The Outsider has a great view of the castle as well as the rest of Edinburgh if you can manage to grab a seat near the windows. I came for lunch with a friend and ordered the rabbit pie and burger, respectively. Everything was new to me as it's my first time in Scotland, but the rabbit pie was very good and made me glad I tried it! My friends burger was also delicious, as was the bread we ordered on the side. The bread was accompanied by a green sauce that I really loved, but they didn't spill on the ingredients haha. Everything else on the menu and the other plates that fellow diners were having seemed great! read more

The Outsider - The rabbit pie - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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I'm sorry, but this place was not as good as it seems some people say it is. Good points are, food was good and there is quite a good view of Edinburgh Castle if you are seated near the back of the restaurant. That's it, I'm afraid, for the good points. First of all, if you're looking for the place on a recommendation, you might find it difficult to spot. The front of the place is pretty much lacking in any noticeable signage. If you look closely, and I did, but still had to have the name pointed out to me: there are two columns of wooden tiles between the windows, and on them are dark letters spelling out the word OUTSIDER. Other than that, you'd be excused for thinking that the place was going through a renovation or something. Inside is very light and roomy and the tables seem to be randomly placed between all the wall tables and booths. The manager that meets you at the door seems to have his head somewhere in the profit books as he shows you to a table, you know, just not quite giving you all his attention. He also looked like he'd slept in, with his hair dishevelled and chin unshaven. The grandpa shirt tops of the look of art student in fourth year at art school. Once seated you are handed a photocopy of a menu. Not a bad idea if you update your menu everyday, but, some ink in the photocopier would be a good idea too. I have good eyesight, but half the menu was totally illegible to me. Most of the menu was in a small type but there was something handwritten at the top. This was totally unreadable. I managed to find something that sounded nice so I ordered it and it was very well cooked and tasty. It wasn't a huge portion but it was charged as a full meal. I have given two stars, one for the food and one for the castle view. read more

Wow. Found this in old NY times article about Edinburgh. Chic in old Georgian building. Wine list very thorough with the most interesting wine list description ever. The meal was scrumptious. Maybe try for reservation and get lucky for table overlooking the castle. Ambience perfect. read more

The Outsider - Beautiful view of Edinburgh Castle at sunset. - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

It's a staple of Edinburgh dining, the menu does change regularly but only really the fish dishes. You can ALWAYS get a well cooked steak and chips. Garlic fries are boss, and so good infact that you could eat them on a date and your partner would understand. Seafood is always great and the CHL (I think?) are a great light bite, as they're chunky, healthy bits of veg and meat on kebab skewers. You always read bad reviews about the owner and he is an unreasonable man, so just grow a pair and stand up to him, I've got no time for bullies so let's all unite eh? read more

Maybe an off night? Just not good, menu is weird, service was terrible, we had our family of 4 adults and 3 kids One meal came ages at end and we asked if we could get it put in a take out container and were told they could not do it, some silly rule or law Was not a busy night either Since we were visiting, I guess we wont be overly bothered but we went because it was recommended by our apartment owner Way many more eating spots to try read more

Went to this restaurant on a Saturday night. It was busy, but service was very friendly and accommodating. I ordered the flat iron steak, which was beautiful and just what I wanted. Portions can be large, but never oversized. They had a nice wine selection and my friends had great things to say about the pigeon starter and the seabream and venison mains. Dessert was exicitng and innovative. We were complimenting the food the entire night! Beautiful ambiance. Would definitely like to go back! read more

We were looking for something different from the standard pub fare and the wife looked at the menu from outside and suggested this place. The place is very modern, but with a classy warm look to it. We were sat in a corner window seat which was fine because it drowned out the noise from the rest of the restaurant. Our server was a young lady and she was helpfully in picking our food and making suggestions. The food was very good, the wife ordered the lamb which was almost as amazing as our recent Indian restaurant and I ordered the steak, which also was very good. Overall the dining experience was very good until the end. We had arrived there about 1.5 hour from them closing. Our waitress had completely disappeared and I had finished all of my water and my drink. Since I noticed we had another 20 minutes I had wanted another glass of wine, but no one wanted to come over. I grab the attention of another waiter cleaning the place up and he came over to assist. Let me tell you there were still about 6 people in the place with no signs of them leaving at all. Being that it was 5 minutes before the closed ( I waited 15 minutes to get someone's attention) I just asked for the check and inquired on our waitress. The waiter said she went home, but told him to take care of us; then why did no one come and check on us. Overall the food was very good, the prices were good, and the serve right up to the end was above average. I would have rated them 4 stars with no problem had someone been around to assist us at the end of the meal. read more

What a lovely restaurant in the city center. Very simple setting and decor. The tables by the window looked lovely and though my date asked for that, we didn't get it. The food was simple and delicious. I had the coley with potatoes, which I've never had before and it's a tasty white fish. The portion wasn't too big and my date had the poussin and it was a very large portion, very tasty as well. First time I've ever had these dishes and I liked them both. For dessert we had a chocolate tarte which was so rich, but delicious. Service was good and I had a great date at this place. read more

Delicious food ! The specials change and are really unique and tasty. They say it's all local , which is great. Really nice atmosphere ! Potions aren't huge but great Great lunch prices and perfect size for lunch! Defiantly coming back read more

The Outsider - Little fish and ratatouille - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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My husband and I came here for dinner. Loved the ambiance. People were great. Menu options had lots of variety. Food was better than good but not great. We'd both go back. Worth the experience for sure. read more

By far the best experience I had the pleasure to experience in Edinburgh. The server was really chill, like the sexy Spaniard that would steal your girlfriend but you'd be cool with it (and secretly wish he'd take you instead). Food is easily the freshest and limited due to season, but that's what hibernation is for. The view is amazing, you can see the castle and graveyard as you enjoy your wonderfully witty wine (whoever wrote the wine menu has a great appreciation for wine and the comedy). It's definitely a place that would make me miss Edinburgh the most, step aside castle! read more

Excellent food and drink with a great view. Can you ask for any more? The starters we had were great, as we're the desserts. My only wish was that the side salad had just a bit more of a dressing/flavor on it... but overall everything was fresh and really tasty, and well prepared. My favorite was the goat cheese crustini with a mint sauce, simply beautiful and lovely. read more

What a pleasant farm to table experience in the heart of Edinburgh (just on the Royal Mile) - if the blackboard up front with the specials doesn't set you off then at least the menu and thoughtfully picked out wine list should point you to the fact that this is a sustainable food joint and people behind the helm care as much about what the food tastes like as how it came - had a local fish dish that was in the specials paired with seasonal vegetables. Would recommend this place for a nice lunch or dinner read more

The Outsider - Fish special with Bok choy, hake dumpling and sherry vinagatette - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The outsider seems to have scrubbed up nice since my last dine here ( a number of years ago). Confidently designed with its dark coal decor and stylish appeal, there's always the lingering doubt that its mere style over substance. The Outsider seems to have the latter covered to a successful degree as the barnsley chops I tried, with a lovely goats cheese dauphinoise, was excellent. My opinion is admittedly complimented by a cracking view of Edinburgh castle available from the rear of the restaurant, making the whole experience unique to Edinburgh. Worth a try. read more

The Outsider - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Again, still very good, but they never took my lighting suggestions on board!! what's up with that?! the food still is amazing though, you cant deny that read more

Thanks to Jenny L. I took my parents here when they were in town for a couple of days and, man, this is impressive. I begged the manager for a window-seat, claiming everything from far-sightedness, to parents-in-town, and managed to get it! Let me tell you, sitting at the window at night overlooking the castle is a pretty damn cool way to convince your parents that you've picked the right city to live in. Now, about the food: I had the salmon-beetroot salad and fries, and man, was it delicious. I don't know how they did it, but they'd infused the salmon with beetroots somehow, I forgot to ask, but it was the most delicious salmon salad I've ever had in my life. And that's saying a lot, since I used to live in Santa Monica, and Seattle (both having easy access to vast quantities of this delicous fishy). They combined it with watermelon, spinach, and various greens and it was just to-die-for. I know that both my parents enjoyed their meals so much that their plates were absolutely cleaned out. Not only are these rather reasonable prices (mains from 11.00-19.00 pounds) the quality that you get for this price is absolutely insane. I'd definitely recommend this for a visit and I'm coming back again soon! read more

My wife and I's favorite restaurant of the week. The atmosphere was simple, elegant with rustic touches. The service very good and the food topped it off, wonderful presentation, portions and fresh. Highly recommend and won't break the bank. read more

The Outsider - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Ok, once you find The Outsider you will be pleased! Family of 5 with there teenage children and everyone was happy. Muscles in a cream sauce were probably the best we've ever had (and we live in the Pacific Northwest of the US), steak was tender and perfectly cooked, venison was wow also! Good wine selection with reasonable prices. This is don't miss in Edinburgh. read more

The Outsider - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Absolutely wonderful: food was great we ordered (steak, lobster, gnocchi) and all were very tasty. The views are also amazing of the castle; couldn't get much better with great food and ambiance. Look forward to hopefully coming back here again when visiting Edinburgh in the future. Defiantly a must try spot, and by far the best meal of the trip. read more

Service was very poor, almost felt like in a cheap cafe the way food served and items almost dropped on table ,extremely disappointed especially when an automatic tip added to bill . Will Not be visiting here again read more

I've eaten at the outsider a few times now and have never been have only ever had one complaint: get the raisins out of the damn coleslaw! (Who ever first thought of drying out perfectly good grapes to turn them into the vile thing that is a raisin is one sick puppy!!!) Other than that the outsider is great; mains shared with a friend for a starter, good looking staff serving your food and you may even be lucky enough to get one of the tables with a view onto the castle. And remember just say no to the raisins!!! read more

Wow! I'm amazed at some of the reviews here, I've always had a pleasant culenary experience at the Outsider but have found the service very intrusive. Will treat with caution! Ess read more

We had dinner at the outsider on a bit of a whim, not having been able to book any other nice restaurants on our only dinner night in edinburgh. We'd booked for 20:00, but showed up at 19:00 and they had a table for us. A lovely one, in the back, with a view of the castle. The menu is simple, and everything looks delicious. Every single dish i saw coming out of the kitchen, I wanted to taste. Everything we had tasted amazing. For the first time in my life, I left the potato skins on as I ate the hand-cut chips. The whipped cream that came with the chocolate cake was made with molasses. For the first time ever, I did not ignore the cream. I ate it. It, too, was delicious. With a flagon of wine one entree to share, a main dish for each and a dessert to share, our bill came to about £60 for the both of us. Given how delicious the food was, we were ready to pay more. The next day, as we chatted with our host back at the house we rented a room at for the night, we discovered that he and his staff all strongly recommended the outsider, and that another couple staying there had also dined there the night before, as happily as us. I'm already looking forward to going back to the outsider for dinner. And I live a five-hour train ride away. Yes, it's that good. read more

This was the second best meal that we had on our 31 day trip around the UK and Spain (the absolute best was the restaurant inside the Bilbao Guggenheim museum). I suppose it's odd to start out with saying that this was a "second best" meal, because honestly, I still think about the fish I had at The Outsider--it was perfect! It was both attractive and delicious and creative (there were sea vegetables decorating the outside of the dish that perfectly complimented the fish--and it was nice to look at). My husband had the pigeon, which was also yummy, and we split a salad to start and the plum tart to finish. We also had a wonderful view of the castle (and our waitress was nice enough to take a photo of us with the castle in the background). We liked this restaurant so much that we were tempted to just eat here throughout our stay in Edinburgh. Although we had other nice meals, this was, by far, the best in Edinburgh and the best meal we had in the 2 weeks we were in the UK (including time in London). read more

Great venue and decor with a good view of the castle. The food is very good, I enjoyed the haddock with leeks, mash, sorrel sauce and a poached egg on top Yum! the bread is really good too. Everyone enjoyed their meal, my friend got a bad rib eye but they happily replaced with a much bigger better one! It's not cheap but is worth it for a treat. read more

Tempted by the ever-changing menu specials, I finally came here on Valentine's day to satisfy my curiosity. The atmosphere here is lovely, and the service doesn't lack. They have a nice, reasonably-priced wine list too. I was put off by having to pay for an order of bread -- that's unheard of to an American -- but when it came I forgot about the piddling £1.30 or however much it was, because the bread was amazing. As was the olive oil they served with it. Really, really nice stuff. Both of the mains my husband and I ordered were really delicious -- duck for me, pheasant for him -- but I would have liked a bit more mash and greens to round out the meal. I felt a bit hungry as we left. I don't think I'm greedy, I just eat a lot! We probably should have ordered appetizers but I didn't think we would need to, and I didn't want to drop £5 on an unimpressive dessert menu. Overall -- a great place to take a date, with creative and tasty food. read more

Learned of this restaurant on Yelp. Was eager to try getting a reservation with a view of Edinburgh Castle. We were able to see the castle from our table, a real treat. The food was great. I had the rib eye steak; it was among the most tender and flavorful I've ever eaten. read more

This was the surprise of the trip. Candlelit dinner with a night view of Edinburgh Castle as we tried to find a place for our last night. I was blown away by this meal here in Edinburgh. I ended up eating their roast venison per the waiter's suggestion and this dish was paired alongside red braised cabbage, parsnips, thinly sliced and crisped ham on top a heavenly broccoli purée. The roast venison cooked medium rare was red, meaty and so tender and honestly one of the best meals I've had while in Europe. Friends of mine ate the mussels in the wine sauce and got hefty helpings that had them slurping and dipping bread over glasses of wine. Great night and atmosphere read more

The Outsider - Roast Venison with red braised cabbage, parsnips, thinly sliced pieces of ham over a broccoli purée - Modern European Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Amazing food , these guys know what they are doing and super service by the rest of the staff

I would agree with some of the other comments here. The restaurant is nice, decor is impressive and it is very cosy and warm. The place looks welcoming from outside. The food has always been good - I think I have been 2 or 3 times now. What lets this restaurant down is the service. They are a bit obsessive about taking your coats off you - my husband always keeps his wallet in his coat so doesn't like giving it up - the staff were quite embarassing in their insistance. The service is not friendly or timely. The manager has had stand up rows with diners while I was there too. Other friends have had bad experiences both here and more so at the Apartment (the sister restaurant). In the apartment one set of friends were told that they would have to leave if the hen put on a veil she had been given. Another set of friends were treated very shabbily because they were on a fancy dress night out. Won't be going back - a shame cos food is good but they seem to think that they are better than their customers. read more

A very nice restaurant that comfortably treads that slightly awkward line between being smart and casual. And it's most notable for its outstanding views of the castle. Ask for a table near the back window if you wish to impress. The food is great. Lunch is excellent value. Dinner is a bit more expensive but you kind of expect that given the location and the nature of the place. And it's varied, tasty, imaginately put together, great wine list. Everything you'd expect from a smart but casual place in the middle of Edinburgh. The Outsider is very unlikely to disappoint. read more

My new favourite restaurant (and I can be quite picky)! It ticked all the boxes: Great food (best vegetarian meal I have had in a long time) Polite and attentive staff (uber friendly but not too much) Lovely surroundings (Nice, trendy decor, tables lit by candlelight) Great atmosphere (busy but not too loud) Good location (By the castle and near other bars for after-dinner drinks) Good value (Very reasonable considering how scrum-diddly-umptious is was). I'll definitely be going back! read more

Soooooo good! We dropped in for lunch and it was delicious. We had the mussels in the basil cream sauce (read: bacon) and the sea bass with a couple glasses of wine. The view was amazing and the food even more so. Highly recommended! read more

Went here for lunch. If you go, I would highly recommend asking for a seat facing Edinburgh Castle. There is an upstairs too that would be great. The atmosphere is excellent for a great lunch. We went and the service was a little disjointed. The restaurant was not too crowded and we were sat and drinks and even food ordered with a girl we thought was our waitress. Then we needed drinks refreshed and our girl was there, but didn't come back over. The table next to us had another waitress so we politely asked her for some more water. She got us water. That girl and a man I assume was the manager brought us our food. The dishes are very beautifully plated. I ordered venison with rarebit. I thought it was under all the veggies, but upon my first bite, I noted there was no venison, but instead there was fish. I then tried to get everyone's attention including the three different people who had been to my table. It was not until I walked up to the manager at the bar that I got my attention due to my dish being wrong. The second girl then got my correct dish. They apologized, but then continued to ignore us after. I was not impressed with that. That said, my venison and rarebit was decent. Price point was good. I think this was just a case of me finding a place on good reviews and hoping everyone was correct. :-/ read more

Came here for lunch twice in 2 days and would come tomorrow if I didn't have to go home to London. Excellent service coupled with high quality and varied dishes, wine and dessert. Ideal for a lunch date, first date or taking your granny out for a treat. read more

Very fresh&tasty mussels. From the restaurant you can see the castle through the windows. So if you are lucky enough to get a window seat, this could be the best art of your Edinburgh experience. read more

Amazing service and even better food. The staff was very accommodating as we were all vegan/ vegetarian. Had the blackened maple tempeh and it was wonderful! The ambiance is warm and cozy with great views of the castle. Would certainly recommend! read more

This place is cool, the food was actually really good and the service people were friendly. However we had the sun blaring into our eyes the entire time and they refused to do a birthday celebration for my mom. They also kicked us off of our table before we could order desert! read more

We were absolutely delighted with our meal and the entire experience last night at The Outsider. The food was superb and the team looking after us couldn't have been nicer. Highly recommended. read more

Adorable Restaurant just off the Royal mile. Wonderful warm and inviting gem of a spot with nice wine list, candle lit tables, tasty food and lovely view of the back side of the castle! We will be back! read more