Was looking for high tea while in Edinburgh and was very glad I picked The Ivy on the Square. It's…read morea bit past the National Gallery and in New Town (as opposed to Old Town). Ambiance was super cute and upstairs even cuter I think (we were seated downstairs) and service was excellent. - Afternoon tea - 5/5 and I've been to had 50 or more high teas in my life in places such as London, Hong Kong, NYC, San Francisco, Honolulu... What was great about this high teas was the unlimited tea and coffee and they had many dairy milk alternatives: soy, oat, almond which is very unusual and appreciated! I had: - iced vanilla turmeric lychee matcha - 5/5 so delicious! And so unusual! - The Ivy English breakfast tea - 4/5 solid tea offering - truffle chicken salad sandwich on small roll - 5/5 - egg salad on wheat bread - 5/5 - smoked salmon on cream cheese on top of pastry puff pastry - gave this to my husband who downed it in a second so must have been good! - two raisin scones - 5/5 delicious! With clotted cream and strawberry jam - lemon poppyseed muffin - 4/5, husband ate it, was a little too sweet for me but super cute with bee on top - raspberry crème brulee - 4/5, solid offering - chocolate mousse in a pot - 5/5 super adorable presentation of the dessert in a little flower pot with chocolate cookie crumble "dirt" and mint leaves as the "plant" I almost didn't want to eat it! For all of this the price was very reasonable and my husband who does not appreciate high teas could order his beer and some smoked salmon off the à la carte menu. I highly recommend The Ivy on The Square for high teas!

A couple of our traveling companions tried the Ivy in Dublin. The Edinburgh location was close to…read moreour hotel. Service from hostess to chef was excellent. I have to say that at least every restaurant we ate in the first question from servers are there any allergies? Every restaurant was super accommodating with an unusual allergy. Food was excellent and the drinks were on point. Great experience and highly recommend The Ivy.

Great ambience with historic brick features Bar service was…read moregreat - old fashioned highly recommended Charcuterie is a good choice

After seeing the high reviews on Yelp, I decided to make a reservation for this restaurant. We…read moretrekked up the steps of Advocate's Close to get there. When we arrived at noon (opening time), the restaurant wasn't too busy. There is an impressive bar downstairs with many whiskies. We were led upstairs to the dining area. There is outdoor dining too that would be nice if the weather was warmer. Cool vibe, but it is kind of dark inside the stone walls. The menu is Scottish-focused with seasonal ingredients. We didn't want to overeat, so we decided to share a starter and a main. We got the Scottish venison fritters, which were ok. We enjoyed the pappardelle pasta (roast pumpkin and pecorino sauce, wild mushrooms, spinach, bacon and poppy seed crumb, crispy sage). It was flavorful and didn't feel too heavy. Staff were friendly and it was an enjoyable lunch.

We had a large group and this because our gathering spot. The atmosphere was good and the food was…read moreexcellent. Not to mention that the beer was on point. The servers took great care of you as well. I would return every week if I lived there.

One of my favorite beer bars in Edinburgh. Great beer selection, killer service, tasty bar food and…read morea cool space. Very laid back but hip vibe. I'll always stop by the Hanging Bat when I'm in town.

Out of all the places I've been to in Scotland, I think Queens Arms was one of my favorites…read more We had reservations for this place recently and when I took one step inside, I was already in love. I mean who doesn't love a good pub? You get great drinks and great food at an affordable price. As I write it makes me think of think of when Zidane reunites with Freya in FF9. Sometimes we don't wanna eat at fancy Michelin restaurant that has small plates but charges a premium. Sometimes we just wanna cut all the BS and just get a nice hearty meal. And thats what we got. When we sat down we found out that they were doing a Trivia night. Normally I would have told my girl to pick another spot to eat but for some reason I was cool with it. There was even a table nearby with kids(yuck). And you know what? It was fine. That's because we had been sipping on some amazing cocktails. If you also partake, Gin and Mezcal enjoyers will love the Bramble and Hibiscus Crush. What color are Luigi's overalls from Super Mario? That's such an easy question. Wait...what do you mean Luigi's overalls are blue? They are green. Look at this picture onli...Oh... One of the stars of our meal was the Haggis. This was the first time I had ever tried it and after trying it at multiple places Scotland, Queens Arms I feel has done it the best. I love the complexity of the flavors of the meat with the creamy and pepper flavors of the peppercorn sauce. If you've never had Haggis, you definitely have to try it here. The best part is that it comes with mashed potatoes too! Shoutouts to the Fish and Chips if you are also into that. One of my friends ordered that and I definitely had to go back in for multiple bites. Finally the roast. The Sunday Roast should just be an automatic order if you happen to come here on a Sunday. You get so much food and it's all so damn tasty. They'll cook a roast to whatever doneness your heart desires. We went with Medium Rare and it came out perfectly. If you didn't have enough flavors with all the extra sides it comes with, they also give you gravy to pour on anything you want. Thanksgiving basically came early this night. But as I looked around and admired all the bookshelf's and all the families have a nice dinner with their loved ones, I just thought about how happy I was. I was finally here! This was the start of my trip. Queens Arms has set a high ceiling on great experiences in Scotland. We even went back there a couple of days ago just because we knew we would be able to end the night on a good drink. But in the end I think if you are Edinburgh, you have to come to this place. It is one of my favorite experiences I've had in Scotland so far and I dream about when I can come back again.

Came here on our first night in town on the strength of the Yelp reviews and were not disappointed…read more We enjoyed a fantastic Sunday roast including a delicious pavlova for dessert. The kids meal of mac and cheese and fries was perfect for our picky little eater, though big enough for at least two!

OK, we're all geeks here, right? Right. We've all seen Guardians of the Galaxy?…read more The scene in the prison where all hell breaks loose, and Rocket and Groot are fighting bad guys, and the bad guys are all like "PEW! PEW! PEW!" and Rocket doesn't have a gun, and then Drax arrives and is like "BAM! BAM! BAM!" and kicks people and throws Rocket a gun, and Rocket says "Oh.... yeah!" in an almost religious way? That "Oh... yeah!" was how I felt when I took my first bite out of a Jack's burrito for the first time in a long time this evening. I donated to the Jackstarter to help Illegal Jack's return from the dead, so I popped in today for the first time since the reopening to see how things had gone (and pick up my swag bag, priorities, people!) and I didn't plan to stay and eat due to lack of time... Then I saw a couple of burritos being built in front of me. And I smelled the pulled pork... and I caved, people. I folded quicker than a paper tent in a hurricane. I watched the staff look after the woman ordering two burritos to takeaway, wrapping the first one and leaving it where steam and heat would stop it going cold while the second was assembled. I love attention to detail like that. Also, using the lid of whatever filling you choose to catch any spillage so the fillings aren't cross contaminated. Little things make a difference, people. It came to be my turn. I opted for carnitas (that's what the pulled pork smell wafted out of) with a mild salsa, sour cream, pinto beans, seasoned rice and cheese. I watched in awe as the burrito was rolled. I really need to learn how to do this myself some day, I took my cup, filled it up with Coke and sat down. One bite later, I was back in Tex-Mex heaven. I'd missed Jack's, I really had. Other places may have more branches, but quantity isn't quality. Jack's is quality. The new premises are still a work in progress as Mr. Jack (nice bloke!) explained to me, but are still clean, bright, comfortable and welcoming, and even the music being played ticked all the boxes for me. Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd? Perfect Tex-Mex music. Honestly, I can't fault it. I will be back, I will eat too much every time I go, and I wil swear that I'll never do it again. But it's a lie. It's all a pretty little lie... Oh, and if you're in over the next week or so? Ask about the cranberry salsa - it's astonishing! Welcome back, Jack. You were missed..

BURRITOS! WHO DOESN'T LOVE EM??…read more Last night after a long and rainy day at work I coerced two coworkers of mine to join me for a bite out. My bus routes being what they are, I'd not only seen the remnants of the old Illegal Jack's on Lothian Road (though never got to try it), but now had spotted the new location along St. Patrick's Square nestled in the corner. Because we were looking for a budget meal that we could still sit down to, we decided to give Illegal Jack's a go. The first thing that became apparent to us is that Illegal Jack's has actually employed friendly staff. Wha... what? Where even am I? Walking in the door to being greeted with smiles and genuine friendliness is such a novelty when so many places give you the ambivalent "I'm being nice because I have to" luke-warm treatment at best, or downright snubbing at worst. And yet when we walked into Illegal Jack's the two gals at the counter of wonder were chatty and all smiles, and we had a short conversation about how good the music they were playing was. (Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack anyone?) Next comes prices. I got a small veggie haggis burrito (score!) that was somewhere around 6 pounds. Normally I'd be greedy and add chips or sides, but even this burrito being small, it's actually massive (I was impressed the gal at the till managed to perfectly roll it, and even smush it all around so the proportions were evenly mixed--MY HERO). So I topped it off with a nice wheat ale from Stewart's and left with my bill around 11 pounds. Not bad at all for a solid beer and a solid burrito. Next came seating. Illegal Jack's isn't quite up to restaurant standards of atmosphere for obvious reasons, but the seats feel a lot cozier and less standardized than your typical Pinto's or burger chain. We sat down next to a gentleman mysterious staff member who was doing some laptop work--he very nicely jumped to shift some of his things to the side for us so we could sit. Again, as I was remarking loudly that the music was lovely he thanked me for noticing as he must've been the man in charge of the playlist (come on, Grateful Dead was playing, my hippie heart rejoiced!). But enough about my music tastes. How was the burrito, you may ask? Delicious, of course! That was a really damn solid burrito. My coworker even did a happy dance (twice) whilst she ate it, which I think is a good sign for any burrito. Even more than that, when the gentleman staff sitting next to us noticed my bottle of Louisiana hot sauce on the table he disappeared into the back and plopped down a bottle of Scotch Bonnet + Mango hot sauce from his personal supply in the back for us to try. Damned if it wasn't delicious, but whoo it had some great heat! Overall I left this place feeling 1) chuffed as all get out 2) with super duper happy tummies 3) pleased at how NICE everyone was and 4) STOKED that I have found an amazing burrito place that I can easily get to (lamenting the fact that Los Cardos is all the way on the other end of town in Leith!). So if you're fancyin' a fairly-priced burrito in a joint that feels just a little bit closer to home, give Illegal Jack's a scope. I know for certain I'll be back!

We stopped by Rancho for dinner since it was in walking distance from our hotel and they weren't…read morevery busy. We were greeted and welcomed at the door and asked for a booth. It's a good thing we did because not 5 minutes later the restaurant became packed! We ordered the filets which were cooked perfectly, not much seasoning as they let the meat speak for itself. The sides were just ok, nothing spectacular. We had great service and I feel like the prices were very fair. The nachos looked like something my child could have made, melted shredded cheese on tortilla chips, my least favorite of the meal. Magners Cider Guacamole Nachos Papa Asada con Crema Arroz Cirollo Champignones à la Parilla Anillos de Cebolas 9oz Filets

Nice Steak Place ! Everything Cooked perfect , Place is…read moresmall , but comfortable, out of the way ? so I think mostly Locals !

Arrived in Edinburgh after many days of traveling and this pub was right around the corner from our…read moreplace. We were looking for something pretty basic, beer and maybe some pub food. There were quite a few people there and only two bartenders - the service wasn't anything to write home about. But the beer was great and the food was really good! I ordered the fish sandwich and it was delicious! My wife ordered pizza and she loved hers as well. Would totally recommend for drinks and food, probably not for large groups though.

Found this place on yelp for a beer and dinner for my husband and I's first night in Edinburgh. It…read morewas a nice pub with great service from Emma and a nice chill atmosphere. We love the selection of beers they have on tap and in can/bottle, lots of selection for the craft beer lover. We were here on a Tuesday and we jumped on the 2-4-1 Burger deal that day. The food was cooked perfectly and delicious! The bar locals were great and we enjoyed chatting with a few of them. Really great vibe, drinks and food. It's also Dog-friendly. We would totally recommend this place- especially with the 2-4-1 deals they do certain days!

Man this place is awesome!…read more I've been here twice for dinner. Wings are good. My coworker got the short rib and the ONLY thing wrong with is that they only gave you one. I had the wings as an appetizer and pork chops as a main course. Side selections are good too. This place is also very accommodating as both time we came without making reservations. It's a pretty cool spot too with a cool bar and nice ambiance. I'd come back...

Excellent American style meat and bourbon place. We were here for the Meat Monday, two 400g steaks…read morewith sides and cocktails for £29. Servings are generous and our server was super sweet. Definitely recommended!

There comes a time when all pubs start to look like each other, and for this reason the interior of…read morethe Antiquary doesn''t differ too much from the norm; it's dungeony, (but at least it's got the excuse of being in the basement floor!) is decked out in dark polished wood and has quite friendly staff. Take into account that the general Edinburgh pub standard is pretty high, and you've got a pretty good quality place. Location wise, it's a little bit off the beaten track, particularly for tourists, as it's in Stockbridge, so I won't be making it back there anytime soon! However, they do some good food, particularly breakfast if you'd rather eat than drink, and have some open mic nights, with folk music being the general theme.

I only discovered this pub a couple of days ago, after going to St Stephen's to see a show. It's a…read morelittle basement pub tucked away on a street just off Stockbridge. I like it because it's got a wee outside area with parasols, has Lia Fail and Addlestone's Cider on tap and just seems to have quite a lot of attitude. There's also this hilarious barrel behind the bar with a huge sign on it that reads "ABSINTHE! 3.75 a shot. Only two shots per person per night." Which makes me laugh, though I might be the only one who gets a kick out of that. A pint of ale will cost you around 3 pounds and same goes for the cider, so it's not too pricey, though I've definitely been to cheaper places. I was pretty happy to discover this pub and I might even go so far as to say it's a bit of a gem.

This place is one of the few places where you can eat outside in Edinburgh in any weather. Even…read morerain. The patio is covered, and we pushed a button at our table that turned on the heat on a timer. I hear they also have blankets, plus they have some cool igloo-like things for seating. But even without these huge outdoor dining plusses, the food is stellar. Their Neapolitan pizza was the real deal and the best of our 2 1/2 week trip to the UK. We had the cheese and basil pie, and it had good sauce, cheese, and crust. The servers were nice too. I still wonder though: what does the UK call the distinctive wooden camping chairs that Americans call Adirondack chairs and Canadians call Muskoka chairs? I really hope they have their own cool name.

Beautiful bar had very high hopes going in. All was crushed by the blonde waitress we had in the…read morepizza/brewery area. We came in early before our large party of 15 arrived, was told we only were allowed to order small plates which was fine, but I got one pineapple float and then tried to order a Tennessee peach drink and were given attitude from the beginning, it was about 15 minutes of waiting for the drink when I asked where it was and she interrupted me abruptly and said "I know it's coming" the rest of our party got here and they were asked for their order I was yet again ignored. We also asked for water and were never given any AND Drink never arrived, waitress was very rude and miserable I would never come here again because of her. Writing this while we are still here because it was that awful.