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    Riverlife

    4.0 (12 reviews)
    ModerateCaribbean, French
    Open 6:00 pm - 11:00 PM

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    The 4 main course meats.
    Sarah L.

    I visited Riverlife a couple months ago for their nine (!) course French Provençale banquet on offer. We booked mid-week and the restaurant was pretty dead. There was only a family of 4 and us in the place, so there wasn't much atmosphere but I guess it is a bit off the beaten track (in Dalry) and relatively unknown. The interior was quite plain, cheap and a little dull so first impressions didn't fill me with excitement. There was some confusion over the booking and the waitress said there maybe some wait between course as the chef was not prepared for the 9 course banquet, however it wasn't noticeable and the time waiting was filled while drinking our BYOB red wine, with free corkage! Our starters included seafood bisque, which was very creamy and tasty, so far so good! Our second starter was warm goats cheese salad, also delicious and plate was scraped clean! So far the starters had been served on separate plates so I expected the following courses to be the same, but instead next 5 courses were presented on one large long dish to share. There was two of each seared fillet of sea bass, rib eye steak, rack of lamb, confit duck leg and pork scallops. The sauces used on each meat were all very similar, a red wine gravy, however the seabass had a lovely garlic butter sauce in it's own small dish. The other meats however were a bit gristly and of poor quality. These meats were eaten along side a plate each of caramelised sun blush tomato, red onion tarte tatin, dauphinois potatoes and vegetables. Then came our dessert, a lemon tart (very sickly sweet) and a selection of cheeses to share. Although we were already full after the previous 7 course, the desserts portions were very small and uneventful. So generally the meal was enjoyable and we rolled out of the restaurant will our bellies full, but I won't return for the 9 course banquet, maybe try something else from the menu instead. The overall bill was very reasonable due to the BYOB.

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    13 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Excellent, interesting food. Not one of the usual styles that are found everywhere these days. Charming restaurant.

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    Review Highlights - Riverlife

    The restaurant is BYOB which works well if you are suitably prepared.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    Trenchtown Caribean Social Club

    Trenchtown Caribean Social Club

    (3 reviews)

    Tollcross, West End

    Another favorite for us! (I swear I don't LOVE everywhere I eat--just been having awesome luck…read morelately!) So I can't comment on the authenticity of the food, as I've never been to the Caribbean (unfortunately). But I can vouch for this stuff being absolutely delicious! And lots of it had plenty of spice, actually, which is so refreshing living around here in Scotland. Some of the bites off the starter platter had us sweating--always a good sign! Everything was so tasty. And we're both absolutely stuffed. With enough leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. (How exciting!) We've already planned what we're going to try next time we come to this place. Great food, awesome portions, lovely staff, tasty drinks... and by the way: fun music, too! Just an overall fantastic restaurant. Perfect date night. Thanks, Trenchtown!

    Decor-wise this place is good & the music chosen compliments the scene well, albeit very little of…read moreit was Caribbean. Writing the winelist on mirrors may have seemed like a good idea at the time but the words obviously keep getting rubbed off as the wait staff handle them, leaving you in doubt as to the cost and varieties. Our spicy, cheesy pancake starter was good and my girlfriends rib dish was enjoyed (& ultimately defeating) but unfortunately one of my chicken thighs was still pink and slightly bloody inside so I left the greater part of my main course. The bar's rather sparsely stocked (and the plastic boxed bottle of Irn Bru looks daft) & the service ranged from pleasant to indifferent. An experience which could have been a lot better.

    The Rum Shack - Sit outside and "lime" - which means hang out in Caribbean slang

    The Rum Shack

    (24 reviews)

    ££

    South Side

    This was part of our International Food Night arranged by our very own International Yelper Man of…read moreMystery Rocco G. It sounded like a nice wee change and a visit to deep south of Glasgow. This was indeed a special wee Yelp outing as these don't happen very often. I was looking forward to my Caribbean treat and meeting up with my fellow Yelpers. I managed to find the Southside by train to Queen's Park Station and it's only a 5 minutes hop, skip and jump to The Rum Shack. I was unfortunately in still a bit of pain from the Kiltwalk so think I didn't get to enjoy the experience as much as I had hoped. We were seated on stools at 2 separate high tables. I think I was craving a normal seat, which are available by the way. The menu had a fairly nice varied choice of Caribbean dishes, some with a Scottish twist. So I opted for the Haggis Balls to kick off this food night. The starter was absolutely delicious, the sauce wasn't too hot and with a pleasant amount of sweetness to compliment my balls. Oh yeah! OK, so they were actually "fritters". I felt some of the menu for me was a bit on the spicy side so opted for the vegetarian dish of Cuban black bean and rice with fried plantain and sweet potatoes. I have to say it was very different but quite palatable. It was lovely décor and the staff could not be any more helpful, they were very accommodating and polite. I'm not sure I would venture back here as I felt there was nothing else on the menu I would really try, I think it would be nice to swing by for some drinks as they have a fully stocked bar and I'm sure there's a rum lurking in there somewhere that I may like. Try for yourselves, for me I just wasn't blown out my boots.

    Popped in for lunch on Saturday after having it on my list of places to try for a while. It was…read morequiet and when walking in to the main bar for the first time there were no menu's on the tables. We weren't sure where to sit or the set up of the place but after finding a seat the staff were welcoming and helpful. We were in for food more than drinks, however I did have a tasty dark rum and ginger beer or two which was as nice as you'd hope. The service was quick and after ordering the waitress brought over a bottle of their house chilli sauce with a warning that it was incredibly hot - she wasn't lying! It was lovely though, not sure if they do, but they should sell it by the bottle. The menu was small which I find a welcome sign, I always hope this means the kitchen have perfected the few dishes they list and I was not disappointed. To start we had Accra and Popcorn Prawns, the prawns were nice and came with a tasty sauce but the Accra was the definite winner for the starter. For our mains we had Jerk Pit Fish of the Day and Jerk Pit Pork belly, both came with corn on the cob and rice and peas. The jerk seasoning was great, and had a good heat to it, as you would expect. The rice was well cooked and well seasoned and the fish tender and flakey. I could have done with an extra corn on the cob - that dipped in their hot sauce was a highlight for the veggie lover in me. Not eating meat personally, I never tried the pork belly, however I was told it was delicious. It's not far from a top rating for me (I'd give it 4 and a half if I could), the only downfalls I found were the atmosphere little a lacking, probably down to the time of day we visited, between lunch and dinner. I think it would be a great evening trip. I found the material of the plates a little distracting, it felt a little like eating off of paper plates. Over all I'd recommend it, I'll definitely be back to eat here again!

    Chez Jules - cheese board

    Chez Jules

    (61 reviews)

    ££

    New Town

    food: my girlfriend said it's the best french food she's had outside of France. that's all that…read moreneeds to be said i think service: nice staff ambiance: such a cool vibe, definitely a big highlight of the restaurant

    I'm not sure how this amazing meal happened but I'm glad it did…read more Me and my friends originally had plans to eat at a different restaurant but they were busy so it didn't work out. For a second things were looking dire. We wanted to find a restaurant while we were walking home and stumbled upon Chez Jules. They were definitely booked up but I think with a little patience and friendly demeanors they were able to fit us in. It was a little loud but I loved the energy and the decor everywhere. Definitely felt like I stepped into a different world for a sec. Our waitress was super nice too. We all wanted to sip some wine with our meals and she was very informative with helping us make a selection based on our meal/preferences. I ordered the Duck Confit this night. I love when a menu actually accurately details the flavors I should expect with my meal. I don't have to tell you how many times my group has ordered Truffle Fries and you hardly taste any truffle at all. So it was nice that I could taste the herbs with my Duck. And the Gratin? Man I'm such a sucker for garlic flavors. Even though they weren't the star of the show, the green beans hit too. I'm not even a huge green bean fan and I still appreciated it. Also huge shoutouts to the Rabbit. If you've never tried it and are feeling adventurous I *highly* recommend this dish. I believe it's Le Lapin a la Moutarde. I can't even describe it because I wasn't able to recognize any of the seasoning. But my buddy had ordered this and I had a bite. I think he had the best meal out of the four of us. So overall, I highly recommend this place. I'm not sure if they take reservations or not since we obviously got lucky with a walk in. But if they do take reservations you probably should. It was pretty busy when I went. When we come back to Edinburgh this one definitely be a location we will have to come back to.

    L'escargot blanc - Light and airy restaurant

    L'escargot blanc

    (41 reviews)

    ££

    West End, New Town

    Just go here. It's fantastic. We had escargot, the veal and beef casserole, and the rabbit…read morecasserole. For dessert ile flottante. You will probably need reservations. We stayed in Edinburgh for four nights and it was definitely our best meal.

    Edinburgh is now blessed with bistros and restaurants providing the best in world cuisine, from…read moreItalian to Chinese, Kurdish to Mongolian we have it all. My favourite however still has to be French, from classic Escoffier to the more rustic I love the way in which they seem to be able to celebrate produce. After a walk to the Castle Terrace Famers Market Steph and I decided that lunch out would be a nice reward for our newfound healthy lifestyle and gym going. In search of reasonably priced and yet reasonably healthy food we came across L'escagot Blanc. With 2 mains for £10.90 this was ideal for us. Once you have a chance to sit down and take in your surroundings you are taken by the charming, rustic French decor. All of the staff are French and greet you in their mother tongue, something which I love. Steph pointed out the staff don't wear uniforms, something which we both agreed added a homely feel we loved. To the food, after some deliberation I opted for the warm fish terrine and Steph the homemade rillette with gherkins. My terrine was fantastic, the flavour was very well measured and the texture soft. I can't say I have had many fish terrines in my life but this was certainly the best. It came with a crayfish sauce that set it off brilliantly. Stephs rillette was also lovely, but I was happy with my choice :). The rillette was served with a jar of gherkins so you could have as many as you would like or not as it were. For our mains I chose the Lyon Saucisson with puy lentils and Steph had the Fish of the Day which was pike. My dish came to the table in a pot and was served by the waitress, great restaurant theatre. What made this even better was that there were seconds to be had in the pot. As the manager said to us on the way out their food is what great French food is all about, simplicity and great flavour. The sausage and lentils went brilliantly together and the qaulity of the sausage was great. Just one of those dishes that make you go YUMMMM. Stephs pike was equally impressive, so gently cooked the flavour was tremendous. Soft soft fish with a tomato sauce, it worked well. Again simple and delicious. There can't have been many more than five ingredients in either dish but both were so tasty.

    Riverlife - caribbean - Updated May 2026

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