We are American tourists in Dundee looking for a quiet lunch and found this treasure of an Italian…read morerestaurant. The service has been welcoming and prompt. The food exceeded our expectations. We both had the lunch special which was only priced £13. For that very low price we had large and fancy starters like my smoked salmon and shrimp on fresh Spring greens. The portion was large and fresh. My lunch was a pork medallion prepared with Marsala and cheese. It was done perfectly. The lunch included several choices of desert. I would recommend this to anyone in Dundee and I will be here again on my next trip in town.

Had dinner here last Saturday and found it to be an enjoyable experience…read more Portion sizes were good (the ham wrapped asparagus being large enough to mean I couldn't do full justice to my Pollo Bellini main course). Likewise my partner struggled to finish her chicken and ravioli after her bread, olives & oil starter. All the staff who dealt with us were efficient & attentive and particularly good at anticipating our youngest diner's needs. The Montepulciano we chose was good and the overall cost for the three of us was very keen. A pleasing discovery indeed.

OK, we're all geeks here, right? Right. We've all seen Guardians of the Galaxy?…read more The scene in the prison where all hell breaks loose, and Rocket and Groot are fighting bad guys, and the bad guys are all like "PEW! PEW! PEW!" and Rocket doesn't have a gun, and then Drax arrives and is like "BAM! BAM! BAM!" and kicks people and throws Rocket a gun, and Rocket says "Oh.... yeah!" in an almost religious way? That "Oh... yeah!" was how I felt when I took my first bite out of a Jack's burrito for the first time in a long time this evening. I donated to the Jackstarter to help Illegal Jack's return from the dead, so I popped in today for the first time since the reopening to see how things had gone (and pick up my swag bag, priorities, people!) and I didn't plan to stay and eat due to lack of time... Then I saw a couple of burritos being built in front of me. And I smelled the pulled pork... and I caved, people. I folded quicker than a paper tent in a hurricane. I watched the staff look after the woman ordering two burritos to takeaway, wrapping the first one and leaving it where steam and heat would stop it going cold while the second was assembled. I love attention to detail like that. Also, using the lid of whatever filling you choose to catch any spillage so the fillings aren't cross contaminated. Little things make a difference, people. It came to be my turn. I opted for carnitas (that's what the pulled pork smell wafted out of) with a mild salsa, sour cream, pinto beans, seasoned rice and cheese. I watched in awe as the burrito was rolled. I really need to learn how to do this myself some day, I took my cup, filled it up with Coke and sat down. One bite later, I was back in Tex-Mex heaven. I'd missed Jack's, I really had. Other places may have more branches, but quantity isn't quality. Jack's is quality. The new premises are still a work in progress as Mr. Jack (nice bloke!) explained to me, but are still clean, bright, comfortable and welcoming, and even the music being played ticked all the boxes for me. Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd? Perfect Tex-Mex music. Honestly, I can't fault it. I will be back, I will eat too much every time I go, and I wil swear that I'll never do it again. But it's a lie. It's all a pretty little lie... Oh, and if you're in over the next week or so? Ask about the cranberry salsa - it's astonishing! Welcome back, Jack. You were missed..

BURRITOS! WHO DOESN'T LOVE EM??…read more Last night after a long and rainy day at work I coerced two coworkers of mine to join me for a bite out. My bus routes being what they are, I'd not only seen the remnants of the old Illegal Jack's on Lothian Road (though never got to try it), but now had spotted the new location along St. Patrick's Square nestled in the corner. Because we were looking for a budget meal that we could still sit down to, we decided to give Illegal Jack's a go. The first thing that became apparent to us is that Illegal Jack's has actually employed friendly staff. Wha... what? Where even am I? Walking in the door to being greeted with smiles and genuine friendliness is such a novelty when so many places give you the ambivalent "I'm being nice because I have to" luke-warm treatment at best, or downright snubbing at worst. And yet when we walked into Illegal Jack's the two gals at the counter of wonder were chatty and all smiles, and we had a short conversation about how good the music they were playing was. (Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack anyone?) Next comes prices. I got a small veggie haggis burrito (score!) that was somewhere around 6 pounds. Normally I'd be greedy and add chips or sides, but even this burrito being small, it's actually massive (I was impressed the gal at the till managed to perfectly roll it, and even smush it all around so the proportions were evenly mixed--MY HERO). So I topped it off with a nice wheat ale from Stewart's and left with my bill around 11 pounds. Not bad at all for a solid beer and a solid burrito. Next came seating. Illegal Jack's isn't quite up to restaurant standards of atmosphere for obvious reasons, but the seats feel a lot cozier and less standardized than your typical Pinto's or burger chain. We sat down next to a gentleman mysterious staff member who was doing some laptop work--he very nicely jumped to shift some of his things to the side for us so we could sit. Again, as I was remarking loudly that the music was lovely he thanked me for noticing as he must've been the man in charge of the playlist (come on, Grateful Dead was playing, my hippie heart rejoiced!). But enough about my music tastes. How was the burrito, you may ask? Delicious, of course! That was a really damn solid burrito. My coworker even did a happy dance (twice) whilst she ate it, which I think is a good sign for any burrito. Even more than that, when the gentleman staff sitting next to us noticed my bottle of Louisiana hot sauce on the table he disappeared into the back and plopped down a bottle of Scotch Bonnet + Mango hot sauce from his personal supply in the back for us to try. Damned if it wasn't delicious, but whoo it had some great heat! Overall I left this place feeling 1) chuffed as all get out 2) with super duper happy tummies 3) pleased at how NICE everyone was and 4) STOKED that I have found an amazing burrito place that I can easily get to (lamenting the fact that Los Cardos is all the way on the other end of town in Leith!). So if you're fancyin' a fairly-priced burrito in a joint that feels just a little bit closer to home, give Illegal Jack's a scope. I know for certain I'll be back!

I visited this restaurant at the end of October, and it failed on nearly every level - food…read moreextremely poor, staff evasive, level of service really bad. Ambiance - the music was good. Entered early evening as we had a toddler in our group, possibly about 6 tables with guests. The person who greeted us, went to get the table ready, then left all the cleaning products on the next table, and did not set the table. Food was ordered, and it didn't come out all at one time, it was staggered. One person ordered a toasted pulled beef sandwich - it was charcoaled, the bread was so burnt it was black. We returned this and it took an age for the replacement to come. During this time we wondered why the toddler was not eating the burger, on closer inspection it was also charcoaled. When the meals were served there was no cutlery on the table, we did ask for some and were told oh yes will get some for you, alas another fail as no cutlery materialised. When the server came back I told her I was taking the cutlery from the table behind. We entered the restaurant at 5:45pm and just prior to 7pm the replacement burnt sandwich was served. Disappointing on so many levels, one to avoid.

Food was great last time i was in Edinburgh, great atmosphere too, would have recommended it to…read moreeveryone

Came here on our first night in town on the strength of the Yelp reviews and were not disappointed…read more We enjoyed a fantastic Sunday roast including a delicious pavlova for dessert. The kids meal of mac and cheese and fries was perfect for our picky little eater, though big enough for at least two!

Out of all the places I've been to in Scotland, I think Queens Arms was one of my favorites…read more We had reservations for this place recently and when I took one step inside, I was already in love. I mean who doesn't love a good pub? You get great drinks and great food at an affordable price. As I write it makes me think of think of when Zidane reunites with Freya in FF9. Sometimes we don't wanna eat at fancy Michelin restaurant that has small plates but charges a premium. Sometimes we just wanna cut all the BS and just get a nice hearty meal. And thats what we got. When we sat down we found out that they were doing a Trivia night. Normally I would have told my girl to pick another spot to eat but for some reason I was cool with it. There was even a table nearby with kids(yuck). And you know what? It was fine. That's because we had been sipping on some amazing cocktails. If you also partake, Gin and Mezcal enjoyers will love the Bramble and Hibiscus Crush. What color are Luigi's overalls from Super Mario? That's such an easy question. Wait...what do you mean Luigi's overalls are blue? They are green. Look at this picture onli...Oh... One of the stars of our meal was the Haggis. This was the first time I had ever tried it and after trying it at multiple places Scotland, Queens Arms I feel has done it the best. I love the complexity of the flavors of the meat with the creamy and pepper flavors of the peppercorn sauce. If you've never had Haggis, you definitely have to try it here. The best part is that it comes with mashed potatoes too! Shoutouts to the Fish and Chips if you are also into that. One of my friends ordered that and I definitely had to go back in for multiple bites. Finally the roast. The Sunday Roast should just be an automatic order if you happen to come here on a Sunday. You get so much food and it's all so damn tasty. They'll cook a roast to whatever doneness your heart desires. We went with Medium Rare and it came out perfectly. If you didn't have enough flavors with all the extra sides it comes with, they also give you gravy to pour on anything you want. Thanksgiving basically came early this night. But as I looked around and admired all the bookshelf's and all the families have a nice dinner with their loved ones, I just thought about how happy I was. I was finally here! This was the start of my trip. Queens Arms has set a high ceiling on great experiences in Scotland. We even went back there a couple of days ago just because we knew we would be able to end the night on a good drink. But in the end I think if you are Edinburgh, you have to come to this place. It is one of my favorite experiences I've had in Scotland so far and I dream about when I can come back again.

A couple of our traveling companions tried the Ivy in Dublin. The Edinburgh location was close to…read moreour hotel. Service from hostess to chef was excellent. I have to say that at least every restaurant we ate in the first question from servers are there any allergies? Every restaurant was super accommodating with an unusual allergy. Food was excellent and the drinks were on point. Great experience and highly recommend The Ivy.

I was so incredibly disappointed with our lunch/ early dinner on Sunday 28th June. The food was…read moremediocre.. some dishes quite tasteless. I asked for a dish without chilli which the waitress said was possible to do. It was so hot I couldn't eat it. I chose shepherds pie which quite frankly I can make a tastier version myself . The others good was either too hot and dried up. The wine which was half price had to be corrected on the bill( they tried to get away with full price!) Nice surroundings and very good service but crazy prices for rubbish food ! Won't be going back there again!

There comes a time when all pubs start to look like each other, and for this reason the interior of…read morethe Antiquary doesn''t differ too much from the norm; it's dungeony, (but at least it's got the excuse of being in the basement floor!) is decked out in dark polished wood and has quite friendly staff. Take into account that the general Edinburgh pub standard is pretty high, and you've got a pretty good quality place. Location wise, it's a little bit off the beaten track, particularly for tourists, as it's in Stockbridge, so I won't be making it back there anytime soon! However, they do some good food, particularly breakfast if you'd rather eat than drink, and have some open mic nights, with folk music being the general theme.

I only discovered this pub a couple of days ago, after going to St Stephen's to see a show. It's a…read morelittle basement pub tucked away on a street just off Stockbridge. I like it because it's got a wee outside area with parasols, has Lia Fail and Addlestone's Cider on tap and just seems to have quite a lot of attitude. There's also this hilarious barrel behind the bar with a huge sign on it that reads "ABSINTHE! 3.75 a shot. Only two shots per person per night." Which makes me laugh, though I might be the only one who gets a kick out of that. A pint of ale will cost you around 3 pounds and same goes for the cider, so it's not too pricey, though I've definitely been to cheaper places. I was pretty happy to discover this pub and I might even go so far as to say it's a bit of a gem.

We made reservations for our rather large group of 12. They were very accommodating but required a…read more£10 per person deposit. The deposit was applied to the bill. Being from Texas, we tried the nachos for kicks. Like, what do they call "nachos"? They weren't awful, but the cheese was melted on with little flavor. My husband and I shared the ribs and wings which came with a side of chips. Very good and very messy! We had beer and margaritas. The margaritas are small (I didn't get a picture), and not very strong in my opinion but tasty. The staff was awesome and very tolerant of our thirsty, hungry group. I would go again if I had the opportunity as it's a fun atmosphere with rock n roll memorabilia on the walls and good music. I would like to try other menu options. One thing to note, they do not serve food outside--only drinks. Reservations are probably your best bet.

Awesomeeeee saucy and great! Fast service. Ambient. Cooooooooooooolllllllliooooooooo this is awesomeread more

We had a large group and this because our gathering spot. The atmosphere was good and the food was…read moreexcellent. Not to mention that the beer was on point. The servers took great care of you as well. I would return every week if I lived there.

One of my favorite beer bars in Edinburgh. Great beer selection, killer service, tasty bar food and…read morea cool space. Very laid back but hip vibe. I'll always stop by the Hanging Bat when I'm in town.

*This is actually a review for the Perth store*…read more So we decided to have one last meal before the weekend ends so we decide to drive through Callendar and head to Perth's Frankie & Benny's. We get seated almost straight away by the assertive hostess next to the kitchen (my favourite spot) We decide to have the usual - burgers. I chose the bacon cheeseburger and my partner chose the construct my own cheeseburger (sometimes it's like dining with a 5 year old). It took all of five minutes for it to come out and be served to us and it was delicious! I even enjoyed the relish which was mixed with a sweet BBQ sauce and the fries were cooked perfectly. My partner ordered the cheeseburger with the salad on the side, along with chips and relish. The chips were piping-hot - an apparent rarity in most restaurants nowadays (why is it so difficult to ensure food reaches the table at a satisfactory temperature??) where the standard offering is lukewarm coffee served with a portion of yesterday's nachos. These chips had a slight crunch then a perfectly fluffy filling - excellent! The salad was fresh and tasted fantastic with the relish - I'm not even sure what was in the relish but I wanted more. Lastly the burger; something I've failed to be impressed with at F&B's previously! The burger was cooked to perfection, the cheese melted into the meat - the flavour of which seemed to be intensified by the relish. Almost cleared my plate if it wasn't for that pesky bun! We then decided to have a sweet and deliberated over the four different types of waffles: chocolate and honeycomb, mint, banoffee or cinnamon... but then we were faced with another impossible choice... what about the cheesecakes??! My kryptonite! There was: vanilla, salt and caramel or peanut butter cheesecake. So we decided that one of us would choose a waffle and the other a cheesecake and we'd share (I'm nice like that). Now for the hilarious part. I asked the hostess if I could charge my iPhone somewhere as I had a hundred mile journey and was at 16% left! She agreed to charge it at a counter for me. Just before we ordered our dessert I went to "check on my phone", but really I was making our amazing waiter Jordan (shoutout!) aware that it was my boyfriend's birthday and he said "say no more". Suddenly the lights went out for a third time to celebrate someone's birthday and my partner says "oh who's next? That's the third time!" Unbeknownst to him it was for him! His face was 'not-amused face emoji'! But I was 'crying with laughter-faced emoji! We chose the mint waffles which comprised of a cinnamon waffle with two scoops of mint ice cream and the peanut butter cheesecake with peanut butter ice cream - amazing! Lastly, I ordered a coffee and being the coffee fiend that I am, really enjoyed it, I've no idea what blend it was but it tasted different to anything I've had in any local Frankie & Benny's. Jordan was so nice when getting our bill that he took my partner's meal off of the bill as a birthday treat! Fantastic service and well-worth a visit the next time you're passing! A really good end to a perfect week.

Upon walking in the store, it was classy looking and decorated place, however, there was trash on…read morethe ground and trays stacked around the reception desk. --- easy fix, minus a star. :( We were greeted fairly quickly with the restaurant only being half filled. The waitress was friendly and very understanding. She also brought us a large pitcher of water without even asking us if we wanted it - awesome! I ordered a Club Triple Decker and my wife ordered a Chicken Pitta with Louisiana Hot sauce. Good arrived promptly, hot, and platted well on white plates. Pricing felt a little steep, but the amount of food that came out put my mind at ease. We both enjoyed our food immensely, including the fries. My club had a chicken breast which was a nice surprise. My only complaint was that the bread was slightly dry - so my mouth feels scratches at the moment, but it was still a good sandwich.

Love this place have eaten here more than a dozen times in the last year. Its BYOB…read more If your an American longing for a taste of home you have to have the burger it is as good as it gets. Personally my normal order is Mussels (amazingly fresh, im told they delivered for each service fresh from the Shetlands), Steak (great sirloin) with garlic butter, its served with chips and salad and unless I miss lunch i struggle to finish. For desert theres three sugar rich options of dime bar cake, pecan pie or chococlate fudge. Im a chocolate fan so my decision is easy :) Try it its worth it :)

Whoa. What a place. I honestly didn't think Edinburgh was cool enough to have places like this…read moretucked away down back-alleys. You just keep surprising me, Edinburgh. I was desperate to try this New York Steam Packet for months, mostly because I pawed my way through the photo album of the elite event hosted here back in 2011 and I was jealous of how good the night looked. Thems burgers! Theys tater skins! That staircase! I've been a few times now. I say again, what a place! The first few times I was just blown away by the food, the price and the atmosphere, but now I know New York Steam Packet's glorious hidden secret: they have a Mariokart Nintendo 64 hooked up to a projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Yep, this now my FAVOURITE restaurant in the entire United Kingdom. The staff were SO nice they let me win every race in the Mushroom Cup. The food was SO good I didn't even gloat too hard when I won every race in the Mushroom Cup.