Stuart Ralston to celebrate Lyla anniversary with guest chef series

Stuart Ralston is launching Shore to Shore, a guest chef series, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his fine-dining venture Lyla in Edinburgh.

The series will see some of the UK’s most exciting chefs take part in a four-hands dinner with Stuart, bringing their own take on seafood from Scotland and the wider UK coastline.

The first part of the ongoing series will take place across October and November, before the second part next year.

It begins with Theo Clench, formerly of Cycene and Akoko, on October 23 and 24.

Michelin-starred Hjem’s Alex Nietosvuori then follows on October 30, before Andy Beynon from Michelin-starred BEHIND on November 11.

Then in the new year there will be a link up with Johnnie Crowe at Restaurant St Barts, which holds both a Michelin star and Michelin green star, on January 30, the series ending with Joshua Overington of Myse on February 18.

The evening will begin with snacks in the upstairs drawing room of Stuart’s 26-cover restaurant located in a Georgian townhouse, alongside cocktails and champagne from the trolley.

Guests will then be invited into the main dining room, where the rest of the menu will be served with four courses from each chef.

Each dinner will incorporate signature dishes from Lyla and the guest chefs, alongside dishes celebrating the Scottish larder.

Accompanying the menu will be an optional drinks pairing by Lyla’s award-winning head sommelier, Stuart Skea, featuring a collection of small-domain wines and sake, celebrating new-age, old-world and a hefty selection of UK-based producers.

N25 Caviar will be sponsoring the series alongside Krug Champagne, which will be supporting the collaboration with Theo Clench as part of their Krug x Flower series.

Opened in October 2023, Lyla is Stuart’s fourth restaurant following Aizle, Noto and Tipo.

Located on Edinburgh’s Royal Terrace, Lyla is an ode to produce from the Scottish Isles, focusing on ingredients from the coastline and earth, taking over the space previously occupied by the late Paul Kitching’s 21212 restaurant.

In 2024, Lyla was recognised as one the best new openings 2023 by Condé Nast Traveller in the inaugural edition of the awards, debuted at number 28 on the National Restaurant Awards, has been recognised as one of the most exciting restaurants in the UK by World’s 50 Best and was crowned Restaurant Newcomer at the Food & Travel Awards 2024.

The Theo Clench and Krug dinner will be available for £325 for the menu including paired wines, plus service and any extras.

Hjem and BEHIND are both £165 for the menu.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.