The Free Company Review: Where Freshness Meets Sustainability

Scottish Press Awards’ Food & Drink Writer of the Year 2023, 2024 & 2025

Fresh, sustainable eating options are becoming increasingly sought after, and one exceptional choice can be found at the foot of the Pentlands in a 600-year-old cow barn. This is The Free Company: a regenerative, no-dig farm situated on the lush outskirts of Edinburgh, renowned for supplying top-notch restaurants throughout the city. TFC also features its very own farm-to-table dining experience, quickly earning acclaim comparable to a midsummer courgette’s rapid growth.

Traveling by car, my daughter Claire and I arrive at this quaint location; public transport is an option to Balerno, but it involves a lengthy walk and sturdy footwear. As we turn towards the farm, we observe fields where TFC’s Shetland sheep are grazing, destined for an upcoming dish featuring hogget shoulder wrapped in flavorful skirlie—oats cooked with onions.

From the Farm to Your Fork

Upon arrival, we park near the market garden where vibrant leeks stand proud. Nearby, blackcurrant bushes are being steeped in custard to create a delightful seasonal tart. Scattered across the 300 acres are TFC’s heritage Dexter cows and rare breed pigs, including Berkshire and Mangalitsa, with cuts available for purchase at its online farm shop and highlighted throughout the daily menu. This truly embodies the farm-to-table concept.

The restaurant itself is a stylishly converted byre, striking a balance between charming rusticity and modern aesthetics. Diners can experience TFC’s communal “feasting sessions,” previously pay-what-you-wish but now priced at £85 per person, featuring a tasting menu served in one sitting. We choose the ambitious à la carte menu, in addition to the Spread, which showcases the finest seasonal produce from the farm, plus a children’s menu featuring garden vegetable soup, potato dough pizza (which my daughter rates a solid 7 out of 10), and hot cross bun ice cream—every bit as delightful as it sounds.

Exceptional Ingredients

Seasonality shines through in the menu as familiar ingredients repeatedly appear in creative forms. For instance, the leeks feature prominently in a unique dish of “garden scrumpets”—crisp, deep-fried bonbons filled with the week’s vegetable offcuts, encapsulating the essence of mid-May in a single bite. My starter is a breathtaking preparation of leeks, fire-roasted to achieve a crisp shell while remaining silky inside, complemented by asparagus, a vibrant wild garlic purée, crushed hazelnuts, and leek seeds the color of aged parchment.

Delightful Shetland mussels arrive doused in wild garlic butter and garnished with cured pork cheek, alongside sourdough from the beloved Palmerston bakery. Everything is spectacular, from the meat to the carefully curated dishes. TFC is committed to avoiding nitrates in its curing processes; the meats are lightly smoked using windfall timber from the farm while allowing the soil to thrive naturally. This hands-off methodology yields outstanding results both on the farm and in the kitchen—a testament to the ethos of head chef Craig Turner, who believes that less is often more when utilizing top-quality ingredients.

A Flavorful Connection to the Land

The outcome is a dining experience that showcases the true flavor of the animals and the land that nourished them. This sentiment is epitomized by my Dexter ribeye, rich with marbling and served in a hearty gravy, complemented by sunflower-yellow carrot purée, chard, and crispy beef fat tattie strati. While I think an extra layer of char could elevate the dish from great to exceptional, it’s still an unforgettable plate. My daughter eagerly sets aside her pizza to savor half of it.

The entire-animal usage embodies TFC’s commitment to sustainability. Claire’s hogget shoulder dish includes succulent slices of leg and crispy belly atop a chlorophyll-rich sorrel and chicory puree (our delightful server, Ella, notes this was due to an abundance of greens). The offal from the hogget is served on flatbread, while the Dexter cow’s meaty offerings include raw beef as a starter and a straightforward liver dish, cooked generously in wild garlic butter and served alongside creamy mash. Ella fielded every inquiry with genuine enthusiasm, answering questions about the components of my dessert, which featured toasty barley atop pumpkin seed frangipane with stewed rhubarb and honey parfait—a truly glorious finale to the meal. The drink menu is equally impressive, featuring seasonal syrups, shrubs, and cordials made on-site.

The Free Company’s name evokes a vision of a collective of idealists dedicated to nurturing change through food. The brothers Angus and Charlie Buchanan-Smith embody this deeply personal mission. With their family’s dairy farm shuttered due to plummeting milk prices, they were warned against pursuing agriculture. Yet, in 2016, they acquired the historically cultivated land known as Cockdurno, slated for development. Through their determination, they have transformed it into one of Scotland’s most thrilling farm-to-table destinations in under a decade.

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The Free Company, Balerno, Edinburgh EH14 7HZ