Edinburgh Restaurant Recommendations, Scottish capital dining reviews Lothian, Cafe service info

Dining in Edinburgh : Eating Out

Edinburgh Dining Reviews from 2005 + 2006, Scotland

post updated 29 October 2023

Edinburgh Restaurant Reviews

Eating Out Suggestions welcome: info(at)edinburgharchitecture.co.uk

Edinburgh Dining

Polish Restaurant Review 19 Nov 2006:

bigos, Leith Walk, apparently Edinburgh’s only Polish restaurant. Simple wee restaurant near the Dalmeny Bar on the south side of the street midway down the Walk, not yet licensed but a handy off-licence next door with a variety of Polish beer. Service was warm and timely.

We enjoyed a potato pancake with beef chilli for starters, nice contrast of crisp base and spicy sauce; our friends had soup of the day, a tart onion, though Borsch was served later. For main our friends had one of each of the dumpling dishes, Jim’s filled with minced beef and Pernille’s with cottage cheese and cabbage – vegetarian. Like massive ravioli these were tasty and fresh. We had schnitzel, though of course it wasn’t called that.

For much of the night we could hear the chef battering away at the pork! Really tasty (served with saurekraut and mash) not overly crispy but very flat! Side dishes selected were a straightforward creamy cucumber and a flowery finely-chopped beetroot concoction.

If you fancy a change from pasta, curry, etc. this is a good venue, refreshing to really not know what you are ordering! The name of the restaurant – bigos – means sauerkraut, so please expect that to be served with most dishes. The cost for four of us (minus drinks) was £40, bargain. bigos restaurant, 277 Leith Walk, Edinburgh 0131 554 6539

Dining in Edinburgh Restaurant Reviews

Recent Edinburgh Restaurant Reviews – late sep / early Oct 2006:

Visit to the new Kushis on Victoria Street, very flash but noisy (a mix of families and a young crowd, others we met felt it was too noisy and also too warm), this place needs acoustic damping.

However the food has a reputation for being authentic Indian cuisine (noticeably different, less creamy) and we weren’t disappointed. My favouirte was the Lamb Bhuna – moorish and served in a juicy sauce rather than a creamy sauce, so we’ll be back but not on a weekend night. The chefs are on show and were brilliant with my kids, service on the night was fine.

Scottish Capital Dining Bad Review

Edinburgh restaurants we don’t recommend!

Recent trip for lunch reminded us – having been to the States, Germany and Denmark this Summer – how lousy Scottish service can be. Entering Maxies (on the wonderful terrace above Victoria Street) we enquired re lunch and were met by a surly response, no eye contact and an odd invitation to look at dinner menus (as they didn’t have lunch menus to hand), with the smell of disinfectant it was enough to make us about turn.

We wandered past Deacon Brodies, had never been down this Close and won’t be back, it looked charming but the place smelt stuffy and the sandwiches were all pre-wrapped, ugh!

So we thought we’d try The Outsider on George IV Bridge, big mistake, it looks great but, quite a while after we ordered, the waitress came back all nonchalant and said none, that’s NONE of our selections were available.

Quite frankly we weren’t going to pay prices of up to £22 for a main in a joint where those who wait don’t even have a grasp of what’s available, doh! We paid for our opened bottle of water and left, gave up on restaurants and tried a wee Italian cafe (Caffe Lucano, 37-39 George IV) on the other side of the road near the Museum of Scotland.

Great snakes – molto bene: fresh food and no pretentious menus! We were starving by now but thankfully we’d found some people who seemed to understand how to serve a lunch!

Edinburgh Restaurant Reviews from 2006

Roti Restaurant Dining Review – 200906: “…but the Murgh Kali Mirch was a revelation. We were still talking about it the next day…”

image © Adrian Welch
Roti Restaurant

Centotre Restaurant Review – 130806: “…let you know how disappointed we were…”
Centotre Restaurant

Petit Paris Restaurant Review – 090706: Petit Paris restaurant third visit, Grassmarket – “French restaurant we keep going back to for simple quality french food. Steaks beautifully cooked, Moules Mouliniere, crusty fresh bread – good lunch prices”

Orocco Pier Restaurant Review – 140606: Orocco Pier second visit, South Queensferry – “service much quicker, friendly and the food excellent, though the neighbouring table experienced problems with large gaps between receiving the same course”
Orocco Pier

Boat House Restaurant Review – 220506: Boat House Restaurant, South Queensferry
“generally excellent service, lovely food and a beautiful view. The finale to the night was sitting back finsihing our second bottle of a good Bordeaux wine as the Forth Rail Bridge glowed in the dusk”

Bass Rock Bistro Review – 200406: Bass Rock Bistro, North Berwick
“A hidden gem for good sea food – you’ll great a great welcome and plenty of good craic too!”

Orocco Pier Dining Review – 290106: Orocco Pier, South Queensferry
“Despite the forty minute wait for our starters we really enjoyed the experience, good design, good food and a great view. Service could have been slightly more attentive”

Castle Inn, Dirleton Dining Review – 260106: Castle Inn, Dirleton
“Since our last visit the owner and manager have changed. Once pleasurable the food was dreadful and service lousy, thank god we didn’t take anyone with us or recommend it from past experience!”

Fife Restaurant Review – Summer 2005: St Andrews Seafood Restaurant

East Lothian Restaurant – The Rocks Restaurant, Dunbar, East Lothian
“we now regard this our favourite romantic restaurant”

Send your reviews however long or brief to info(at)edinburgharchitecture.co.uk

Latest addition: Roti restaurant – Voted List magazine Edinburgh Restaurant of 2006