Effie's was the most charming and lucky spot we found on our train layover…read more The interior was clean and filled with lovely antiques. The atmosphere was incredible and all staff was wonderful, efficient and friendly. We highly recommend this business.

What a wonderful meal we had. George who is the owner is just terrific. The food was very good. Be…read moresure and try to Cullen Skink soup and the best carrot cake. Thank you George and staff .

*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.

A rest stop with many attractions in one place. They have gas, EV charging, food, a market,…read morerestaurant, giftshop, playground, and a short walking trail. The most important reason we stopped here is we read they had Highland Cows you could feed. Locally they are nicknamed "coos". Highland Cattle are a unique breed with long hair and long horns. You will see them all over the Highlands and when we came 10 years ago I remember we saw some at a farm. I think feed is 2 pounds, they will eat aggressively and your hands and palms will be wet from cow slobber! The premade food didn't look great but we were here around 5 and we knew they kids wouldn't make it all the way back to Edinburgh from here without some kind of snack. We spent way too much time debating options and seeing what they had and ended up with the the hotdog. Had a bite, nothing stood out as good or bad and it was perfect for what we were looking for.

We visited here in September 2020 when on holiday and was very impressed by the friendly and very…read moreefficient staff. We had coffee and scones which were very good. We also visited a few days later for lunch and again was excellent. On that occasion, with Covid uppermost in people's minds we were very satisfied with their Covid protocols, with a good system in place for cleaning everything thoroughly between customers. In September 2022 we were again on holiday and had lunch there. We are still very impressed with the whole set up, service and food still excellent. intend to visit again in a couple of days. The whole team have got it all so right. well done to them all.

Super tasty! On my…read morevisit, we ordered many things from the menu, the Sunday roast dinner, pork bites in maple syrup, and pudding. Everything was great. We also shared a giant endless pot of tea. This place is really a special place, the day's menu is full of charm, and the service is excellent. When I was there, the dining area was quiet with plenty of available seating, definitely not a cramped place! I hope to return sometime, it was a great experience, food and all. I liked it so much I picked up a couple of their shirts to keep the memory.

This was a higher rated local pub we tried and about a 12 minute walk from our Hilton. It was…read moreearly at 5:00pm and not busy. 3 of the 4 of us ordered the fish and chips (17.95 GBP) just to try another joint. The wife ordered their "Fisherman" which is pan seared Scottish coley or pollock (for 27 GBP). The battered fish with the chips was more delicately done here and delicious. As an aside I tried several times to find a place here in Glasgow or in Edinburgh that did a "special" fish and chips, that is breaded with crumbs and not battered, but apparently no one does that healthier old school preparation anymore (and I need to inform my old work colleague who hailed from Glasgow and gave me this inside tip that it's not practiced anymore). I also had a Chieftain IPA. The side of peas were dryish and not flavorful and small portioned and not done as well and tasty as I have had in London or Perth, just saying. We also had their sticky toffee pudding with ice cream for dessert and that was good. The fries were mediocre. Server was friendly and attentive. 4 stars overall and a nice local flavor Glasgow outing.

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.

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.

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.

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 went a few days ago only to find that my bun was mouldy and the patty covered in mouldy sauce I…read morecouldn't eat it whatsoever

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!