The Bluebird Cafe

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!

My wife has been following The Outsider on the socials for a bit. So as we find ourselves in…read moreEdinburgh, this was a must. Tonight's dinner destination. We got here at 6 with no reservation. We were able to be seated upstairs. This place is busy (much busier when we were finished for sure). So if you can, I'd suggest reserving a spot. It's a bit loud in here. Not out of the ordinary for a busy place. We started with the pressed pork belly app. Perfect crisp. Could've used more of the celeriac puree bed. The confit shallots were so good and nicely sweet. Black pudding cubes (small. More of these!). Candied pears. Mmm. Great start. Wife got the char grilled venison on a butternut squash purée and spicy daikon planks (I didn't find the heat, she did tho!). It was excellent and perfectly prepared. Not gamey at all. I got the 35 day aged hangar steak. This is hands down one of the best steaks I have had out in a very long time. So well seasoned! Which was such a pleasant surprise as it left me wanting for nothing to add flavor. The hand cut fries were good but did need some salt. No dessert as, well, our server was scattered a bit all night. We asked for the dessert menu. She brought us dinner menus and we didn't see her for 10 minutes. So we opted to leave, a bit disappointed at the end. We would come back tho. Thats for sure.

Char grilled Venison, black pepper polenta cake, butternut squash purée, daikon, fine beans, whiskey and passion fruit dressing.

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Angels with Bagpipes

4.4(132 reviews)

•£££

This place deserves to be Michelin Starred. Every dish is creative, delicious and beautifully…read morepresented. Very friendly and cordial staff as well.

My brother and I had the chicken, which was delicious but was a small portion which left my brother…read morefeeling hungry as we left. My husband and I ordered the burrata, but it didn't come with bread as listed on the menu. The service was quite slow so we gave up on requesting the bread. I was pleased that they allowed for multiple side sauces to my husband's Denver steak. Ambiance was lovely, allowed for casual dress.

Their sign is adorable.

Battered cod was fresh and not oily at all. Scottish crab, lemon and crumpet was super fresh and delish.

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BBQ Root Vegetables and Lentils

Mums

4.1(252 reviews)

1.2 mi•Old Town

I was so excited to try this place after seeing good reviews but our experience was terrible. There…read morewere gnats everywhere that we were killing at our dusty booth. When our food arrived we finally asked to move spots but the back of the restaurant was just as bad. I can't believe other families weren't complaining. We also found a hair in our appetizer and the mains were subpar. My husband complained about his fries and burger and the manager was combative. They comped us for one whiskey and we left as quickly as possible. The shepherds pie was very salty and the side of veggies was very clearly from frozen.

**RACIST & DISCRIMINATORY** The young blonde hair girl in…read moreher maybe late-20s hostess, bartender or server (not sure which) was super rude! We came in excited about this place, and the restaurant had open tables at about 6:50pm on a Friday ... we had just walked all day and were starving with a 2-year old and an elderly after walking all over town and sightseeing all day long. However, was told by this girl that they didn't have a seat for us. Although there was no wait, no one ahead of us and empty tables. I told her she could seat us in that booth, we didn't mind since our 2 year old wouldn't be eating. However, she cut me off and said that would not work. I thought that was weird but that should have been That it would take them about 30 minutes to get us a table. We walk around in the cold, come back to the restaurant ... there are plenty of open tables. My husband takes my 2-year old inside to wait so she is not in the freezing rainy cold (especially since she was sniffling). The hostess then says it's going to take longer and that we must wait outside the restaurant. We tell her it's cold, and we've been waiting. She then says ... "This isn't going to work, I'm not serving you. You guys can leave." She did not want to serve of us this entire time! She could have told us when we first walked in, but made us wait and walk around outside in the cold rain with a 2-year old and an 88-year old ... then decides she doesn't want to serve us. We walked in at 6:50pm, came back at 7:30pm, waited until 7:45pm when she told us she wouldn't serve us. By this time all the other restaurants were fully reserved or with 1-2 hour waits. We ended up not able to have dinner that night, and got snacks from the grocery store. DO NOT COME HERE UNLESS YOU WANT HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! NEVER TREATED THIS BADLY BY A RESTAURANT!

Kind of cute interior.

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Royal McGregor

4.2(124 reviews)

This place is no longer open. And for some reason google maps shows it down the ally way behind…read morewhere it looks like it used to be. So don't bother going looking for it. It's not there.

So this is actually one of my favorite places to eat dinner in Edinburgh. I know that the city is…read morefull of incredible restaurants, but I've just got a soft spot in my heart for this one (probably because it was the very first place I ever ate at my first visit to Scotland). I've sat inside (which has a really cozy pub feel) and outside (taking in all the sights and sounds of the Royal Mile). I've made a reservation, I've also just walked in. I've had good service, great service, and really exceptional service. But one thing remains the same: I *always* get the Vegetarian Haggis Tower with mash, turnip, and whiskey sauce (it's probably my favorite veggie haggis in Edinburgh; and that cream whiskey sauce? could drink it!), a side of garlicky chips, sticky toffee pudding, whisky, Irn Bru, and a cider. It's a must meal for me anytime in the city.

Remodeled and changed name. Copper Still...

Steak and Ale Pie

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Exterior

The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh

4.4(67 reviews)

0.6 mi•New Town

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.

Beautifully decorated. The staff was friendly. The Celebratory Croissant was as delicious as it was…read morepretty.

The Ivy Full Scottish Breakfast

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Storefront

The Cellar Door

3.9(28 reviews)

1.0 mi•Old Town

•£££

Had 7 pm reservation. Showed up on time. Plenty of seats. They put us at the table by the door…read morewhere everyone would bump into us passing by us getting to their table. I said for the size of our group can we get the other tables towards the back. There were other tables available and all right behind us. The hostess said no absolutely not guests were to be assigned to their tables. There were people behind us but they were after us; plus they were of smaller size than ours, clearly our skin color is the main issue. They sat us down, and quite a few minutes pass, others trickle in and promptly everyone bumps into me. At which point I told the hostess this is not acceptable. They sat 2 people at a table for 4, in the back while this table of 4 is really too small for 4 people. One thing stood out to me, we were the only non whites. When the last group again bumped into me, I asked to be moved; she then said due to short of staff they cannot change the seating but seeing seriously everyone is bumping into me, she begrudgingly moved us to a corner table with no lights - and not surprisingly no service. I understand the importance of trying to make the white people feel comfortable about not being seen with non whites - the best way is tuck the non whites away - but this is 2022. I am from California and no, this is absolutely unacceptable. Like MLK junior or Rosa Parks, we protected, first by requesting to be moved away from the hallway, then by my two teens and I walking out of the restaurant and finding more tolerant non racist restaurant to eat, and we spent a lot of money on the other restaurant. You too can make a decision to either eat or not eat at this place. The choice is entirely up to you. And this will define who you are.

Made a reservation via Fork. Evening started well drinks…read morewere excellent Order sparkling water never came to the table neither did a pitcher of tap water. We stared at empty water glasses all night. I order the carrot risotto d arrived so under cooked it had to be sent back It took more than 20 minutes to clear our table ams another 15 minutes to produces dessert menus All in all a very disappointing evening The bottom line-go somewhere else!

Great restaurant

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Very nice and open

Secret Arcade

4.4(28 reviews)

(See pictures of our food, too!) Service friendly and accommodating (with limited English, but very…read moresweet, and checked to make sure everything was right & we were happy). Sophisticated presentation of food with a flavor profile to match the artfully crafted dish. Excellent music selection (old jazz and mo town, but not the cheezy stuff). Will return. And will recommend.

Wow - nearly 100 different types of vodka including straight, flavored, and direct from Poland…read more Dinner menu that includes appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. Got "haggis balls". Had great fish and chips. Up a flight of stairs and not really advertised.... Well worth it. Only about 7-8 tables and a few bar seats though.

Friendly and experienced staff will advise on every vodka!

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Haggis & Whisky House below Secret Arcade

Grazing by Mark Greenaway

4.3(9 reviews)

0.9 mi•West End

We visited Grazing using a voucher we had, and for the amount we paid for the voucher, the meal was…read morefor sure worth it. However, if we visited again paying full price we would probably reconsider. Yes, the food was great but even for a 'tasting menu' the portions were minute and would honestly say lacking the punch of a typical testing menu experience. The restaurant was very quiet when we visited, so the atmosphere wasn't there but I'm sure this would change on a busy evening.

Absolute great service food in a relaxed and elegant dining room. We started with Marks snacks,…read moretomato burrata and soft shell crab. Each course was beautifully presented, exceptionally delicious and perfectly portioned. We also ordered the beef Wellington and Sole. The entree's were beyond our expectations We ended the evening with the raspberry Choux Bun. The bun was not my favorite but is was lovely and the raspberries shined. Otherwise and absolutely perfect meal. Service was attentive and caring. We felt well cared for by the entire team. Highly recommend!

1.0 mi•Grassmarket, Old Town

Tomato burrata

Sole

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Marks snacks

Scotts Kitchen

4.6(32 reviews)

Good place to try traditional Scottish classics. Tried haggis for the first time here and enjoyed…read moreit (is it something I'd eat again? Prob not but I'm glad I tried it). They also make a great sticky toffee pudding. Staff were friendly and it's in a convenient location with a great view of Victoria Street.

Highly recommend!! Ordered the salmon and potatoes salad... delicious!…read moreGreat location, friendly service as well.

Three Regions Flight

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Venison with potato salad

Scran

4.3(29 reviews)

The desk agent at my hotel recommended Scran for a full Scottish breakfast. He was not wrong…read more First, finding the place was a little challenge. It's not on the main road, but off through a covered alley. You'll see their sign if you look. I ordered the full breakfast consisting of a fried egg, pork sausage link, uncured bacon, fried breaded sausage patty, sourdough bread, potato scone, haggis and blood sausage fried crispy, and baked beans. I'd never tried haggis or blood sausage, but I wanted to say I'd at least tried it. I was shocked to find I really liked both. Not gamey at all. They tasted like well seasoned sausages. Don't fear the haggis! I also had a mimosa and a latte to wrap up the meal. Totally unhealthy, but totally delicious. Service was also great. Slow but steady, and very attentive. If I make it back to Edinburgh, I'll definitely eat at Scran again.

Can I give more than 5 stars because I absolutely would!!!! I have been dreaming about this cookie…read morebutter French toast with fresh berries ever since I had it. By far the best breakfast I've had... in my entire life!? I found this gorgeous restaurant on Instagram and thought it might an over-hyped spot. Not at all!!!! The food was delicious! AND gorgeous! The latte art was perfect, and delicious. I booked on Open Table and requested a table with a great view. They seated us under the sign and it was just perfect! I highly recommend scran! The servers were so kind and even helped with our group photos.