The Cape Controversy - An Immersive Dining Experience

The Cape Controversy is coming to The Real Mary King's Close on Saturday 28 November, an immersive dining experience that runs from 19:00 to 23:00. It's built around the real Cape Club, an exclusive Enlightenment-era secret society of poets, painters, actors and thinkers who met under pseudonyms in the taverns and closes of Edinburgh's Old Town and guarded their secrets. Craig's Close, part of the site, once housed the Isle of Man Arms, the tavern where the club is known to have gathered; discreet plaques on the Royal Mile and Cockburn Street still mark the spot.

The night starts with a welcome canapé and drinks and unfolds across candlelit rooms and hidden underground spaces, following a letter signed 'NM'. Between scenes, a multi-course feast by Culinarians is woven into the narrative, with bold Scottish flavours: an oyster shell with an Isle of Mull crème brûlée 'pearl', braised daube of beef with haggis spelt risotto, and a chocolate dessert laced with Ardbeg whisky caramel. It all leads to a ceremonial finale in which each guest has to make a personal choice.

On the performance side, you'll see live scenes with characters inspired by real Enlightenment-era figures: the poet Robert Fergusson, Alison Cockburn, the painter Alexander Runciman, Tom Lancashire, and the notorious William Brodie. The whole thing is adults only, phones covered, and places are limited. Tickets are £285 per person, and it runs from 19:00 to 23:00 at The Real Mary King's Close, 2 Warriston's Close, High Street, EH1 1PG, just beneath the Royal Mile.