Ondine is now open for Sunday lunch from 12noon. The service and food were really flawless. I was able to make a booking online the day before for four people (check), they happily accommodated two changes to that reservation as our friends kept changing their plans, the service was friendly and the food delicious. What more could one ask for? I had the mussels, which were incredibly plump and sweet and honestly not a bad deal at only £15. The fried calamari appetiser was fabulous as well... it comes with a Thai chilli/fish dipping sauce, and I seriously wanted to lick the bowel. Definitely not your usual canned Thai chilli sauce. All in all, some of the best seafood I've had in a long, long time. Highly recommended. read more

This restaurant rightly deserves its title of 'Seafood Restaurant of the Year' and The List's 2010 'Newcomer of the Year' award. This was a total lunch time treat for me, taken by a family friend it was great to be able to enjoy such great food, fantastic service and not have to pick up the bill at the end! The beautiful decor is complimented by the beautiful view of the sandstone buildings along George IV Bridge. I highly recommend you request a window seat so you can take advatage of the prime people watching location! My advice is this would be a great date place if you really want to impress, there is lots going on to talk about if there are any awkward moments. The other option specific to students is getting parents to take you when they are up for a visit and worrying that you are living on pot noodles! The menu is short and sweet with a good range of fish and seafood but they also serve steak for anyone in your party who doesn't like seafood. One of my favourite touches was the little cheesy pastry rounds of heaven that came with bread to start. We then shared the moules mariniere and smoked haddock chowder. Both of which were delicious, defintately share starters, then you get to try more and everyone's a winner! For mains we splashed out on the hot, roasted seafood platter which at £32 to for two was really very reasonable given the much higher prices you can pay for seafood elsewhere. There was lobster, langoustines, scallops, cockles, mussels and it was all delicious, the sauce was yummy so remember to keep some bread for mopping up! So, in conclusion, tasty food, gorgeous surroundings.This is a must visit restaurant. read more

Since this place served me the worst meal I've had in my entire life, I feel obligated to give them the worst review and rating I've given in my entire life. Walking in, the decor was outdated, the host was missing, and another couple tried to retrieve their own coats from the coat room after finding no one available to help them. These should have been the first warning signs. Regardless, due to the high ratings on Yelp, and the note we got saying our card would be charged if we cancelled our reservation, we decided to keep our table. If you're reading this after making a reservation at Ondine: RUN! Now! Whatever cancellation fee they may charge you is far better than the kind of food and service you'll get here! We arrived for an 8 PM reservation, and our table wasn't ready for nearly 10 minutes after, though the restaurant was almost half empty. We ordered drinks and starters, and our mains. The drinks came quickly, the starters took a while. And this is where things really went south. After our starters, we ordered a second round of drinks... and then waited... and waited some more. Finally, a little after 9 PM, we flagged down our server and asked about our main course. It finally came out, more than an hour after we had placed our initial order. The food was terrible. My boyfriend's langoustine was just ok, and was £30 for 6 pieces. I'm visiting, so I don't know if that is the standard price, but it seems expensive for just "okay." I also had a £20 risotto, and the rice was underdone and still crunchy in the center. The whole thing was pretty inedible, and the portion was small and poorly plated given the cost. What made the experience 10x worse is that the entire wait staff seemed to be ignoring us. Nobody stopped to ask how our meal was, or offer a refill of water. Honestly, most of the staff seemed to be avoiding eye contact or talking to us as they walked by. By this point, there were as many staff as diners in the restaurant, so there was no excuse for the inattentive service. Finally, once we flagged down our server and asked for the check, he asked if my meal was okay after seeing half the risotto on the plate-- I said it was good. Because what else are you supposed to say at the end of your meal, after you've already wasted over an hour and a half at the worst restaurant you've ever been to? We were ready to get out of there. I even tipped like an idiot because I'm American and do so out of habit. Our bill was over £100 before tip, and I regret every pound I spent here. I'm only spending 3 nights in this city, and I'm pretty sad that this dump took up a dinner slot on my itinerary when there are so many more amazing restaurants here. Either way, it's a story to tell, and I hope everyone reading this will be warned of the poor quality. read more

Bummer... Was good not great and I feel like I did my research. I only have 3 dinners here in Edinburgh and this one was the let down. I feel bad but honestly Ondine doesn't live up to the article I read. Service is mediocre. Friendly service but not really paying attention... I think they don't train the waiters very well. The waiters mostly looked like college students ... They made many mistakes and I wouldn't usually notice one or two.... But 30 pounds was mistakenly added to our bill by accident... They forgot to replace my fork so I had to ask for one. They kept forgetting to refill our tap water (we drank slowly I promise) ... Embarrassing to ask twice for a refill. Anyhow, there were more mistakes. I saw the young (& very well meaning) waiter spill soup on another table.... Oh dear. Anyhow... Go to "The One" even though it's slightly expensive they have a 3 course option that is actually comparable to 3 courses at Ondine. The One was phenomenal. Amazingly friendly and attentive service. Fantastic flavors without it being 'weird' food. read more

Omg went there for happy hour and thought we would take a seat at the bar, PLEASE NOTE EVEN BAR SEATS NEED RESERVATIONS OR YOU MAY NOT GET ONE. the drinks were delicious and the crab risotto might have been the best one I've ever had. The service was stellar. I had fried oysters that were sinful and I usually don't like oysters. My husband ordered beet and goat cheese salad. The beets we're golden and red and the goat cheese was whipped. I don't usually like this combination either but if all salads tasted like this....id eat beets. Dessert was so worth it. I hope to be back in Scotland and I will eat here again. Just magnificent. read more

When my husband said he was taking me to a sefood restaurant on a rare evening out i was a little apprehensive, i do like fish and seafood but usually in a restaurant it tends to be not cooked that well and over priced. Wow what a restaurant !It is a classy up market restaurant and the staff certainly make you feel special and are very informative about the dishes. What i liked is they first bring a taster dish complimentary for you to taste and bread. The menu is quite varied and the food is first class. What i would say is the dessert menu wasn't that appealing to the eye and don't go there if you are really hungry as the portions are fairly small but saying that most fine dining restaurants are probably the same. Both my husband and i started with razor clams with chorizo, broad beans and pea shoots it looked beautiful to start with and tasted even better. I had squid ink risotto with a layer of chilli infused squid for my main and my husband had lobster. We went on a Wednesday evening and it was pretty busy so i would recommend that you book. We would definetly go back again, the food was first class, the service was impeccable and the price wasn't too bad. read more

Recently visited here twice within the space of 2 weeks and it's one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh. The restaurant itself is stylish, modern and elegant with a warm and relaxed atmosphere and the staff are first class. Very friendly, efficient, attentive and knowledgable. The first time I went was for lunch on a Saturday with my seriously seafoodie Uncles and another person who doesn't actually like seafood. However, even the non-fish lover was seriously impressed (there are a fine array of steaks and other bits and pieces). We were given a selection of breads to begin with and some delightful little cheesy profiterole type things. I didn't have a starter but for main course I had the Grilled Hand Dived Scallops which come with chorizo and I ordered a side of winter greens (which is basically kale but so beautifully cooked & it went well with scallops). My uncles had the Grilled Tobermory Langoustines, Steak Tartare, Haddock Chowder and Smoked Haddock Rarebit - all of which looked delicious and given that there wasn't a scrap left on either of their plates I can assume they tasted delicious too. My second visit a few weeks later was with my Mum and we went for dinner. I wouldn't usually frequent the same restaurant twice in a short space of time but I enjoyed it so much I just had to take my Mum. Again, a wonderful reception from the staff and the restaurant was busy and ambient. We were again treated to the selection of breads but after these chose not to have starters and instead save room for mains. For main course, I had the Grilled Half-Lobster which comes with herb butter and salad . The lobster was perfection (is it a bit sad to use that term in this context? Whatever, it happened, I'm using it). My Mum had Lobster Thermidor and I'm pretty sure she'd use the same superlative. Both visits we received 5 star service with 5 star food in a 5 star venue. Great place whatever the occasion - casual lunch, fancy dinner, birthdays, romantic dates (probably a good first date venue too if you don't mind the price), anything really. They also have a lovely private dining area/room which would be a nice thing to do for a special birthday! Overall, a great addition to the Edinburgh restaurant scene and a must for lovers of seafood! read more

Seafood here is pretty good. I like the steak tartare as well. They fry the chips in dripping to give them more taste and I normally end up getting a main course size of this as a starter. Good selection of oysters, disappointed that they are normally Pacific's but the supply of natives is quite small I think. Perhaps they are on the menu when I am not there. I think this is likely the best place for seafood in Edinburgh, but as Edinburgh is no longer a port city I can only give it 4 stars. Good attentive service, decent wine list. Definite recommend. read more

Went to this restaurant tonight. My friends had been before recommended it. We were sat at the "oyster bar" which was really just a fancy word for the bar. However the side we sat in contained the dishwasher so all we saw were dirty glasses and servers and what appeared to be managers drying clean ones. Our waiter was not helpful and at times just rude. He never asked if we wanted more drinks. We had to track him down and ask him. Water as well. Our meal took over 1 1/2 hrs. When inquired what took so long, the "manager" basically blamed us for ordering a side as a starter and that thru off the server while putting in the food order. When it finally came, the food was good but couldn't get over the other negatives. One star because of food but otherwise would have given zero if it was a possibility. Maybe they didn't care because they knew we were visiting but I would never come back or recommend to anyone read more

My parents were visiting me in Edinburgh and were looking for somewhere special to eat. Edinburgh being a seaside town, we decided we'd go somewhere that specialised in seafood. I'm not great at being in places that make me feel really shabby (where everything is so much cleaner than I am), but this place, despite being pristine and having silver service, still conveyed a relaxed enough feel that I didn't freak out. The food was awesome. The oysters were particularly spectacular. And I'm a bit suspicious of oysters. They taste too much like the sea, like a mouthful of salt water, and their texture is a bit snotty. But these were spot on. The service was generally really good, though they lost our order Armagnac at one point. It's a really modern space, all based around a central bar. A bit like a spiral. There are good views over Victoria Street, George the IVth Bridge and the Royal Mile. It's just a really good place to go, if you get the chance, though a bit pricey. But the price definitely reflects the quality of the produce. read more

I really enjoyed my meal at Ondine (although they didn't have what I wanted off the menu). I was with work colleagues and the atmosphere was probably louder than usual because of us. Quite pricey, but worth going to if you want somewhere a little bit special. read more

Nice seafood restaurant in the heart of Old Town with nice windows overlooking the street. We were very happy with the service here. Sometimes at more upscale places the service is decidedly stuffy. It was more relaxed here, which we really liked. The atmosphere is nice and the location is great, though if you are a local youll probably be surrounded by a lot of tourists. We thought the food was good, but Im not convinced that the sizing portions were worth the price. Boyfriends 1/2 lobster thermidor was very small (a few large bites), which the server suggested was due to bad local weather making the lobsters smaller. Sort of a bummer. Have to say the apps, the smoked salmon and ceviche, were very nice. They do a very good, tangy ceviche. My scallops were OK. There were three served in-shell with a small piece of sausage with each. Though good, at 21.50 for the dish that made each scallop cost over 7 quid. Seems a bit much. I also wasnt convinced that the sausage was the right pairing for the scallop. The scallop was delicate and lovely and the sausage was very strong, very spicy - it almost killed all flavor of the scallop. Overall, it is a nice place. Good quality seafood. Their sustainable seafood practices should be highly commended. The service is relaxed and unobtrusive and the atmosphere is nice. Only fault I would say is the portion size/price ratio. read more

Four adults and a child for dinner at 1800 on a Friday. Oysters, lobsters, razor clams, plaice and haddock. All but the plaice were excellent. The plaice was wet and squidgy. But that might just be the nature of plaice. If that's so then I'll have to have more oysters instead. There were three types of oysters on offer. The Carlingford were so good that we ordered more. The service was excellent. We had Riesling and Rioja at good prices for the style of restaurant. It is a classy restaurants with beautifully napery. Light and airy with a pleasant buzz. It's not too stuffy. Just right when only a slap up,meal in a fine environment will do. An example of the excellence of service was my mother's dish of tempura langoustine. Tempura squid was on the menu as was grilled langoustine. The kitchen was happy to meet her desire for tempura langoustine. Succulent and crisp. Brilliant. I don't give five stars. So four again for Ondine read more

Really fresh seafood. Definitely world class. The seafood platter and the potted crab are out of this world. Oh and service is very good. One of the best restaurants in Edinburgh. read more

Excellent food and atmosphere. The staff are very attentive and friendly, which made for lovely lunch. I had a selection of the four different kinds of oysters they had for the day (Donegal, Cornish, Loch Ryan, and Carlingford), as well as two starters (enough food for me). The brown crab and duck egg starters were delicious and they made sure they timed the dishes the way I wanted since it wasn't a normal starter/main sort of meal. Highly recommended. read more

Ondine - Seafood Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

It was out first night in Edinbrugh and we wanted to have a fancy seafood dinner. The beetroot and goat cheese salad wasn't that great. But everything else was superb. My mouth fell in love with the lemon sole...I wanted to have it the next day. The grilled lobster was perfectly cooked and great portion (1/2 lobster) for one. The desert was also delish. The ambiance is very relaxing and the staff is very helpful informing us about the dishes which contained pork or alcohol. I would recommend this resuarunt even if it is above average prices.. The food is worth it. read more

Wonderful place for a seafood dinner. Great selection, cooked to perfection. Plus they have a good wine list.

We were in town for our honeymoon and did some research on best seafood in Edinburgh and found this spot. The food was delicious and we were treated like royalty by the staff. Honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better dining experience. It's definitely a fine dining spot but if you are in town visiting or you live in Edinburgh and you want good seafood you can't miss Ondine. read more

This is the first review I've written on Yelp and I'm sharing this to help warn other diners with food allergies about the danger of eating here. My boyfriend took me on a special birthday dinner at Ondine when we were in Edinburgh for Fringe Fest. I love seafood as does he so he chose this restaurant based on the many good reviews about the food. We were seated at the bar and told the bartender who was serving us right away of my dairy allergy. We asked if the roasted seafood platter was prepared with butter and if so, could we get it without. The bartender indicated that he wasn't sure if it was made with butter or not but assured us that it would not be a problem to get it without dairy. We spent a little more time perusing the menu and then decided to go ahead and order the warm seafood platter along with a nice bottle of French cremant. When the platter arrived, it looked and smelled delicious and my boyfriend and I dug right in. After eating a fair portion of the seafood, I began to feel a little funny and I asked my boyfriend if he thought there was butter in the broth but he was not able to tell definitively. So we asked one of the other barmen if there was butter in the dish we had been served and he brought over the bartender who had taken our order. To his credit he admitted that the dish had in fact been prepared with butter, that he had forgotten about my allergy and apologised for his oversight. We both lost our appetite at that point and my boyfriend refused to finish the dish, leaving a fair amount of seafood in the dish. Luckily, my allergy is not anaphylactic or life-threatening but I do feel miserable and have to take medication if I accidentally consume dairy. As a result of the bartenders negligence, we were not able to enjoy anything that we had planned after dinner including a couple shows for which we had already bought tickets. While I appreciated the bartender taking culpability and apologising, that was the extent of how the situation was handled. The manager did not come over to speak to us (I suspect the manager was not even notified about what happened) and not one pence was taken off our bill nor were we offered anything as a sign of trying to make amends. Had the restaurant done more to redress the situation I would be confident that this was a one-off scenario and that other diners with food allergies are not in harms way. But given that nothing whatsoever was done to recompense us for making such a big and potentially dangerous mistake, I have no faith that the restaurant has a process in place for handling guests' food allergies and would highly advise anyone with food allergies avoid this restaurant. After having spoken with a couple of friends in London who run restaurants here, I now know that most restaurants require that as soon as a guest indicates they have a food allergy, the server must immediately report this to the manager and the kitchen. I expected more from an upscale, expensive restaurant and particularly from someone serving us who had his picture on the wall! If this allergy had been more serious, this situation could have had a tragic outcome. read more

The setting, the service, oh the service, the menu, the presentation ,the produce, the delivery, everything, they are getting it right. This restaurant is relatively new, and can be confused with Missoni as it occupies the same building. I am particular about service, and it is notable here. One of the best in Edinburgh. I want to go back now! If Fish is your thing (and even if it isn't, there are meat/veg options) then try this restaurant out! read more

Trendy and contemporary Seafood restaurant. Food was fresh and prepared well. Service was excellent.

Kind of average, I have to say, which is disappointing because this is the one restaurant that we researched and booked in advanced prior to our trip to the U.K. It's located right in the middle of the Old Town, which is exciting, but appears to be part of the Radisson Hotel, which is not so exciting. Walking it the decor was somewhat strange. While I liked the floor to ceiling windows, which gave a nice, second level view of the street below, the interior was dominated by a curved bar area that was decorated with black and white tiles and a huge neon sign on one end. It was very reminiscent of a 1950's American diner. As for the food.. it was okay with the exception of their fish soup, which, to their credit, was excellent. The other dishes were just sort of middling. For starter we got brown crab crumpets, which can be described as shredded brown crap piled on top of a crumpet with a dollop of aioli on top. It was just okay, but much less interesting than a well executed Maryland crab cake. For an entree, I got the sea scallops, which was literally two scallops and nothing else; no vegetable, no starch, nada, £14. Seriously? And finally the service was kind of stuffy. Not that impressed. read more

Very nice restaurant. The sea food the serving is pretty good, especially the oysters and the lobsters.

A must! Reasonably priced, expect dishes to be $30-50. Definitely white table, be dressed to impress. Lemon sole was perfectly cooked, scallops were served at a great temperature with light charring and delicate in texture. Highlight meal of our trip. read more

Me & my boyfriend go here for special occasions. We are both fairly scruffy/poor student types, so only come when the pre theatre/lunch menu is on (can't afford that £25 main just yet!)... I think its around £18-20 each for 2-3 courses? Usually I wouldn't feel comfortable going in a nice restaurant like this when I wasn't all dressed up or with family, but they treat us really lovely,... not snobby or looking down on us like I have been treated like in the past by some places. It is always very quiet around the 3pm time we go, but as soon as it hits 6pm everyone turns up & we are the only ones in jeans and a t-shirt! Anyway,... the food! Its amazing! The staff are attentive & explain the menu to you well. They also bring out these little cheese things before the starter... I could just eat a whole plate of those!! The portions are surprisingly big but well decorated too. I almost always go for the mussels, which are simply amazing. My only criticism of the food would be that on once or twice its been very very salty, but this is rare. Desserts are to die for too. Just wanted to leave a review from a very non-suited customer who feels valued here too! read more

After hunting down and researching for a good place to eat oysters in Edinburgh, ondine came on top of all the reviews I was reading online. Jersey oysters, Loch fine oysters, carlingford oysters, etc, who knew there was so many to choose from! Not me but luckily you can mix and match and taste as many as you fancy for a mere some £3 each. The ones we tried were fresh and nicely accompanied with pomegranate vinegar dressing. As a starter we tried the beetroot and goat curd salad and the fish and shellfish soup. The salad was colourful and had a nice hazelnuty taste to it, the soup also very nice was maybe to overpowering for my taste buds and a bit on the large side. For our main we opted for half a lobster which were cooked to perfection. We had a lot of fun using the lobster tools provided to us, it got very messy that goes without saying. Overall this restaurant deserves top marks for the quality of its food, I'm being picky and only giving 4 stars because the service was somewhat inattentive and I really had to probe to get some guidance on the different type of oysters, which felt like more hard work it had to be. read more

Only go here on special occasions as it's a bit expensive, however the food is superb and the staff are great too

Go for the pre-theater 3 course menu, which is the best value in town! Food is excellent, ambiance is nice, staff is friendly, and most of all the value is incredible!! For £20 pp for dinner, is really great. We had Fish and Chips at Deacons across the street for about the same price, and the food was much better at Ondine. I would pay at least 2x more for quality for food it served. read more

Went to Ondine for lunch. Their oysters were very fresh and delicious! The duck and chicken liver parfait is recommended. The mussels were average. The desserts were not noteworthy. I would return for the oysters but it is not on the top of my list for seafood restaurants in Edinburgh. read more

I haven't enjoyed a restaurant this much in ages, and I was slinging superlatives about all the way home after dinner here last week. Ondine is the real deal and it goes straight to the top of my list for places to go for a fine meal, celebration, birthday, whatever. For starters, the interior is stunning. Its location on the corner of George IV Bridge and Victoria St provides gorgeous wraparound views of one of the best locations in Edinburgh. Every table has a great view, even sitting at the "oyster bar". I was a bit concerned that sitting there would be second-rate (no one wants to be that annoying person sitting at the bar when you're trying to reach the bartender), but it was actually great fun. Casual elegance is where Ondine really hits its straps. Being served (both food and drink) by the barman lent the occasion a casual, intimate vibe, while retaining top-notch service quality. The bartender knew all the food and drink options and executed everything with aplomb, from serving oysters to pouring champagne to mixing an excellent margarita. We shared a selection of oysters to start, and my main of pan-fried lemon sole with asparagus and peas was superb. It could have used some carbs somewhere, but it was delicious and an ample portion. Their menu is interesting as, for such as flash establishment, it errs on the simple side. As well as the traditional seafood platters, they offer curried cod, fish suppers and linguine alle vongole, rather than Michelin-starred extravagance. That means you don't need to spend a fortune here if you don't want to. But if you fancy pushing the boat out, Ondine will provide the bubbly and everything else required to christen its maiden voyage. They just do everything right, with good service and the most beautiful setting you could wish for. Ondine is a textbook case of how to design and operate a restaurant, so it's no surprise that it's one of only a small handful of Edinburgh restaurants that's known across the UK. read more

Went for lunch today based on the reviews. Overall was ok nothing too exciting pretty outdated food presentations Was just ok IMHO service was good and friendly. Food was a bit over salted the monkfish wrapped in pancetta could have used with less salt. Outside of that completely adequate read more

Really could not have asked for better. Fantastic service, ambiance and food. Had oysters to start followed by sole meunière with potato. Delicious. Expensive, but worth it. If you are in the mood to treat yourself, please do so and enjoy Ondine for dinner. read more

The seafood and service were perfect. I had tempura squid then baked scallops. Just far enough away from the tourists to be peaceful. May go again this trip. read more

To start, the service was incredible. They are very attentive and personable. The food is well worth the price. The wine selection is great and the g&t was will mixed. Would go again in a heart beat read more

Excellent place for great seafood near Edinburgh castle. I started with a lovely salad of fried goat cheese, beets, figs, and frisée. My husband enjoyed a variety of oysters on the half shell. For entrees we had crab risotto, mussels and the sea bass. Portions were very generous and all around delicious. The service was prompt and courteous. The lemon posset was heavenly--tart, creamy, and finished with fresh berries and shortbread on the side. Highly recommend! read more

the bread was nice, they have great view and cleaness. The seafood was not suprisingly good.

A great spot. Very nice dinning room. Service was excellent as was the food. Don't miss this spot

We came here from Los Angeles in June of 2017 and had the most amazing meal. Now we have returned - my daughter is going to University here next fall. Appetizers:ok. Entree: crab risotto - really awful. No crab I could taste. Restaurant had only tourists. What happened? read more

Not a bad restaurant by any means, but from reviews elsewhere my husband had expected it to be quite laid back and reasonably priced which it was not. Guess it was disappointing. I may have made bad menu choices as I was hungry when I left. The starter was lovely, the prawns served on ice (£21.95 for 7 or 8) were full of prawn poo and the dessert was nice enough but expensive again and the ice cream was melted on the plate. Service was only good for food but terrible for drinks which they forgot twice and were never asked if we wanted another drink. At that price I expect more (I expect better at any price). Tea pot and milk jug etc which was silver had not been cleaned properly. read more

This restaurant is another over rated seafood restaurant. My smoked salmon appetizer would have been tasteless except for the capers. I had the fried haddock as an entree. It was ok, but greasy and had not been filleted properly. If any restaurant in Gloucester, Massachusetts had served this, they would have been out of business in a year. The wine was very good as were the French fries. Sad state of affairs when the best thing you can say about a $75 dinner is that the French Fries were good. read more