The service was very fast and the food was high quality. We did not make reservations for a Friday night and were seated without a wait. The restaurant lived up to the review expectations. I will say for the UK the pricing for this restaurant was a little peculiar. I have never eaten at a Chinese restaurant anywhere in the world where rice is charged as a side, yet alone a separate and expensive charge per person although only one pot was delivered to the table. The up charging is reminiscent of the US along with the pandering for a tip. Location across from an American hotel chain may proliferate this practice. read more

Amazing service and incredible food! Some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. They were great with our kids too.

So sad to have to downgrade my review. After being super impressed with our visit the 1st time we returned the other week for some more gluten free goodness and I was a bit disappointed this time. The egg fried rice was just as yummy as I rememberes but my sweet and sour chicken was no longer coated in the gf crispy coating. It 2was just simply bits of plain chicken. In saying that it still tasted nice but did not remind me of authentic sweet and sour cantonese style which is what I miss being gluten free. read more

Having spotted this on a bus into town from the Edinburgh Capital Hotel the previous day I thought I must give it a go. After a day at the zoo you work up quite an appetite, it's hilly! We headed over the road to dine. As Chinese is a favourite of ours we were looking forward to this meal, after all the previous reviews are singing its praises. We walked in to a lovely ambience of gentle background music and were shown a nice table in the windows. The staff were really friendly and polite. We ordered Peking Ribs, Lemon Chicken, Fillet Steak Cantonese Style, Chinese Greens and Young Chow Fried Rice. This was easily enough food for 2 hungry people. The quality of the food was excellent and great flavours, possibly the best Lemon Chicken I've ever tasted, and there's a long list to rate against! This was washed down with a few lovely Tsing Tao beers. If I'm ever in the area again I'll be returning here! read more

See all

This is an easily found restaurant particularly if you intend to visit the Edinburgh Zoo or stay in the large Holiday Inn Hotel which are both almost directly opposite. The building was known as an hotel in the past but the exterior and interior have under gone a massive refit which means you sit in comfort with well laid out tables and AC for keeping you cool or hot etc. I tried to lunch menu which is set with the option to buy either all 3 courses or just one. The evening main menu is even better with nothing too much bother to change to your taste by the host Ms Tracy Chu. I know a lot of groups or parties are held here and the service never seems to suffer as a result. You can inform the restaurant of what party members wish to have included in their meal and any special diet taken care of. Parking is OK after 6.30 pm and most times during the day except for bus lanes in rush hours. If you go at weekends or bank holidays its best to book or call in early as it gets very busy. Well yes its my local and a very appreciated with all the changes and excellent food. I might just give it 5 stars after my next visit ! read more

Really nice restaurant. Comfortable decor and great service. Food was top notch. All 4 of us had great dishes. The starters were a meal in themselves. If you like your Chinese food then this place is well worth a visit. read more

I have been to the cool Jade three times before over the last four years for a family celebration. My wife and I decided to take my mother for a belated Christmas meal in early January 2022. We arrived at 5:30 pm at a much-changed dining room. The first thing that struck us was how extremely cold the room was, so much so that none of our party was able to remove our coats for the entire 1.5 hrs visit. The dining room looked more like a cafe than the dining room I had visited in the past ( not even linen-covered tables, just mats on a hardwood table with hard wooden seats. I paid £111 and is my custom left a tip (so spent £120), but it was not worth spending even half that amount. In my personal opinion, the Jade has slipped from excellent to mediocre. I recommend giving this a pass until they get their mojo back as there are many other very good Chinese restaurants to give your patronage to if you are spending that kind of money. Hopefully, they can get back to 5 stars in 2022. read more

after checking into the holiday inn across the street hunger struck knowing typical hotel food is usually nice but over priced we turned to the good folks of Edinburgh's yelp community for a destination. as you can tell from the previous reviews this restaurant is excellent. The meal was served up in super quick time and is by far and away the best chinese Ive had in a long time. Fresh ingredients are evident in all the meals and the taste easily reflects this. A meal for two was very reasonable priced at roughly £30. If you are visiting the Zoo or staying in the hotel this is definately the place to eat. read more

Why I took so long to cross the road from the hotel to this little gem is beyond me. The service and decor are excellent and the food is simply superb. They have real chopsticks too! Highly recommended. read more

What is it, a lime flavored beverage? A Japanese pop-rock band? A shade of wall paint by Glidden? No, Cool Jade is a Chinese restaurant in Edinburgh, the last restaurant I would review during my vacation, and the best Chinese restaurant I've ever visited there or anywhere. The range of choices, the quality of delivered dishes and the overall décor cannot be praised enough. In less than two hours we enjoyed a range of Asian dishes I'd never seen in the many Westernized Chinese restaurants I've visited in my home town (and I've been to them all). Unfortunately, without an online menu or even a website, it's difficult for me to detail the specific dishes ordered at Cool Jade, so I'll have to go on memory and photos. The décor is classy, presented as a top-notch bistro rather than a brunch-buffet location where casual eaters shovel chow mein and chop suey via forks and ladle-sized spoons into their distended stomachs... ...yeah, I admit having a tendency to offend those that support and promote westernized Chinese restaurants because I've been to China and tasted authenticity first hand. I get asked often to recommend Chinese buffets, but for me it's like requesting a favored Arby's location--they are all the same and the quality can be graded on the same scale as your next bowel movement, which in this case arrives fast and definitely furious. Cool Jade is exactly what I have been wishing for since my trip to China so many years ago (so many--okay, it was six). The initial plate was a collection of appetizers including crispy seaweed, sesame cakes, spare ribs, egg rolls, and deep fried dumplings, all resting on a warming plate. After that we were served up shredded duck with pancakes, spicy beef, and noodles. There was no real entrée for each sitter, just a collection of plates the both of us shared from, as it should be and how it actually is in many cultures across the world. The meal was fun and satisfying but it was the more authentic touches I appreciated like the plastic-wrapped towelette or the fact that the chopsticks were plastic. I hate plastic chopsticks but it's one thing I clearly remembered from China. Wooden sticks are a luxury of the west given our amount of timber. Or how about the carrot carved into the shape of a pagoda temple or the other one in the shape of a flower. Yeah, a pagoda temple, that level of detail. This attention is not often seen in Westernized Chinese. I had been teased about Cool Jade for weeks--about how good it was, superior to other restaurants like it. Having experience in this field I know why, because they don't compromise. They don't pander to the tasteless, cultureless masses. Westernized Chinese food is for people without culinary curiosity--who think that eating Chinese is them upsetting the normal order of hamburgers, steaks, and potato chips, the staple daily diet. Cool Jade is not selling to those people. This is for people who when they leave their homes and eat out, they want something special, an event worth remembering. It's what I want. It's what I got: a fantastic experience on my last day in Edinburgh. Of course, the meal still had to end with fortune cookies. Some things never change. Did I mention there was a carrot carved into the shape of a pagoda? DECOR: 9 PLATING: 10 SERVICE: 8 FOOD: 9 VALUE: 9 OVERALL: 9 out of 10 read more

See all

Pleasant atmosphere, great choice if you're staying out by the zoo and don't want to go to the hotel restaurant. At first the menu looks like it falls into the trap of having too many items, but once you focus and/or ask questions the choices aren't as complicated as other Chinese restaurants tend to be. I had Chinese curry and a side of noodles, and tried the szechuan beef with Singapore noodles as well. The curry was both something I had never had before and exactly what I was craving. Noodles cooked perfectly, much fresher tasting than they often are. Also, the curry had a decent amount of heat, though the staff seem cognizant of varying tastes and I had to reassure them that I was okay with hot food. As for the beef, it was above average in tenderness and flavour. The whole meal was extremely satisfying, and I enjoyed the staff! read more

I saw the Cool Jade as I approached the Holiday Inn and thought "why not? Hotel food is often mediocre and over priced". Well I'm glad I had that thought. The staff are really friendly and attentive, nothing seemed too much trouble. The restaurant was busy, but everyone was served and seen to very quickly. The food is delicious. I had New Zealand Mussels to start and they were the best mussels I've ever had. Cooked to perfection. My wife had the crispy duck which was delicious also. The main courses were equally as good. I had Spicy Morning King Prawns, while my wife had Beef in Black Bean Sauce. Both were excellent, we couldn't find fault with anything. If we're down in Edinburgh again we are sure to go back. I suggest you go too. read more

The food here is legit - great portions, full fresh flavors, wide variety.......so very good. We were staying at the Holiday Inn across the street in need of a good meal within walking distance and saw this place across the street - so happy we stopped here! We were seated very quickly in a comfortable little nook. Reasonably priced too - just go, you'll love it! read more

Opted to go here as we had a lovely night away in Edinburgh and wanted somewhere new. The reviews for this place sold it and it wasn't too far from our hotel. We book with 30mins notice which wasn't a problem and when we arrived it wasn't that busy but was a Sunday night. The staff are friendly and a little over attentive if you can get such a thing. As I am pregnant I had to first check that the king prawns had been frozen before being cooked and the waitress looked angry/confused why I would ask this. Even when I explained I need to know as I am pregnant and can only have them of they have been frozen first she looked as if I was trying to catch them out lol. Finally se got it and laughed about it and luckily I could have my king prawn curry which I craved :). Food was lovely, large portions and good menu. I found my starter of shredded duck with salt and chilli was bland and dry, no kick tbh and I had to dip it in some soy to get a flavor. My husband loved his salt and chilli squid and his chicken satay main. I would go back again but would opt to try new places first. read more

Friendly, nice staff, that are quick to help and great Chinese at an affordable price. I live close by and I regularly go here as its very good food. It gets a 5 star in my book. read more