I recently acquired the nickname "squirrel", due to a mishearing of my name, where Cheryl evolved (or went the opposite way...I am hopefully more evolved than a medium sized rodent) into Squirrel. Not an offensive nickname in any way, I quite like the red squirrel as it goes, even if they are becoming endangered, and spend their time hiding away from their grey counterparts...actually, I think I'd rather be a grey squirrel, but without the bullying tendencies. Anyway, this is hugely neither here nor there, and completely irrelevant, but I did choose to go to Red Squirrel one Sunday evening, purely based on the name, and with zero regard for what the menu might possibly be like. I did do a very swift bit of online research, and discovered the rouge squirrel was related to Holyrood 9A, which I very much like. I was also quite keen to give this new Lothian road addition a chance, given that it's not an area I tend to frequent for food very often, aside from the Filmhouse. I am always indecisive when it comes to choosing food, and on this specific evening I was particularly indecisive, but in the end I opted for the £10 for two courses indicated on the board, which is a bloody good deal, let's be honest. My £10 got me a large bowl of tomato soup, with two big hunks of bread, and a burger, topped with guacamole and Orkney cheddar, with some fries and a coleslaw concoction of some kind. The portions are generous, and in no way correspond to the lowness of price, which is a plus obviously. The soup was good, and tasty enough, but needed a wee bit of seasoning. The burger was pretty standard, which was a tiny bit disappointing considering guacamole and cheddar are normally a winning combination when heaped on top of beef, but I just wasn't hugely in love with the burger's texture or taste, plus the chips and the coleslaw needed something - just a little bit of extra flavour. All in all though, not bad considering the price. On a good note, my friends and I did happily sit here for a few hours, blethering with a bottle of wine quite comfortably. I like the interior, I think they've made it chilled and welcoming, and I'm actually still drawn to the place because of its name, because I can be shallow like that. Maybe I'll return and try out another two courses for £10 experience, or maybe even 3 courses for £13, but realistically, considering the size of the portions, I think managing a finale of sticky toffee pudding might be pushing it, even for me. read more

This mostly modern bar is full of warmth, from the wonderful, friendly staff, to the butcher-block tables, small bar tables, two person booths, etc. The variety of furnishings avoids a stale look or feel, and there's plenty of space throughout to move around. The decent-size menu serves a surprising variety (worldwide) of food. For me, the burger was particularly excellent. There's also a large selection of beers on tap and in bottles. read more

Came here for dinner with two friends. We each had burgers and they were quite delicious! The fries were a little disappointing - overcooked and tasted a bit like fast food fries. Overall, the meal was nice though! Prices were good too. read more

being vegetarian, it's hard to come across great food for a decent place, this place blew my mind! it has great vegetarian/vegan options for an affordable price and the staff was absolutely brilliant (never met kinder waiters), loved the food and drinks, they even gave a lollipop afterwards! can't wait to come again :-) read more

i'm between three and four stars for the red squirrel, but as it's one of the holyrood 9a bars i'll let it get the four stars. why the debate? well it's a bit difficult to review as i really only popped here to meet the boyfriend after work for a quick drink before heading on someplace else. being right bang in the middle of lothian road and the financial district of edinburgh this bar was packed on a friday night! which shows two things, either it's very popular with the business people or it's one of the few decent bars in the area. i would tend to lean towards the latter as this place is fairly small compared to the other bars on lothian road. however, it does have amazing burgers as i saw and smelled from the couple being served at the table behind me and they have an awesome selection of innis & gunn beers which is my preferred beer to drink. the red squirrel definitely looks like a cool place and being branded with holyrood 9a i know the burgers will be delicious, but something about it's location isn't convincing me to rush back. so yes, 4 stars i'm a fan because it's a good place to meet the boyfriend since he works across the street, but not such a fan because i prefer the atmosphere at the other 9a venues compared to this one. read more

Another bar that a couple of months ago seemed to be doing all things right in terms of variety & pricing which has now jumped into the £3.90 £4.50 a pint bracket. Aren't we in a recession? Still, voting with your feet's as good a way as any to get the message across that something's out of order. read more

Great burgers, beer and b-ecor(?!) What more can a man want

I was excited to see a new restaurant on Lothian Rd it's becoming quite the place for dining. I was particularly pleased to see a Monday Friday breakfast menu for only £5. To be fair I didn't try anything else but the fry was particularly good! Quality ingredients. I saw they also have a stack of board games which I thought was a great idea. read more

At bottom of Edinburgh castle .fun pub . Good service . Filling salads with great taste

As mentioned in other reviews, this pub has recently changed hands and has been bought by the owners of the Holyrood Bar. My husband and I took a wander down Lothian Road recently one Saturday afternoon (not where we would normally venture for a quiet drink it has to be said!) and decided to pop in for a drink and a bite to eat. There is an excellent selection of beers, with some unusual ones that are difficult to get in other pubs around town and they had a good selection of cocktails for those who prefer other options. Staff are also happy to let you have a taster of beer before you buy to ensure it is to your taste and they are very friendly and knowledgable. The lunch menu is pretty standard pub grub but it is all done very well. We had two burgers from their extensive burger menu and didn't manage to eat another thing all day, they really were that huge! Only issue with our visit was that there was a big tour group that came in shortly after we had ordered which took over a large area of the pub so you might want to time your visit so you aren't surrounded by lots of people trying haggis for the first time as it seemed like it was a regular finishing point for the tour. This wasn't really an issue for us though and we are looking forward to revisiting soon and trying some more of their extensive beer selection. read more

Visited this pub for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and have been back three times since then! With an extensive menu of gourmet burgers, you really are spoilt for choice. They don't skimp on size or quality either - the giant burgers on soft sourdough buns are served on a wooden board, with skinny fries and slaw on the side. The first time I visited I had the guacamole burger, served with bacon and cheddar - I'm not exaggerating when I say it was amazing! If you can manage anything afterwards, I'd definitely recommend the warmed chocolate brownie, served with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream. At two courses for £10, the prices are extremely reasonable - especially in its city centre location. As for its drinks, this is where Red Squirrel really gets top marks. With their wide range of contemporary beers, the only difficult part is choosing what to go for. But the friendly and knowledgeable staff will help advise you. And if you still can't decide, they offer a 1/3 pint taster for only £1. And if you're not a big beer drinker, you can look towards the delicious cocktail menu. Excellent value at £3.95 each. Or if it's just an afternoon cuppa you're after, they offer coffees, tea, suki teas and a great hot chocolate. With its dark wood fittings, low level lighting and atmospheric music, Red Squirrel is a great place for catching up over a coffee, grabbing a quick lunch, meeting for a pint or sitting down for an evening meal. Top marks. read more

Discovered this little gem while visiting the city, I fell in love with the place. Good music, great food with plenty of veggie options, and plenty of good beers (I recommend the very fruity Chieftain!) read more

Red Squirrel, you are my new favourite spot! Having a severe gluten sensitivity, I really struggle to find places I can find where I don't have to worry about being "contaminated" and having days of payback. But not only does Red Squirrel promise gluten free food with a wide array of food to choose from, but they truly deliver--no reaction! And the best part, aside from the awesome music, ambience and friendly staff...their food is seriously delicious. The gluten-free beer Mongozo Premium Pilsner just threw in the towel. These guys are AWESOME! read more

Been here for both breakfast and dinner. Both were excellent and staff working here are really polite and friendly. Expect at busy periods that it might take some time for your meal to come, but it will be worth the wait. read more

I really like The Red Squirrel. Very much of the same vein as Hollyrood 9A but much more accessible and i think also offers something different. They are two difference styles of bar but both around a similar concept of really good quality drink at the up price end with really good quality food which is very good value. Basically you pay for what you get, the bars specialty is beers and it has a fantastic and well thought through selection which are very well kept although more expensive for beers that you might find in other Edinburgh bars but not all together like here. Really good place overall and nice atmosphere. read more

Red Squirrel is a great stop that seems more local than touristy. Had a great meal and the servers and bartenders were really nice. Only issue was the bartenders seemed a little inexperienced in cocktails, but that could easily be because they were younger in age and only trained to the menu. Not a real issue in that case. Very cozy and great music. read more

Visited this pub for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and have been back three times since then! With an extensive menu of gourmet burgers, you really are spoilt for choice. They don't skimp on size or quality either the giant burgers on soft sourdough buns are served on a wooden board, with skinny fries and slaw on the side. The first time I visited I had the guacamole burger, served with bacon and cheddar I'm not exaggerating when I say it was amazing! If you can manage anything afterwards, I'd definitely recommend the warmed chocolate brownie, served with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream. At two courses for £10, the prices are extremely reasonable especially in its city centre location. As for its drinks, this is where Red Squirrel really gets top marks. With their wide range of contemporary beers, the only difficult part is choosing what to go for. But the friendly and knowledgeable staff will help advise you. And if you still can't decide, they offer a 1/3 pint taster for only £1. And if you're not a big beer drinker, you can look towards the delicious cocktail menu. Excellent value at £3.95 each. Or if it's just an afternoon cuppa you're after, they offer coffees, tea, suki teas and a great hot chocolate. With its dark wood fittings, low level lighting and atmospheric music, Red Squirrel is a great place for catching up over a coffee, grabbing a quick lunch, meeting for a pint or sitting down for an evening meal. Top marks. read more

Can someone PLEASE explain exactly what we have here?? THE RED SQUIRREL I frequented this bar a couple of years ago when it opened as 'The Vat & Fiddle' personally myself and Partner loved the atmosphere, the staff and of course the food and drink which was much more reasonably priced then. We stopped going every week only because of a change in our financial status due to THE RECESSION, just like millions of other people in this country we could not afford to go out as much 'DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE BOTH WORK'. Friday 16th December 2011 we had our 1st proper night out in many months which included going to HMV picture house to see the one & only 'SAXON' we were very excited and really looking forward to the night. We had visited The Squirrel previously so knew it had changed hands and went a bit upmarket, with its proximity to HMV we called in for 1 pint before going to the gig specifically because we know drink prices in HMV are ridiculous and did not intend to drink much in there at all. During the concert we had 1 plastic cup each not even a full pint of alcohol(Guinness & Cider) @ £8.40 in the 3 hours. As the gig approached the end I offered to go back to the Red Squirrel and get us a drink in before the rush started, which i did so & Sat at a table contently waiting for my Partner who arrived at the door 5 minutes later. You can not imagine the look on my face when I noticed THE BOUNCER having words with a group of men and then my Partner who just happened to be behind them. When I asked what was wrong THE BOUNCER said he was refusing my Partner entry into The Squirrel for which he could give 'NO VALID EXCUSE' when asked again 'why' the BOUNCER just replied 'NOT TONIGHT' I had just paid £7.20 for our two drinks (Pints) which I could not drink on my own while my Partner waited outside in the cold. To say the least I was furious, It completely ruined the atmosphere and enjoyment of our evening. In all fairness the Manager offered me a full refund for the drinks I purchased which I obviously accepted before leaving. There was absolutely no VALID reason and this can NOT be good business practice for the venue. In fact I can only assume that The BOUNCER was simply being discriminative towards my Partner who has a problem with walking from an accident in his childhood, or he simply did not like the way he dressed or looked. My Partner is a gentle Lamb who would not hurt a fly and does not even look aggressive. WHY HAS THIS WHAT USED TO BE A VERY NICE AND FRIENDLY BAR GONE DOWNHILL, IF THIS IS GASTRO UP-MARKET YOU CAN KEEP IT!! WE WILL ONLY BE BACK TO GET THE NAME OF THE BOUNCER AND THE COMPANY ADDRESS AS I WILL BE TAKING THIS MATTER FURTHER. read more