Such a cute place. And the view of the castle from here was amazing…read more Super helpful staff! I am a member of a flight crew and as I was eating dinner I was asked to get catering for a flight literally the next morning. I asked the manager if he could make me some take away (to-go) steaks cooked rare to be cooked further on the plane. (I'm a private flight attendant and we cook and plate everything onboard). He went out of his way to make sure I recieved all the items cooked perfectly. Passengers left raving about the food!!! And these are passengers that definitely eat the best steaks. The manager even talked me through a playing game plan and I ran my thoughts of the dishes with him and wow, perfect outcome. I personally got the coley fish dish and started with some cheese. I am a big bleu cheese/stilton girl and it was all amazing. Everything was so good I used the bread from my cheese to mop up every ounce of juice left from coley plate. Great service, great views, and incredible food. All local and ever changing menu to fit what's in market. You'll see handwritten additions to each menu like the cheese and fish. The steaks were the 35 day dry hung flat iron steaks.

Three of us stumbled upon The Outsider while out looking for a place for dinner. It was so good we…read morewent back with 2 more friends a few nights later. Nice pleasant room with good size tables and very helpful, friendly courteous wait persons. Very good steaks, and fish, and affogato for dessert. Go to read the creative food descriptions on the menu!

Really amazing local English classic pub where you can get quality pub food…read more It has an upper dining area where you will have a good space to sit down. All drinks served with Crystal glassware which is just classy. Service is good but it was a one man band maybe due to the holiday. At the end we can't find the server to pay. If you haven't tried Haggis, Neeps & Tatties, They are very yum here!!

What a fabulous find! Visiting Scotland from California. The tour bus left us off near here and I…read morejust happened into this place. Really very lively and just a lot of fun. And the food was really really good. Tons of choices for libations. Ate in the bar. Was served by Calum and he was so kind to accommodate me (I'm a person with a disability). Met a group of lively women as that is the atmosphere of this place. Truly memorable...

Truly a memorable experience. We attended as a party or 4 (including one 11 year old proto-foodie)…read moreand each of us had a delightful time, and took away from the evening our own favorite dish of the night. Sean did a fantastic job highlighting the best of the fresh ingredients he served us, often in surprisingly formats. Highly recommend you make time in your Edinburgh schedule for The Table!

If you have an open minded approach to eating and you can actually book a seat for this place, then…read moreI highly recommend going! At £60 per person, it's not for the faint hearted. We ate a 7 course tasting menu and they DO NOT cater to dietary requirements. You CAN however book the entire place if you have 9 other like minded people who are happy to eat to your dietary restrictions. I think we ended up having 9 plates of food including a little amuse bouche at the start and petit fours at the end and also a mini pre dessert. The portions are well sized. I managed to finish every course and left full but not stuffed. Each plate is beautifully presented and they talk you through each plate before you eat it. As it's an open kitchen and there's only 10 seats, there is the chance to ask questions and speak to the chefs which I really liked. There were some interesting things like freeze dried powdered foie gras which my palate was a bit confused by, but as a whole dish, it did come together if at first I wasn't quite sure. This is not a place for the non food adventurous! I love that they're making fine dining casual, there was great banter between courses and throughout the evening. Other reviews have deemed it worthy of two Michelin stars, I've personally never eaten at a '2 star' establishment so I can't comment about that, but the food was definitely as good if not better than some of the '1 star' establishments that I've eaten at in town. It's also BYOB with no corkage fee, so you can spend as much or as little as you like on booze. They do have soft drinks/tea/coffee/sparkling water for sale as well but serve tap water as standard. This place definitely is not for everyone. But if you're a foodie and have the budget, try and get booked ASAP! (I've been debating between 4 and 5 stars as the food was excellent, and I totally understand with only two people cooking, it's very difficult to cater to dietary requirements & especially for coeliacs they can't guarantee no contamination but it seems unfair that so many people can't enjoy their food!)

If you don't give this place five stars we did not eat at the same place. Incredible meal all…read morearound - I got the scallop appetizer, a glass of wine, the rolls with butter, the cod and panna cotta for dessert. Everything was absolutely perfect! But that wasn't the best part of the experience... it was the SERVICE! Paul was incredible from the moment I emailed asking for a reservation. I dined alone and he was so hospitable and friendly I felt like I was eating at a friends house, the ambiance was incredible and I just was so so happy when I left here. I will be back and absolutely recommend!

Adorable restaurant! I just think the interior is beautiful and have printed photos of their…read morewindows, because I'm in love! But because this is a restaurant, I will also comment on the food which is also stellar. My husband and I just came for a midday snack of foie grad with the best! Delicious and decadent! Cute and delicious! Highly recommend

My family and I celebrated Christmas Eve dining at the Bon Vivant. Pre-fixed special menu was…read moreamazing! Service top notch and nice ambiance (pub). You will have a nice time!

Ambiance - 10 stars. The vibe is dark, candle lit and cozy. Great spot for a date night and…read moreintimate chat over drinks. Some tables have curtains for extra privacy. Most of the food wasn't that great. But the truffle fries were to die for. The whipped sweet potato, grilled octopus, tortellini were not good. I would go back just for drinks and fries.

I read about this restaurant in a local foodies journal and had to try it! I had a great experience…read morehere: I booked a 6:30 reservation for 3, but we showed up early around 5:40 just to check the place out. We were unaware that they didn't open till 6, but the staff was so friendly and brought us over anyways and let us order our food and drinks early. I ordered the pumpkin gnocchi for dinner and the chocolate ganache for dessert. Both were incredible! I would definitely go back!

This place just takes itself a little too seriously…read more I like nice décor and surroundings just as much as anyone else when I go to a restaurant, but I really don't need to read about who designed it/what fabric they used for it/where this particular cushion was imported from in the menu. By definition, when I open the menu it's because I'm hungry and I want to eat. After all their obsessive descriptions about every aspect of every single item that was within a mile radius of the restaurant, I couldn't help but suspect that they were doing it to dazzle you so much that you wouldn't notice if the food was mediocre. And it turned out I was right. I have no doubt that the ingredients were all grown especially for them and probably flown in on a private jet or something equally ridiculous, but there are so many other great food places along George IV bridge that I did feel a bit ripped off. Being part of the Hotel Missoni, people will always eat here. Mainly because of it's reputation and because it's the kind of place that you can name-drop. But unfortunately the quality and style of Missoni clothes doesn't transfer to their hotel restaurants.

A friend and I went to The Kitchin in Scotland while we were there, because I always like to try…read morefinding a James Beard/Michelin restaurant when I travel, whenever possible. The Kitchin is located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, and is sort of in a strip of businesses, so we had a little trouble finding it, but when we did - oh my gosh, it was resplendent. The interior was very upscale, with a color palette of greys, whites, lilac, pewter, and lots of wood features. We started with our drinks while we perused the menu. I had the Paolozzi Lager (a Scottish beer) and it was so refreshing and flavorful. Later on, I had another Scottish brew; the Stewart Brewing Edinburgh Black. It was a dark beer but was so smooth and easy to drink, surprisingly. I definitely recommend either of these, if you're looking for a beer at The Kitchin. I love trying beers from the places I visit and not just getting Guinness or something like that everywhere. Once we were ready to order, our server was fantastic, checking on us just enough and explaining every different thing we ordered so we really got the experience of each dish. And even cooler, the menu came with a map of where each and every ingredient (down to the pottery and honey!) is sourced from within Scotland! So you can be sure that everything you are eating is very locally sourced. After our first drink, our server brought out an amuse bouche, to get our palettes ready for the feast. It was a tuna tartare with a horseradishy cream and little microgreens. We had the bread and butter next. It was warm and toasty, and the butter was spiced and paired perfectly with the loaves. Next our server delivered another amuse bouche, maybe to refresh our palettes after the bread and butter and drinks. It was a slice of tomato in a citrusy liquid that really did open up your palette! My friend and I chose the pre-fixe lunch menu (appetizer, entree, dessert), and it was a great way to experience a Michelin rated restaurant without spending an arm and a leg (or spending the rest of what you would have paid on extras, like more drinks). I chose the Lobster for my first course/starter and it was DECADENT, with large lumps of lobster atop a bisque, and a nice helping of gnocchi, which I'm a huge fan of - so this blew the doors off the experience from the get-go. My friend ordered the Duck starter, which came out so colorful! The duck ravioli was a green pasta, and there was a yellow corn velouté underneath it and little corn kernels on top. She gave me a bite, and even though I'm not a huge fan of duck usually, this was so tender and tasty! I chose the Pork for my entree and it came as little filets of pork belly with a velvety mushroom jus on the side that gave it a nice smooth counterbalance to the crispy pork. SO good. My travel companion got the Sea Bass for her entree and added calamari/squid on top. She liked her choice, as she is a calamari girl, usually. I tasted her sea bass and it was delightful. I love those types of fish; salmon, sea bass, etc. We were getting pretty full at this point but we definitely saved room for dessert, which is good because that's what came out next: I chose the Lemon Soufflé because I LOVE lemon, and this was so scrumptiously delicious. It came in a large mug style pottery ramekin, all warm and toasty, with a little mound of ice cream on the side to pair it with. I am still dreaming about this. I see they have a few different flavors of this soufflé style of dessert, and I would say if you see it on the daily menu - get it! My friend got the Pear dessert which was so interesting. It was a poached pear in caramel, with a vanilla ice cream on the side. It was tasty on top of luxurious, on top of indulgent. From start to finish, our experience at The Kitchin was fabulous. The service was fantastic, the ambiance was definitely upscale yet welcoming, and of course the food was heavenly. It's no wonder they have held their Michelin star for 19 years! If you'll be in the Leith area (or anywhere in Edinburgh), definitely make a stop (or a special trip) to visit The Kitchin! I can promise you will NOT be disappointed.

Amazing experience!…read more Definitely deserving of their Michelin star. The service was impeccable from star to end. Very attentive servers and sommelier. The wine pairing was perfect and the food was delicious. A great way to celebrate our anniversary.

We had a group of 9 and were able to reserve a private room which was great for conversations we…read morecould all hear. We had what seemed like two full time servers always on the spot to take our drink and food orders. The food itself was excellent, where everyone was happy with their orders. The duck and venison dishes seemed especially good. We highly recommend Blonde!

The perfect neighbourhood bistro. We walked in without a reservation on a Sunday night but I know…read moresome nights it can get quite full. We ordered the venison bourguignonne and confit duck. They were both delicious and very filling. The ambiance of Blonde is really what makes it stand out. It's everything you want in a neighbourhood bistro: small and extremely considerate staff, warm cozy interior, casual environment.

Had a nice dinner tonight at Monteith's and it was magical walking in from the busy street through…read morean archway and passage with twinkling lights. Food was terrific and am only downgrading to 4 stars because of the slow (but very friendly) service and how loud it got by the time we left. Our dinner reservation was at 7pm and we didn't get served any food (all four dishes came out at the same time) until an hour later at 8pm. We also never got the sourdough bread we ordered but maybe server couldn't hear us? Also by 7:30 we were finally asked about our drink orders - my husband ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, they came back and said they were out and how about a Syrah? Then they came back and said they were also out of Syrah and offered a mysterious red in its place. Curious how a wine bar runs out of wine by 7:30pm! I also timed getting the check to 20 minutes from asking for it to signing the check. We were not in a hurry at all so it was fine but did want others to know this. Now onto the delicious food: - venison with blackberry sauce - 5/5 and it made us wonder when the server said it was "wild caught venison" as we were unfamiliar with this term thinking "aren't all deer wild caught" but now we know better. The venison was perfectly prepared and very tender - sea trout with samphire (learned this is a sea vegetable) , pink grapefruit and fingerling potatoes in a light butter sauce - 5/5 really outstanding filet with delicate flavors balanced by the slight saltiness of the samphire, yum! - radicchio salad with pink grapefruit and pickled fennel - 4/5 only because my husband picked this salad and I don't prefer radicchio or fennel - but the gem salad was super anchovy forward (grateful the server told me this) and I don't prefer anchovies either - foraged mushroom side - 5*/5 what a lovely dish! A large variety of mushrooms with a very light tarragon cream sauce - wouldn't even call it cream sauce because it was so light - chocolate miso caramel dessert with vanilla bean ice cream - 4/5 mostly because the dessert was more like a thick layer of fudge on a thick layer of caramel - which were too dense and too much caramel for my taste, I did however very much enjoy the thin cookie that came with it! Overall a lovely leisurely dinner at Monteith's

Wandered into Monteiths in search of libation and oysters and was immediately treated to an…read moreelevated offering of both; but it was the kindness of the bartender and his suggestions on what to do that night that really made our visit special. First of all, I had the best nonalcoholic mojito I've ever had in my life. Then I had some ridiculously dressed oysters--horseradish cream and caviar and dill oil. Was the lily guilded? Maybe but still so tasty. Upon recommendation from the bartender, we ended our night at a club set in an old church and enjoyed so much great music; the Chicano band were my favorite. I would come back definitely the next time I'm in town.

Run, don't walk to Lovage before it gets discovered…read more We didn't have a reservation anywhere and went at the suggestion of our concierge. It is block from North Bridge and 1/2 block off the Royal Mile. Quiet, modern decor. A very intimate space. Every dish we had was excellent. Service was spot on.

Understated service, friendly but not cloying. Adequate wine list. Small choice of gins, more…read morewhiskeys. Chic look and chic crowd. Nice departure from Scottish pubs and whiskey joints. Bread comes with pesto/lovage/mint butter. Delightful Gaspacho arrives as an empty bowl except for a spoonful of ricotta, a cherry tomato, and a sliver of fennel. The waiter adds a thin broth on it, then you have to stir the ricotta in. The duck breast, though the waitress didn't ask is a perfect medium rare, unsliced, but accompanied with an adequate steak knife. Spring roll, filled with cabbage and nuts is a fine addition as are the blackberries and carrot purée. Paired with the Mourvèdre/Syrah from S. Africa was a great idea. The sea bass is amazingly good - every bite. The tiny potato beignets are a nice touch. Scallops with chorizo arrived without chorizo. Waitress says they are wee bits. We couldn't finish the sea bass and sadly left no room for dessert.