The music was here before the kitchen was

Saliha started Alba Flamenca first: a flamenco venue and dance school on Howden Street, in the quiet bit of Newington behind Nicolson Street. Over twenty years she built it into the most established flamenco venue in Edinburgh, if not in Scotland, on the strength of knowing the right performers in Spain and the right people here.

The restaurant came out of that. People were arriving early for a show, or staying late after one, and wanting to eat properly rather than grab something on the way. So the family opened a kitchen two doors along and cooked what they would cook at home.

What that means for the food

It means the menu is Spanish rather than Spanish-inspired. Croquetas made that morning with whatever the kitchen has. Carrilleras braised until they give up. Pimientos de padrón, and the annual lottery of which one is hot. Estrella Galicia on draught because that is what you would drink in A Coruña, and a wine list that never crosses the Pyrenees.

It also means Sundays are paella and only paella. One pan, two people, started when you order it. You cannot run a good tapas service and a good paella service out of the same kitchen on the same day, so we picked.

And for the music

The tablao is through the wall, so the performers are colleagues rather than a booking. In August the whole thing becomes Venue 237 and runs three different Fringe shows a day for the best part of a month. From September to May the dance school fills up again, and in spring every student ends up on stage at the Churchill Theatre whether they planned to or not.

It is a small place run by a family, which is the only real explanation for why the food and the flamenco have never been marketed as a package. They are just what happens on this bit of street.

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