Specialising in small plates, the “communal dining experience” in Lothian was named alongside working farm cafes and eateries across the country, including the Old Hall Farm Cafe in Norfolk and Paternoster Farm in Pembrokeshire.
The Free Company in Balerno was praised for its “rustic” appearance and great variety of “small bite” meals.
Why the Free Company in Scotland is one of the best restaurants on a working farm
Highlighting what makes the Scottish restaurant on this working farm in Lothian so great, the Good Food Guide said: “What started out as a communal dining experience in the old milking byre of this family farm has morphed into something more flexible, with a seasonal carte now providing plenty of choice.
“Seating is still at rustic trestle tables peppered with plant pots, but you can now swing by for Sunday lunch as well as dinner. It is considered a ‘magical set-up’.
“On the menu, you’ll find the farm’s produce in all its glory: the owners rear and butcher heritage Dexter cross cattle, Shetland sheep and mangalitza pigs, as well as growing organic fruit and vegetables.
“They also love their smoker – even the sourdough bread is tossed in to create a cindery hard crust, before being served with whipped butter zig-zagged with sticky honey.”
The guide added: “Expect small bites ranging from a garden ‘scrumpet’ with kimchi mayo or a no-nonsense hogget offal flatbread with charcoal mayo and Corra Linn (a strong local ewe’s cheese) to coffee-roasted beetroot on a bed of creamy crowdie and skirlie.
“Main courses are farmyard-hearty: salty slabs of hake in a smoked mussel sauce; Shetland hogget loin with kale and a ‘wee hogget pie’; hay-baked celeriac with fava beans and sunflower seeds.
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“On Sundays, expect a mound of pink roast pork and potatoes in their skins, with plenty of gravy.”
Desserts on offer include the blackcurrant-leaf custard tart with flowering currant topped with scorched meringue or a pale pistachio pumpkin-seed ice cream with porridge praline and tiny cubes of caramelised swede adding a toffee tinge.
The guide also heaped praise on those working here, writing: “Staff are friendly, and the drinks list focuses on sustainable wines (including a hefty contingent of skin-contact varietals) alongside foraged cocktails and craft beers. They’ve also started making their own cider with donated apples.”
