Amazing experience. We were a group of 9 people, and…read moreeverywhere we went they told us they were fully booked. We were already a bit discouraged, but on our way back to the hotel we found this place right on the corner and it turned out to be a great decision. From the moment we arrived, the young ladies who welcomed us at the entrance and our server throughout the night were truly professional attentive, well-organized, and genuinely warm. We ordered several main courses, all of them beautifully prepared. The beef tartare, served with bread, was outstanding and can be perfectly paired with the truffled cream for an excellent combination(took the truffled from the Milanese . The sirloin steak was cooked to perfection, and the Truffled Chicken Milanese stood out as a remarkable dish, offering a delicious and well-balanced flavor profile.

Beautifully decorated. The staff was friendly. The Celebratory Croissant was as delicious as it was…read morepretty.

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!

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.

Great place to hang out and enjoy some tasty late-night bites. We've enjoyed several lavash wraps…read moreincluding the chicken, cheese, and Jalapeno with Cajun chicken, cheddar cheese with sliced jalapenos and baby gem lettuce, Southern fried chicken with Maxi's hot sauce, peppers, onions and baby gem lettuce and finally the Halloumi Reuben with baby gem lettuce, crispy O's, pickles, mustard and tomato sauce. The wraps are well constructed and bites of flavor. The fajitas are also well executed and thoughtfully presented. The menu is a bit out there, but accessible to the open-minded.

I can only review as a bar as I ain't eaten here…read more.. As a bar it is decent, seems a bit rough about the edges in a dive bar type of way, but the clientele usually are ok and the atmosphere always seems pleasant enough. It's got a lot going on, In that there is a club down stairs, food is served upstairs and there is also a lot of focus on it just being a pub. I've been a good few times and it's usually mobbed. I think that's partly because there ain't any other decent pubs on queen street (that I can think of) and it means everyone heads here. In other areas it might not be my first destination, but where it is it ranks quite highly amongst the places I would stop for a pint if passing. Sometimes it even has some unusual bottles of craft beer hidden in the fridges which is always a good thing. Could be a three on anther street, but a better option on queen street, so I will go with a positive 4 stars.

I was here on an ITISON voucher for 2 burgers for £10…read more The first problem I encountered was trying to call to book a table. I was on hold on an automated service at queue position 3,2,1 etc for 17 minutes before I gave up and booked online for the following day ( you can't book online for the same day. The email I received advised that they had received my booking request and would be in touch by email or phone to confirm the booking, no confirmation was received, I rocked up the following day and explained and about this and they found us a seat downstairs which is ok but not as nice as upstairs. The girl who seated us said that they had been ignoring the phone which had been ringing off the hook to serve customers. So me holding on the phone for 17 minutes was a total waste of time and money (premium number) as they weren't even answering their phone! The voucher advised a veggie option was available and I was discussing this with the waiting staff. I asked how the chips were cooked and they advised that they were cooked all in with the meat and chicken etc so I advised that as a vegetarian I couldn't eat those and agreed on a side salad with my falafel burger which I thought was fine, until it arrived and was breadcrumbed and deep fried! I asked the waiting staff if this was then cooked in with the meat too and they said yes. I was somewhat hacked off at this, given that we had just had the conversation about the chips not being suitable if they were cooked with chicken etc, the guy was apologetic and took the plate away. I went through everything on the menu to see what would be suitable and agreed on fajitas as they are on a separate grill, this was good although they didn't have any guacamole for it which is pretty basic. So I sat whilst my husband ate his burger (he's not veggie) and he was finished well before my food arrived. The 2 star rating is based on my husband saying his burger was nice. As a vegetarian I really could never come back here when they give no thought to how their food is prepared. Please pull up your socks as this place could be great.

Quirky decor, filling portions and top tunes!…read more We opted for chicken nachos to share as a starter which were a great size for two and packed with plenty of chunks of chicken. However, these could have benefitted from more sour cream/guacamole. For main, I tucked into the 'dirty dog' - hot dog topped with pulled pork, cheese and bacon. I was the first time ever I'd opted for a hot dog in a restaurant (shock horror!) and really enjoyed the dish for a change. There could have been more sauce however as it did become a little dry towards the end. I added the Cajun fries as a side which were delicious - a little added spice and very crispy! We were too full to try the desserts but the menu did look very promising and we will certainly be back. Tip - At the time (April 2016), the venue did not have its alcohol licence so was operating a BYOB policy!

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.

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.

Man this place is awesome!…read more I've been here twice for dinner. Wings are good. My coworker got the short rib and the ONLY thing wrong with is that they only gave you one. I had the wings as an appetizer and pork chops as a main course. Side selections are good too. This place is also very accommodating as both time we came without making reservations. It's a pretty cool spot too with a cool bar and nice ambiance. I'd come back...

Excellent American style meat and bourbon place. We were here for the Meat Monday, two 400g steaks…read morewith sides and cocktails for £29. Servings are generous and our server was super sweet. Definitely recommended!

So,so good. COZY with lovely staff. The food was delicious. We didn't have a reservation on…read moreEaster Sunday but they squeezed us in and we were ever so greatful. Best lunch. Everything was fresh and tasty.

We had a Sunday roast here while in Edinburgh and it was fantastic. The food was great the pub was…read morea wam and inviting atmosphere and the service didn't disappoint.

Friendly service, delicious food, relaxing atmosphere. The burger was great and the appetizers were…read moretasty. It was one o the few places open when we needed food on a holiday so we were super thankful. Would love to come back the next time we are in the area and sample other drinks. Price was also reasonable and loved how chill the place was.

Best place to find some good dark beer. Wide variety of meat/veg/vegan options available. Staff is…read morealways kind and the vibe is always fun!