Vinette is billed as a Parisian bar à vin and will serve sharing plates and bistro style dishes.
Vivien, meanwhile, is an intimate subterranean cocktail bar named after lesbian poet Renée Vivien.
Both ventures are being launched in partnership with Ralston’s long standing business partner and front of house counterpart Jade Johnston.
The kitchen at Vinette will be headed up by Ralston’s younger brother Calum, who has trained with the group over the past 18 months.
Dishes will include braised duck hearts on toast with pickled green peppercorns; grilled Iberico pork chop with cider-braised onions and mustard sauce; and pig’s head croquettes with smoked paprika.
Front of house will be led by Elle Mackay, the former general manager of Ralston’s Aizle restaurant, which is set to close later this month.
Group head sommelier Stuart Skea will be overseeing the wine programme, which will have an emphasis on wines from the Old World as well as ‘some special bottles from further afield’.
The interiors will be led by Ross McNally of Scarinish Studio, with the aim of creating a hospitable space with a soft and inviting atmosphere.
Conceived as a late-night counterpoint to Vinette, Vivien will embody the rebellious and inquisitive spirit of its namesake, a renowned writer in Paris during the Belle Époque era.
The bar programme will be headed up by Rebekah George, a well-known figure within the Edinburgh bar scene.
Cocktails including The Strawberry Thief and Violet Subterfuge will be served alongside a selection of bar snacks including potato mille-feuille with beurre blanc and Ortiz anchovies with lemon butter.
Vinette and Vivien will join Ralston’s Michelin-starred flagship Lyla and the Michelin Bib Gourmand-holding Noto and Tipo.
“After closing Aizle, it felt important to mark a new chapter,” says Ralston. “Vinette and Vivien are about creating spaces that feel warm, social, and a little indulgent. I’m especially proud that I’m opening them with people who’ve been on this journey with me - Jade, who has been integral for more than a decade, and my brothers Scott and Calum, who are stepping into leadership roles.
“This feels like the group’s natural next project, but with the same commitment to quality we’ve always had. I will be doubling down on my efforts with Lyla and hope to improve tenfold but this allows people around us to continue to grow which is very important to me.”
Ralston’s restaurant operation now trades as the Aizle Hospitality Group.
Chef Scott Smith closed Fhior earlier this summer after nearly seven years of trading.
The restaurant attracted widespread praise from national critics, including Marina O’Loughlin and the late AA Gill and has been featured in Restaurant magazine’s list of the UK’s top 100 places to eat.