Cruz decor is all at sea but the food is just shipshape

I went to a 21st birthday party on the good ship Ocean Mist once. It was a fairly authentic sailing experience since it finished earl-eye in the morning and I felt sick.

After years sitting empty, berthed by The Shore, the boat has just had a £1.1 million refit and been reborn as Cruz - a restaurant, a bar and a nightclub.

Why it's Cruz and not Cruise, is hard to fathom. There may be a good reason but if there is, our waitress didn't know what it was.

The promise of novelty you get as you approach Cruz and walk up the gangplank is not fulfilled inside. Onboard, the interior seems to deny the boat's essential boat-ness, portholes in the bar notwith-standing. It is immaculate and shiny - but in an operating theatre way, not shipshape and Bristol fashion.

If the food is good - and it is - maybe it doesn't matter that Cruz follows the style bar rule book so slavishly. But it seems an odd tactic to undermine the boat's unique selling point by making the inside look like any other new bar on dry land.

The Ocean Mist's owners, Water of Leith 2000, had intended to turn the vessel into floating offices, and it may be that by the time the decision was made to open a restaurant instead, they had already removed its nautical soul and replaced it with that of a call centre.

I'm not suggesting Cruz should have waiters in sailor suits, a littering of old ropes, life-belts, ships wheels and compasses, sea shanties on the stereo, and hourly blasts on the foghorn - well, maybe I am - but some acknow-ledgement of its seafaring past would provide a little character, cheesy or not.

Certainly on the upper deck, where the restaurant is, the only clue that you're on a boat is the floor, which curves upwards towards the bow and the stern. Given that the room is a bit like a large and flashy Portakabin, the blue lights along the tops of the walls are suitably reminiscent of temporary heaters. It's a 'Pimp My Shed' makeover. Having said that, with lots of windows round three sides, you get a great view of the Shore, and when the days get longer, a meal at sunset could be spectacular.

There is a bar at the back of the room, from behind which the food emerges. And it is good food - largely Scottish ingredients put to Mediterr-anean use - with prompt and friendly service.

The starters were excellent. My game terrine with port and pistachios came with oatcakes and red onion confit, and it was fun trying to assemble the perfect mouthful.

Matthew's Loch Fyne oysters were as simple as could be - in their shells on a pile of crushed ice, and Jo's delicate salmon tartare with cottage cheese went down well. The restaurant was about three-quarters full on a Saturday night. Not bad in the depths of winter for a brand- new place.

And despite the clinical decor, there was a warm atmosphere, with plenty of laughter to be heard.

There were various tempting meat main courses, but we all chose seafood. I had bouillabaisse, a thick seafood soup with a subtle smoky flavour. It had generous chunks of monkfish, sea bass and red snapper, and a big meaty tiger prawn.

Jo had king scallops in a tasty saffron sauce, but she criticised the "pointless" rice in the middle of the plate.

Matthew spoke highly of his monkfish wrapped in pancetta and garnished with baby onions.

We shared a couple of side orders - one safe, (chips) and one slightly adventurous, (chicoree, walnut and emmental salad). The chips were great - wide but low, and fluffy in the middle. The salad was a stupid choice for a table of people who don't like walnuts very much. It's no fault of Cruz's that we didn't eat much of it.

Before disembarking, I had a fine example of a sticky toffee pudding - baked to a secret recipe, the menu said - and Matthew had lime and mango cheesecake, while Jo knocked back an espresso.

It was a good meal, and decent value, and it's great to see the Ocean Mist revived at last. But Cruz is moored near some very tough competition at The Shore.

It's barely been open a month and being a boat is sure to attract diners, but the question is whether there is enough onboard to persuade them to return.

• Cruz, 14 The Shore, Edinburgh, 0131-553 6699

The Bill
Oysters £4.95
Game terrine £4.90
Salmon tartare £6.50
Scallops £13.90
Monkfish £11.95
Bouillabaisse £12.95
Chicoree walnut and emmental salad £3.20
French fries £1.85
Sticky toffee pudding £3.95
Cheesecake £3.50
Espresso £1.20
2 x bottles Bella Modella red wine £29.90
Total £98.75

Quality ****
Menu choice ***
Surroundings ***
Service ***
Value ****

SUNDAY LUNCH
IT might be worth holding back your Sunday lunch until 5pm, when The Sizzling Scot Steakhouse & Grill opens it doors to serve up their trademark inexpensive Scottish grub.

This informal Dalry Road restaurant was designed to promote Scotland and its rich native larder - an abundant harvest of the finest meats, fish, fowl, grains, fruit and veg.

Here, the owners take pride in using only the finest, freshest ingredients, taking care to source those Scottish farmers and growers who provide the best, as "only the best will do".

A fantastic little neighbourhood restaurant that's just a short walk from the city centre.

• The Sizzling Scot Steakhouse & Grill, 103-105 Dalry Road, 0131-337 7744

AT THE BAR
POP down to the bar of the four star Hudson Hotel on Hope Street this month, and you could find yourself being served a cocktail by one of the Capital's top bartenders.

Fresh from competing in the Johnny Walker and Talisker World Class cocktail making competition, held yesterday at Edinburgh Park, James Sutherland, the hotel's bar manager, will be introducing customers to his new creation, a cocktail called Walked From East To West.

Walked From East To West combines the traditional Scottish flavours of Johnnie Walker Black with the eastern influence of Japanese sake, fresh plums and peach bitters and will be available from the Hudson Bar throughout February, priced £5.95.

Situated in Edinburgh's fashionable West End, the Hudson Bar is the ideal place to meet with friends at the start of the night.

The bar, which opens from 11am to 3am, Monday to Saturday, and 12.30pm to 1am on Sundays, also offers a full menu until 10pm daily, from breakfast through to a late night supper served in sophisticated surroundings.

• The Hudson Bar, 7-11 Hope Street, Edinburgh, 0131-247 7000