lee said: "I absolutely love Edinburgh and consider it one of the best food cities in the UK. I'm so excited to introduce Salt & Chilli Oriental to St James Quarter within the incredible new Bonnie & Wild Scottish marketplace.

“The menu will highlight delicious Hong Kong style streetside snacks as well as comforting British-Cantonese cuisines that we all love and adore".

This is the second city location for the Salt & Chilli Oriental brand from the award winning chef who operates Salt & Chilli in Glasgow's West End and Lychee Oriental in Glasgow City Centre.

When it opens next month, Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace will be one of the largest food and beverage sites in Scotland, comprising eight food stalls, four specialty retailers, three bars and a flexible events space. Outwith social distancing restrictions, the venue will be able to seat more than 350 guests.

Bonnie & Wild’s general manager Kate Russell said: “We’re all excited about Chef Jimmy Lee’s Salt & Chilli Oriental joining Bonnie & Wild, coming in alongside some exceptionally talented chefs in this remarkable Food Hall.

“With Jimmy’s much-loved Cantonese street food also on the menu, Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace reflects the diversity, quality and innovation of Scotland’s world-class cuisine.”

Salt & Chilli Oriental Edinburgh will open weekly Monday - Sundays from July 2021.

Visit www.salt-chilli.co.uk/edinburgh for first access to bookings.

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