A NEW restaurant is set to bring the best of home cooking from Barcelona to plates in Edinburgh.

Casa Mara opened at the beginning of February and has already proved a popular choice with reviewers and visitors alike.

Proprietor, Mara, was born in 1993 and was brought up with love and respect for Spanish and Catalan cuisine. After completing her studies she had an unknown desire to come to Scotland, in particular, Edinburgh. She travelled all around the city and fell in love with its people but it was on a visit home she realised the one thing she missed about her country, her mum’s cooking.

She was lucky enough when she arrived in Scotland to gain employment at top restaurants in the city and be part of the events team for a prestigious five-star visitor attraction. Mara shared some of her mum’s cooking with her group of friends who are chefs. To her surprise they were silent whilst eating her mum’s delicious meal. When she asked them if anything was wrong, they simply replied: “We wish we could cook like that.” And so, Casa Mara was born.

The restaurant serves an a la carte menu full of her mum’s best dishes, a daily lunch menu which brings together Mara’s favourite ingredients and a sharing menu, for those looking for the authentic Spanish and Catalan experience.

“I have three main hopes for the restaurant; you like it, my mum likes it and the third will have to remain a secret for now,” says Mara.

Casa Mara is situated in Eyre Place and is open from Wednesday to Saturday, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm for lunch, and then at 5.30pm to 9.30pm for dinner. For more info, go to casademara.com.