A new addition to the dinner roster! A few years ago, we tried Tipo, which was very nice indeed, and in my research phase for this year’s Fringe excursion, I clocked they have a sister restaurant, Noto, not too far away. Let the novelty commence! It is - inevitably - small plates, so the concept is re-explained to us, and away we go. This time, it literally is one of everything on the menu. I even suggest everything but maybe not the bread, but I am swiftly overruled. That bread in particular is a fantastic bing bread with a sweetcorn butter and lightly spiced whipped tofu, so the others were right to shout me down. Across the various smaller small plates, we enjoyed a very buttery crab soup with some focaccia; trout cured with matcha, accentuated with an avocado gel and cut through with a little ginger; a comparatively light portion of beef tartare atop what I can only heretically describe as a polenta hash brown. Every bite of all of that delicious. My personal highlight might be the chicken katsu kyiv, an idea so brilliant I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it yet, the chicken cooked to perfection and the sauce to die for. Some Isle Of Wight tomatoes are always a treat to see on a menu, no less so here with some goat’s curd to add some cream and tang in equal measures. The kimchi beignets are dreadfully addictive considering there’s only six on the plate, served with an apple and ginger syrup. A couple of more specifically Japanese inspired (although I wouldn’t say faithful) dishes round this section of the menu off, with a chawanmushi custard topped with mushrooms and a surprisingly non-cabbage-based okonomiyaki with barbecued octopus. Of the bigger small plates, it’s mostly a triumph - our final dish of the lamb rump with aubergine XO and edamame beans was fantastic, richly sauced and accompanied with a couple of very cute skewers; the BBQ monkfish in a beurre blanc is a hit; the only oddity is the gochujang gnocchi served with a sweetcorn succotash, two elements which are both delicious on their own terms but don’t make a massively compelling pairing. There are two options for dessert, and in a fit of pique (oh, we’re on holiday), I order both with the vague notion that the others might help me out here. This is without a doubt an excellent choice on my part. The chocolate miso bar, filled with a white chocolate ganache and served with a toasted milk ice cream is perfectly rich, enhanced by the umami of the miso and content to be overwhelmingly indulgent. In an exercise in contrast, the creme fraiche cheesecake, doming around a gorgeous sake-soaked sponge, is topped with a beautifully light and fragant strawberry syrup and adorned with strawberries soaked in same. It is airy and heavenly, and as I alternate between increasingly struggleful bites of both, I once again have to acknowledge that food is great, isn’t it.