Every year for Christmas my work treats us and our partners to a fabulous night out (I say every year, I've been twice now) and this year was no exception! I was really excited when I was told we were going here for dinner as I knew it would be super fancy, and the company always pays for everything so that's a bonus! We were in the private dining room as there were about 17 of us and we were informed that we were the first people to try it out which was pretty cool - they even gave us champagne after our meal because of that which was awesome. Our table was booked for 9pm and wasn't quite ready when we all showed up (about 5 minutes late) but it wasn't too long before it was ready and the staff showed us where to go. I felt that the stairs leading down to the private room (and the toilets for it) were a bit dingy and not very welcoming, but this wasn't really a big deal for me personally. The staff were absolutely brilliant the entire night - we didn't end up leaving the place til well after midnight and they remained cheery and extremely attentive! We were seated at the big square table and given Prosecco while we perused the menu. In true Debs style, I'd already picked out what I was having pretty much as soon as I knew where we were going so I was really looking forward to my food! We were also given bread while we waited which was good as most of us were starving by that point. I had the crab starter (see photo) and it was proper dining theatre - the cannelloni dish sat on top of the smoked cauliflower custard dish to begin with, and when it was removed, smoke which had been kept underneath to flavour the custard billowed out, it was so cool!! The cannelloni was brilliant, really refreshing and light and I could've easily eaten about three of them. Unfortunately I wasn't keen on the custard, it was a bit too smoky and strong for my taste buds to handle but I ate the crab out of it because crab. We were also told which way the chef recommended we eat the dish - that's how you know you're in a fancy place! I had braised beef daube for main and this was pretty substantial! I ended up palming some of it off to the bf and a couple of my colleagues cause they'd already wolfed their turkey (I'm assured it was very tasty!) and by that point it was getting too late for me to handle a heavy meal. The beef itself was well cooked, and the veggies which came with it were also really nice. Although I did feel the beef was slightly lacking in flavour - I had similarly done beef at the Yelp Christmas dinner and I probably actually preferred that! Although I maybe should've just changed my meal up a bit and that might've helped ha. Now the dessert. Oh my. This was definitely a triumph! The treacle tart was very tasty and rich, I love my cakes/desserts and this was probably the course I'd been looking forward to the most, so I was very happy indeed! The honeycomb and tuile biscuit were totally divine as well and the little vanilla lollipop (almost ice cream like in consistency but very smooth!) was a fab touch. As I said before, absolutely cannot fault the service - the staff were constantly filling up our wine/water and making sure everything was ok, and nothing was too much trouble for them. The music they had playing in the room was a tad strange, felt a bit more like we were in a swanky nightclub than a swanky restaurant, but I'm not taking anything away from them for that!! Great for a properly classy dining experience!! read more

Restaurant Mark Greenaway - Smoked cauliflower custard with crab (left) and crab cannelloni (right) both with lemon pearls. - Scottish Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this restaurant is deserving of a 5* review. Without a doubt, the best eating experience I've had in my life. Mark Greenaway is a fantastic chef and his refreshingly contemporary menu definitely reflects this. I was asked from my lovely boyfriend what I'd like for my birthday, and all I could think of was a nice meal out, and he told me to book the place of my choice. I wonder if he meant that 100%, but I took it upon myself to book a table for the opening weekend of Mark Greenaway's spectacular new restaurant on 69 North Castle Street. We headed in this evening a bit earlier (damn you Edinburgh road works!), but made it in plenty of time. Upon entering the restaurant, which by the way is absolutely beautiful; with it's high chandelier, intimate colour choices and exquisitely laid tables, our coats were taken by the lovely host and we were seated next to the window; how lovely and romantic considering it was snowing! The staff in here are the best at their job, from setting tables, to offering drinks, to the waitress who brought our courses to us and explained how each course was made and how Mark suggests you eat it. Our orders were taken, our wine was poured, and Colin and I immediately began chatting about our love for the place. Our aperitifs were brought out; with a beautiful shallot amuse bouche, which were thoroughly enjoyed. For my starter I ordered the crab cannelloni with smoked cauliflower custard, lemon pearls, herb butter, baby coriander and beetroot mayo, and Colin ordered the red wine risotto with hen egg. Oh God, you think you've tasted good crab before, but you've not until you've been here. The way Mark makes it it's in 2 different parts of the dish, and thought most people would eat from the top of a dish to the bottom, Mark suggests you try both simultaneously. I did, and I enjoyed. Thoroughly! Our wonderful waiting staff cleared the table, before our main courses were brought to the table. Colin had the pan roasted hake fillet, with a lobster tortellini, purple mash, fennel and dill puree and pumpkin, and I ordered the 11 hour slow roasted pork belly, with spiced fillet, pomme puree, savoy cabbage and toffee apple jus. This is without a doubt the best meal I've ever eaten. The pork was so tender and beautifully cooked, whilst the beautiful fat crackling on top was crisp and so tasty. The spiced fillet was cooked medium rare and was exquisite and everything on the plate just complimented each other so well. If all that wasn't enough, for desserts I had the broken lemon tart, with yuzu parfait, frozen shortbread, pistachio puree, compact watermelon and coconut jelly, and Colin had the chocolate fondant. I'm not a dessert eater normally, but wow. WOW. Exquisite. Must make a note of how great our wine was. I'm positive it was an Australian rosé but I'm not 100%. Wonderful though, so crispy and tangy but fruity at the same time. I had to ask our waiter to give compliments to the chef, something I've never done, because I was so impressed. Mark is an outstanding chef, and I will most definitely be back here again and again. read more

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This could only ever have been 5 stars! After the much publicised closure of Mark Greenaways restaurant at Piccardy Place we all waited with baited breath to find out where he was heading to. From his words at the Foodies Christmas Fair to his updates on twitter he was giving nothing away. So clandestine was this becoming that a head chef from another restaurants comment on twitter that he looked forward to having Mark as a neighbour lead to the rumour he was off to the Royal Mile. Then, just two weeks ago, he announced his new location as 67 North Castle Street the site of a former Italian Restaurant and once upon a time an RBS branch. I was delighted to have a reason for booking for opening weekend, as Stephs parents are in town for their birthday weekend and we couldn't think of anywhere we would rather take them. So roughly 3 minutes after the announcement of the new restaurant was made I had my reservation request sent. Roll on two weeks and last night was the night I've been waiting for, all the more eagerly after such positive comments from those who attended the launch party and Yelpers Jackie.G and Claire.L who were there for opening night. The first thing that strikes you upon entering in that all of the staff have stayed with Mark, infant he confirmed later he didn't lose any of his staff despite being closed for 7 weeks. Once seated you soon see that Mark and his team have been able to recreate the wonderful ambiance the had at Piccardy Place. To the menu and from the à la carte it was good to see he has kept the favourites while also introducing something new to lift the menu further. Once we had ordered, the sommelier Loic who we have gotten to know was kind enough to show us his new wine vault, with this having been an RBS the original vault in the basement remains. Given how little time they have has to prepare its amazing how much they have achieved. The wood work and the style they have given this room is really impressive. Loic explained that they intend to further develop the vault and diner will be able to select their wines with an illustrated world map on the wall providing further details. Loic will also be on hand advising and giving diners tasting samples of suggested pairing wines. As soon as we sat down we were presented with our amuse bouchée, as espuma on f shallots. Can't such much about this other than it was delicious. Slight sweetness with earthy undertones it was a great way to start our meal. For my starter I chose the pave of pigs cheek, served with warm apple jelly, apple purée a flavoured meringue, the pave is wrapped in beetroot carpaccio. This is a dish which has gone through a few developments since I first had it at the Great British Menu party and its only gotten better. The balance of the deep flavour of the cheek with apple and beetroot is superb. It's a dish I would happily order again and again. For my main I went for the tasting of lamb. Succulent tender lamb, deep jus, aromatic rosemary, buttery mash and earthy brussel sprouts.......delicious! The lamb came three ways, a loin chop, a piece of filet and some leg. The flavour of the lamb was just incredible, the seasoning brought out the taste as much as Amy producer could hope for. To finish I decided to revisit a favourite of mine the broken citrus tarte. This dish simply put is a work of art in appearance and just as tasty. The zing of the parfait is beautifully matched by the coconut, watermelon cubes clean the palate and the pistachio purée adds another dimension when combined. After dinner Loic was also kind enough to take me back to the vault and give me a sample of the most incredible muscat I have ever tasted, larger quantities will be required when my dry January has finished. All in all the meal was superb, Stephs parents were delighted and then even more so when they had a good ten minute chat with the man himself Mr Greenaway. Mark is such a friendly guy and willingness to chat to customers at the end of a service does him great credit. With the excitement that has surrounded this opening I can say the product more than lives up the hype. Undoubtedly they have a lot of work to do but with Marks inventive cooking and the team he has around him I am confident this new venture will be a massive success. Restaurant Mark Greenaway comes highly JD Recommended! read more

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The 8 course degustation plus an amuse bouche with wines at £100 a head is an absolute bargain for the quality ingredients, creative flair and impeccable service that really could not be faulted in any way. I wish I could detail every course, but that would be impossible unless I took notes as we selected the Chef's Surprise Menu. I am usually skeptical about selecting these as I feel they really could just come out with whatever is left over from cooking for the other patrons. However, Mark Greenaway manages to really surprise and deliver on expectations. We were brough everything from soup to pates, to mysterious Japanese-inspired broth concoctions that could have come out of a science experiments, to scallops, to pork, to beef, to fish, to duck, and 3 desserts. What more could a foodie ask for? The restaurant ambience is elegant, with table cloths and uniformed waiters. No pretention here, however, and no stingy portions on oversized plates. This place gets it right. A great place for a non-confronting date night, family dinner or friends. read more

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The great writer Virgina Woolf once wrote "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." Well, last Thursday night, a private dining table of Yelpers thought well and went home to a happily sound sleep after dining at No.12 Picardy Place...and I know we all fell in love with the delicious food and wonderful experience we had. I've been waiting on the perfect opportunity to dine at No.12 Picardy Place, and the chance to sample the new menu with such wonderful company was too good to miss. Mr Greenaway kindly settled us into a private dining area, and our service was impeccable from start to finish. Our waiting staff were friendly, attentive and had the right balance of being highly professional, but completely approachable. The restaurant itself is beautifully designed with a clever mix of classic and contemporary, and provided a perfect venue for a memorable meal. However, as Ms Woolf quite rightly points out, the dining is the most important part of the happiness experience, and blimey were we happy. Every single dish was admired, gushed over and appreciated fully before we even lifted our forks and knives. For me, it was a starter of Hand-Dived Orkney Sea Scallops which were prepared perfectly and served on a pomme fondant. Tender, sweet and wonderfully balanced with tomato jelly and parsley mayonnaise. I have never savoured a dish so much...until my main course! Pan Roasted Hake fillet was next with purple mash, lobster tortellini and pumpkin. It was delicate, and so fresh I suspect it leaped straight out of the sea onto my plate. The combination of flavours was sublime, the dish was beautifully presented and my plate was spotless at the end. During my meal I had a couple of glasses of a tasty Sauvignon Blanc, which went well with my seafood starter and main course and, at £5 a glass, was excellent value. To end, I choose a Chocolate Fondant with a vanilla tuile, white chocolate mousse and tonka bean ice cream. This was again presented with such elegance, and was absolutely delicious. Every element combined well and the dish had the right balance of hot & cold, sweet (but not overly!) with the rich cocoa working well with orange caviar. Everything was relaxed, each dish was served at just the right time and the conversations flowed. As a wonderful conclusion, we had a visit from Mark and a personal tour around the new hotel rooms upstairs from the restaurant. They were absolutely gorgeous, and excellent value for money, as was our meal. As I was finishing this review, I pondered the thoughts of one Mr Mark Twain, who wrote, "When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat"... ...after this meal, I think we would all agree it was just like Heaven! read more

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I have to say I was ridiculously excited about my visit to Restaurant Mark Greenaway For my boyfriends 30th birthday. Not only had Mark featured on Great British Menu last month but it was my first visit to the new site on North Castle Street apart from a quick chat with the infamous chef previously and a fab meal at the last place. It seemed such a long time and long wait with baited breath since Mark announced his plans to move from Picardy Place to an unknown location, in what seemed a very exciting move for a chef who seems to be going from strength to strength in the Edinburgh food scene. As always on enetering Loic the sommelier extroidinaire greeted us warmly amd seated us at the table which was elegantly laid out by the lovely Georgian windows. The Restaurant is located in what used to be a bank and retains many of the original features including a vault! More on that later. The restaurant is decorated in subtle colours with an amazing chandelier that gives a romantic glow when the sun goes down. We all decided to go with the A La Carte Menu as it was a celebration. Dishes tasted included expertly seasoned Scallops, wood pidgeon and a ham hock terrine - all devoured. One of our friends who had the pidgeon literally ran out of words talking about their starter I ordered monkfish in a red wine reduction with octopus and mark went for the 11 hour slow roasted pork belly with pomme puree, savoy cabbage and toffee apple jus. Which I kind of wanted myself! The monkfish was really lovely and not something I would have normally chosen but it came recommended by Loic. I have to also say the wines he chose for us were FANTASTIC and really reasonable in comparison to other restaurants where you struggle to get a good, reasonable wine under £40! Mark's pork belly is a dish I just adore. The well -sourced meat was juicy and full of taste, the crackling perfectly crunchy without being too hard and the mash was smooth as silk. The toffee apple jus was not too sweet and a great modern twist on the classic pork and apple pairing. One of our friends had the duck course from GBM and loved it! Now for the dessert course, with the Chocolate Knot tart - my third time - a broken chocolate tart with crème fraiche parfait, frozen cookies, salted caramel and kumquat puree, not to mention popping candy which again you may have seen on Great British Menu? As I mentioned before they have the wine cellar in the bank vaults and Loic gave us the grand tour which is a rather novel touch to the dining experience. Definitely a five star experience for me! read more

Restaurant Mark Greenaway - Scottish Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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I am going to break the hearts and minds of many as I write this review. Chide as you must - I speak only the truth. I will first admit that I am far closer to the classless slob end of the spectrum than an appreciator of fine cuisine... I will second admit that I came here on a 'pay what you like' night so I may have never ventured in here otherwise... I will third admit that half the reason my experience was so shit was because everyone else was dying over their food saying it was the greatest thing they had ever tasted... I will fourth admit that I am a vegetarian, so I have zero opinion of the duck or the quail or the lamb or whatever... I will fifth admit that I had no idea what spelt was when I ordered it (not that I really had any choice, this was the only vegetarian option) I will sixth admit that the desserts were more than five stars... Now that I have explained all the reasoning behind my opinion really not mattering to you on the topic - I shall give you my opinion. Seriously? A fucking FIVE STAR restaurant that gets nothing but amazing perfect rave reviews doesn't have anything brilliant and special to offer a non-meat eater in 2012, in a fairly hip city in Europe? Was it horrendous? No. Was it better than a cheese and onion sandwich from Tesco... JUST. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's pretty standard to make sure there's a couple of decent options for veggies on the menu and this place didn't, at all. Not to mention the ONE option wasn't even an option at all, it was an appetizer turned meal. Maybe having one option would have been fine if it wasn't so obvious that no one gave a shit about that option (and in turn in my mind people who don't eat meat) and the duck was going to be perfection defined. The quail was going to make you orgasm with joy. The lamb was going to melt in your mouth. The steak was going to be heaven on a fork. And the spelt was ALWAYS going to be crap in comparison. The dessert made up for it being the worst meal ever... but not enough. read more

Now, I'm starting (OK, well starting is probably a poor word) to sound like a whinger. And I am not just talking about the review that follows, but I've noticed a trend of contrary reviews. That's ok, I try to keep myself unbiased as best I can, and to that regard, I award 4 stars, a drop from 5. *audible gasp from the audience* There are reasons, oh yes there is, and I still regard MG as some sort of culinary god. But, it's a new menu, and I think it needs to get of it's training wheels. Flavours-wise don't feel quite together yet. Presentation, as always, flawless. Service struggled with a table of 18, but was pleasant throughout, but time between courses was quite long, but I put that down to the sheer effort in presentation, however glasses were rarely empty (although my other half did observe as he didn't drink wine, he wasn't offered anything else to drink bar water). I came away with the same satisfied feeling as before and did have a fabulous evening, but perhaps with less wow involved. So apart from time, the amuse bouche - celeriac (yum) and the flavour in the espuma packed a punch, but not quite sure red amaranth and a very surprisingly solid hazelnut matched in either flavour or texture. Starter: crab cannelloni and smoked cauliflower custard. Presentation was... just .... awesome. An inspirational dish. But... it was so cold there were ice crystals inside the cannelloni (which with the spinach butter acting as the pasta, it made sense to be so cold) which I didn't particularly enjoy. The display of releasing the applewood smoke and the flavours in the smoked cauliflower custard was fantastic and surpassed the cannelloni itself. For my main, I went for the hake. I will note, which I hadn't noticed on my previous visit, that there is a major lack of vegetarian meals - starter, yes, but not main course, which I do find curious. In that manner, I am of course, biased. The hake was beautifully cooked, and I do recommend that the broth is added, it was delicious. The purple potato mash was the best item on the plate (with a nod to Bodger and Badger, I do love me some mashed potato) - the flavour in the potato were beautifully captured. I did notice that mashed potato was a popular theme in the dishes around me as well. Again, I am mesmerised by the detail in the dish in front of me. Finally, as I couldn't really say no (similar to last time really) to desert and this time, went for the broken lemon tart. That was a fun looking dish! It reminded my (looks-wise, not flavour) of Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts. The lemon tart pieces were fab, and shortbread base, packed full of buttery goodness. I *think* there was a lemon ice cream - that didn't really stand out for me, flavours were too close to the tart to be discernible - and coconut jelly, which to be honest, had attracted me to the dish in the first place - but it was utterly lacking in flavour - definitely felt like a dud. A week on though, the sharpness of the lemon tart sticks more in my mind. And I am not thinking about the fact I ate jelly for the first time in a long time (veggie no no, I am a bad girl as i didn't check for gelatine). Anyway, overall, if you went to MG for a beautifully presented meal, which is executed flawlessly, you won't be sorry. And I suspect, that if I returned in a few months time, or longer, that the meal I had tonight will have changed and improved. New babies need to learn to crawl, and this menu is no different. read more

WARNING: Must read like a rapper. Champagne flowing in the VIP, While I watch that Mark on that big TV. Surrounded by the bloggers and edinburgh elites, It was a perfect settin' for a meet and greet. He started us off with a canape, appetizer that makes you say "Hay!' Can't holla enough about that pork, Put that starter right onto ma fork. So in all what I had was really nice, Fo gods sakes he coulda cooked it fo me twice. Love. Peace. HOLLA!.. read more

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. That sums up for the most part how I felt about this restaurant. Quite clearly with the greeting upon arrival, service and style of food they are aiming for a coveted Michelin. I would be surprised, to put it mildly, if they received one. My friend and I decided to opt for the taster menu which promised so much in terms of flavour and variety. We had aperitifs and decided to opt for the matching wines. I feel as bored writing the review about this place as I did whilst eating the food. So I'll shorten it down somewhat! A lot of purées, cream (which is all you could taste in the soup) and experiments with hot and cold on the plate which just didn't come off. I can't even tell you how horrible the dessert was (apparently a contender in The Great British Menu...) both my friend and I had to leave it and inform the waiter why. I'm not usually so hyper-critical of the restaurants I go to but I feel for the £240 I spent I received very little in terms of a culinary experience as I would have liked. Oh and watch your drinks! They like to take them away half finished... I won't be going back here and I won't be recommending it to family or friends. Not sure whether I should give this a two star or not? Having experienced other high end establishments in Edinburgh I have to say your money is better spent in one of those. Over and out :) read more

OMG where do I start?? My first experience of Mark Greenaway was as a result of yelp for the Raconteur pop up bar which was absolutely amazing!! I love cocktails but probably stick to my old favourites so it was nice to experience a menu which differed from the rest all of which had my tastebuds buzzing with excitement - the Summer cup martini was just to DIE for!! You can really taste the fruit and the kick is so smooth it can be dangerous.. They are just too moreish!! Gutted when Taste of Edinburgh was cancelled I decided I had to try the food at 12 Picardy Place.. So after a revisit for a cheeky wee Raconteur cocktail we headed downstairs to try the Market menu - 3 courses of fantastic food for £20! Well at that price it would be rude not to!! As a renowned 'fussy' eater (and gluten free) I was so happy to see a menu where there were several things I wanted to try... After much deliberation I opted for the Ham hock terrine to start which when it arrived I felt almost guilty about eating as it was soo beautifully presented.. with interesting mallow like swirls, jelly cubes, a scallop and scattered flowers each mouthful was a new adventure! This was followed by the 12 hour slow-roasted pork belly with a toffee-apple jus..... WOW!! The crackling was just amazing and the pork so tender and juicy and accompanied by the most amazing tasting and textured creamy mash potato - I'm sure it probably had a better description on the menu but I can say that my tastebuds were on overdrive! I really thought things couldnt get much better.... then dessert arrived - salted caramel cheesecake straight from Heaven!! Every mouthful was savoured in that eyes closed kind of way!! The attention to detail in the presentation of all of the food was exquisite and the tastes were like a fireworks display on your tongue! Cant recommend it enough and I'll definately be back with friends soon!! read more

Restaurant Mark Greenaway - Ham hock starter... Too beautiful to eat? - Scottish Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Fellow Yelper Geoff K and I decided to take advantage of the great Yelp dinner offer going on this week to try Mark Greenaway's restaurant. I've been meaning to try his fine dining for a while now, after reading so many good reviews and this was the perfect opportunity to sample some of his fine dining at an affordable price. We had booked a table for 7.30 pm and when we arrived, the lovely lady at the reception took us to our table, which was a nice corner table. We were quite surprised that the restaurant was so quiet, but I guess it is mid term holiday this week, and it was a Tuesday. I have to admit that I felt a bit self conscious as we were the only ones in the room but our hostess was lovely and chatty. We ordered our food and as we had both opted for the pork as a main and were a bit uncertain about the wine, we were recommended a reasonably priced Pinot Grigio. After a very short wait, we were brought a delicious pea and mint amuse-bouche. I love when restaurants do that. It's very common in France but you only seem to get it in fine dining places in Scotland. That was certainly a lovely start to the meal. For starter, G had gone for the terrine and after hesitating all day between the cullen skink and the ravioli, I opted for the ravioli. I do love cullen skink but this was too good an opportunity not to try that delicious sounding dish! Both starter plates looked very pretty and were a pleasure to the palate. The main course then arrived. I had been looking forward to that slow cooked pork all day and it certainly looked as pretty as it tasted! The crackling is just soooo good with a little bit of salt. Divine! Now, I did say on twitter that I would have liked the texture of cooked apple with it, but that's probably just because I'm French! The dish is fantastic and the puree and the jus were very delicate and delicious. Our waitress was very attentive and the service was quick. We were offered pudding but didn't opt for it as we were feeling full and were left to finish our bottle of wine. I haven't mentioned that the restaurant is nicely and tastefully decorated, the lighting is quite low, which make a pleasant and intimate atmosphere, and I did like the background music, which was jazzy enough to create an atmosphere but not overpowering at all. I can't wait to go back, and will happily save some pennies to be able to afford the normal price! Also, I haven't found out how to add pictures to a review but I have posted the pictures to the restaurant's profile so everybody can admire the faultless presentation. Hats off Mr Greenaway, and thank you for partnering with Yelp! read more

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Mark Greenaway first caught my eye on tv show The Great British Menu last year when he was competing to cook an Olympic banquet; serving up creations I'd never heard of or seen before. So when Yelp announced it was having dinner at Mark Greenaway last month, I jumped at the chance having missed out on two opportunities previously and hearing so many good things about it and wondering if he really would love up to the standard displayed on tv. When I arrived I was greeted by a handsome well-suited young man who took my coat and showed me to my seat. I immediately liked the place and appreciated the mood created by the decor, colour of paintwork, lighting and music. We were treated to a wine tasting downstairs in what was the former bank's vault but is now the wine cellar. After six generous samples from which we could choose one to accompany our meal and learning a bit about each we giggled our way back upstairs and even got lost on the way (there are a few doors). What an excellent way to start off a dinner! I opted for the Market Menu - 3 courses for £20 and phenomenal value for money it was! To start, we were presented with a lovely cute aperitif which I wasn't expecting. At this point I was rather merry from the wine tasting and wolfed it down without paying attention to what it was(sorry) but it was goooood and that is the main thing! My chosen starter was Scottish Mushroom Veloute - Roasted Scottish Mushrooms, Tarragon, Truffle and Raviolo. When it was placed in front of me, to begin with all I could see was sliced mushroom topped with 1 ravioli in the middle of a very large dish and then I saw everyone elses significantly bigger alternative starters, I thought I had been had but then came my pouring sauce. So I discovered that Veloute means soup (new thing learnt for the day, done!) and this was a wonderfully delicious, satisfying mushroom soup with a twist. For my main I opted for 11 Hour Slow Roasted Clash Farm Belly - Pomme Purée, Savoy Cabbage, Toffee Apple Jus: a-m-a-z-i-n-g! It was beautifully presented and the combination of flavours complimented each other superbly. Dessert for me was Broken Chocolate Tart - Custard Jelly, Frozen Cookies, Crème Fraiche Parfait, Salted Caramel and kumquat Purée and this blew me away. Each chocolatey thing was of a different shape, size, flavour and texture; accompanied by fruity flavoured purees and popping candy - wow! On my first bite I rolled all the way back in my seat and savoured every single mouthful with a loving tenderness I have never given to food before and I was sorry to see it gone, hoping more would appear on my plate. This for me was a work of art. Wow! This was a sensory experience I could never have imagined and unlike anything I have had before. The staff were so attentive to every detail, with brilliant knowledge - remembering every ingredient on the plate and making suggestions for how the dish could be eaten as recommended by chef. Also one noticed I had taken photos of my food and asked if I wanted her to wait whilst I took more before setting down additional plates. If I had been on my own in this restaurant I probably would have got carried away and photographed my dishes from a lot more angles - 'work it, work it baby'. It was wonderful to experience staff so passionate about their work! The next day I raved about the place to everyone I saw! I am most definately coming back here! read more

Go Yelpers, go Yelpers, go! 69 North Castle St for Restaurant Mark Greenaway is open for business and it is divine! OMG it was beautiful and everything I had been waiting less than patiently for! I had never visited Librizzis, the previous incarnation of the site but I was uber excited that Mark was finally opening again. I wanted to pork out on piggy so badly and on a snowy Edinburgh night I got my wish. This was opening night but things ran smoothly with lovely, attentive staff. The restaurant has a different layout to no12 Picardy Place but the teal walls, dark stained wooden floors and gorgeous windows gave the restaurant a lovely intimate atmosphere (which clearly worked on one couple who snogged constantly between courses). The downstairs will be getting worked on with awesome plans afoot for the private dining room :-) Loic the sommelier was fab, fabulous knowledge and recommendations and the wine cellar is awesome. Way back in the day, the building was a bank (RBS) and now Loic has commandeered the former bank vault for a wine cellar. We visited and tried a gorgeous pinot noir (v light with almost a slight edge of white citrus) but Jackie G wasn't quite ready to go full red and we ended up sharing a gorgeously refreshing sauvignon semillion. Being the generally depressing month January is, we were both set on pud before we arrived so we ordered mains and pud, rather than 3 courses which was just enough. A shallot amuse bouche with basil oil was brought for us to have and it was lovely. Forming and warmed, it was literally tantalising our taste buds for what was to come. Yep, the pork belly is still on the menu and is my idea of pig heaven! I could have tried something else but being so fat phobic about meat, having pork belly which melts in the mouth is simply amazing and with Mark out of the scene for a couple of months, I would have killed for this dish. Combined with the caramel apple jus, savoy cabbage, apple cubes and pomme puree, I was literally in pig heaven! I had tried some of Jackie G's Aberdeen angus and it was gorgeous! Big slab of meat, cute little potato croquettes and gorgeously sticky and meaty bone marrow, complete with a lovely rich bone marrow gravy - yum! We did do our plates justice but had a bit of a break to re-group before plunging into the dessert menu. I had the jam jar (pic posted) and as the snow kept coming down, it wad the perfect comfort food on a cold night. Plum compote, custard foam and rice pudding, it was just so yummy. A pear sorbet presented on the jar lid with a caramelised plum strip on top was gorgeous! Jackie went for the chocolate torte which was fab - sticky ginger drops, kumquat, dark chocolate and what tasted like space dust lite version (which buzzed nicely in the mouth) was fab too! Loic came over after we discussed having digestives. A gorgeous Aussie dessert wine was provided for us to sample which Jackie went for and after spying port, I couldn't resist. Our drinks and a chat with Mark and Nicola rounded off a fabulous night. I'll definitely be back v soon - food was gorgeous and I have to say, OMG, still stands for (breathy voice) Oh Mark Greenaway... read more

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Incredible service, doesn't rely on obscure and novel ingredients to deliver an amazing experience - just craft, artistry, and execution. It's been a while, but I had the tasting menu here. The first thing that struck me was how boring the items were. See, a lot of places like this, it's truffle this, stone fruit that (not peaches or plums, no, that's too everyday), kumquats, some kind of root you've never heard of - you know, stuff that you don't really have in your larder and couldn't get anyway, and stuff that would intimidate or put off your pickier friends. Not so, here! They don't rely on that to make the meal incredible, just really sharp execution, plating, and service. I had a stock (don't call it a bone broth, and they didn't either) as a course that was super well executed but to make it extra fun it was infused at the table using a balance brewer to draw the broth through some fresh herbs. Like everything was really, really incredible, just spectacular - but it was all in the execution. It wasn't even particularly complicated execution, either - like, sous vides with proper finishes, fluid gels, that sort of thing. Stuff a sufficiently motivated home cook can pull off. But the real cap was when I asked if any of their desserts traveled well, because my friend's wife was at home sick with the child, and I wanted to share some of this wonderful meal with her. Our server frowned worriedly and said, "I'll go ask chef." About 20 minutes later, as we were wrapping up, he returned with a plastic container. This wasn't a typical takeaway container - it was obviously a prep container, with some tape residue still evident. I don't know what they dumped out to accommodate our unreasonable request, but I do know that even though they aren't a takeaway place, they plated one of their desserts beautifully in a prep container just to make our experience that much better. Without the service, this would have been one of my favorite meals. I cannot believe that you can deliver a restaurant experience this excellent where I'd feel comfortable taking the pickiest, most conservative eaters I know. But for them to obviously do something they don't, and not even try to demur, just accommodate us? This is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. I rave about this place. I cannot wait to return. read more

Well it's taken nearly a week, but I've finally got around to reviewing my visit... We'd booked at table as part of the YelpEats offer (£15 for 2 courses). Although the menu was different to the main one, it still certainly looked good. We arrived just before our table booking time and were shown straight to our table. The restaurant was pretty quiet, we were the only ones in our part of the restaurant, I think this was probably due to it being mid week and school holidays. Anyway I digress! The place is stunning, although I think it would be a bit more comfortable with a few more people in. We looked at the menu, but in reality have both pretty much chosen in advance. I ordered the 'Ham Hough and Shallot Terrine' starter, and '11 Hour Slow Roasted Pork Belly' main. Given that I haven't a clue about wine we asked the restaurant manageress (not a clue if this is the right title!) to advise us. Given that this is a very fancy place, this worried me! I needn't have been, we got a really nice bottle of white which didn't break the bank (£21 I think). First to come out was a pea and mint puree amuse bouche (I only just learnt the name). A pleasant surprise before our starter. It was nice, not my favourite part of the meal, but certainly did it's job in preparing us for the starter. This was followed shortly by some nice warm bread, and then our starters. Visually it was great. Yet surprisingly for 'fine dining' it was fairly substantial too. It came with red wine jelly, roasted hazelnuts and hazelnut mayo. The hazelnut and terrine was a great combination of flavours. My only suggestion would be for more of the actual hazelnuts, or for the mayo to be more strongly flavoured. Onto the main.... Again arriving promptly the main looked just as good. As well as the belly pork there was sliced pork fillet, pomme puree (a nice creamy mashed potato for the common of us), savoy cabbage, and cubes of toffied apple. The pork fillet was really tender and tasty, mash was really smooth (but not too much). The real winner (and my favourite bit of the meal by far) was the slow roasted pork belly. I've not seen such a uniform piece of belly pork (a perfect square with immaculate crackling), but this attention certainly didn't take away from it's substance. It was very much 'melt in the mouth' stuff! The only thing it was lacking in my opinion was salt to bring the flavour out. However unlike a lot of people, I prefer it this way so it can be added to taste. The flaked salt (so much better than other types!) provided did the job perfectly. So that was that then. A great deal from Yelp, but I'd certainly go back to try the full menu sometime. The staff were great; professional yet friendly and happy to chat unlike some other high end restaurants. I've given 4 stars. I did consider 5 but I'm always reluctant to do this even at the best of times. I have no particular reason for not giving 5, but I think there's always room to improve (is there such thing as perfection). Ok, enough of my long-winded nonsense. Give Mark Greenaway's a try, you certainly won't regret it! Geoff read more

A blast from the past and not really in a good way. Maybe I was expecting more but the experience just fell flat. Nothing was bad, per se, but nothing was that memorable either. First off, the restaurant was stifling and the dining room seemed like a make-shift eating area in a hotel lobby. Even the bar, at the front looked temporary. Service was fine, if a bit distant. Even the poor waiter was sweating profusely. Not something you want to see in a food handler. Ambiance wise, it was quite old fashioned: A huge crystal chandelier, servers in ties and vests, tables pretty close together... We left with a new name for the restaurant: Mark Stayaway. The food was fine. Period. It seemed forced and almost everything was served on a glass plate. Many people love this place, it just wasn't my cup of tea. On the plus side, the wine list was surprisingly affordable. read more

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to dine at Mark Greenaway with fellow Yelpers a few weeks ago. It was even better than I was expecting. The ambiance was perfect and the staff were very welcoming and kind. I especially enjoyed getting to see the wine cellar and tasting the wines...what a treat! The food was impecable. I must say that the dessert I had is what stands out most in my mind....peanut butter cheesecake. I cannot remember ever having a better desert. I am in awe of Mark Greenaway and his staff and am really looking forward to returning as soon as I possibly can! read more

When word of the restaurants participating in Yelp Eats Week hit my ears, my first and foremost target was Mark Greenaway. I hadn't heard any reviews or recommendations of the restaurant; no one I knew had been. I knew vaguely of the restaurant and nurtured some desire to try it out mainly through my repeated visits of Hawke & Hunter above (and below) the restaurant. A firm favourite drinkery of mine, so I assumed their class and quality would reflect in the attached restaurant. In short: My expectations were met. For starters I opted for the Ham Hou-- But wait! What's this? This cheeky green concoction? Before our starters were delivered, the waitress surprised our table with a complimentary aperitif of amuse bouche of warm pea mousse with truffle oil. Fantastic! But wait (again)! Did you say peas?? I hate peas! Unless, it appears, they are done like this...! I'll admit, I supped on the pea mousse out of politeness and I did not expect to like it as much as I did. But over all I was most impressed with the quality of this complimentary dish. Must've been the truffle oil...... ;) So for starters I opted for the Ham Hough Terrine with Red Wine Jelly, Roasted Hazelnut, Hazelnut Mayo and Toast. In a word: terrific. And an impressively attractive dish. Next up, and the reason I couldn't wait to come to Greenaway's, I had the 11 Hour Slow Roasted Clash Farm Belly Pork with Pomme Puree, Savoy Cabbage and Toffee Apple Jus. Oh, the toffee apple jus! Anyone who knows me, knows I love my pork. Especially the belly. But this.... best belly ever! Crisp skin followed by immaculate layers of soft, moist pork, couple with the jus and the puree. Up there in my top meals of all time based on the main course alone! My only regret is coming for lunch, as it meant my time had to be brief. If I had come in the evening I would have paid the extra dragons for a dessert of Bramley Apple Plated Six Ways (Pie, Jelly, Crisps, Sorbet, Mousse, Soup). Alas time was against us. but there's always next time. And Mark, be sure, there will be a next time. Looking forward to coming back and seeing the rest of that enticing menu. Jen has since told me of Mark's enthusiasm and encouragement for Yelp. I must say, to have a restaurant of this quality on your side is a massive ally in Yelp's slow but steady world takeover bid. I only look forward to more collaborations between the two. A big thank you to Mark Greenaway for his positive stance on Yelp and moreover his incredible talent for food. read more

Mark Greenaway has a reputation as one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh, and it delivers in a big way. The food is creative, upscale, and luxurious. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a special meal hosted by the sponsors of this excellent website to celebrate the fall menu. I had a wonderfully creative starter: smoked scottish salmon, homemade black pudding on tiny tattie scone, and poached quail egg on foie gras (eat your heart out SF!). The dish was soft and luscious, with dark and smoky notes. Sadly it was under seasoned, spoiling pure enjoyment. Overall the perfect execution of each of the elements more than made up for this transgression. My main was an 11 hour smoked pork belly, served with the most velvety canelle of mashed potato, a lovely cabbage slaw, and a few slices of juicy pork loin. The plate was kissed with a toffee sauce that was pure sweet and salty heaven. The belly itself was absolutely perfect, soft fat sandwiched between smoked meat and crispy cracklin. I would have loved a bit more sauce (actually I would have downed a glass of it if offered), and maybe more cabbage or another vegetable on the plate might have helped cut the richness of the meat and mash. Despite these suggestions the dish itself was a meat-lovers triumph, and I can see why it is one of Mark's signature dishes. Desert was a celebration of chocolate so rich it might have defeated a lesser man. Luckily I was up to the challenge (ok maybe the wee dram of Caol Ila fortified me a bit). The presentation was stunning (true of all the dishes really), with a perfectly cooked fondant cake balanced by layered white chocolate mousse wrapped in a delicate chocolate. Orange caviar rounded out the plate. The cake was rich, dark, and sinful, perfect 70% cocoa simplicity. I don't normally like white chocolate, but the mousse was soft and tangy, perfect to cut the richness of the chocolate. The orange caviar was clever, but could have been integrated better into the dish. Overall an incredible meal, amazingly progressed and well presented. The quality of ingredients and care in preparation make it easy to overlook the minor flaws in execution. I will most assuredly be back to see what else Mark has to offer. Many thanks to Jenny L for hosting us, and to my wonderful dinner companions (Jurgen D, Jackie G to name a few) for conspiring to deliver a memorable evening. read more

This is certainly fine dining. My recommendation, however, if you are a foodie on a budget, is to go for lunch. You can get 3 courses for £20 or two for £16 and change. That, in my book, is a pretty sweet deal. Parsnip soup with parsnip chips... really creamy, decadent, and warming. Winter-time winner. Hake with herb crust, parsnip cake, butter oysters and saffron 'air.' Oysters were divine and the hake perfectly done. Herb crust was a bit intense to eat on its own, but flavoured the fish well. Mark has done a good job of balancing fine dining with local, seasonal food, and a proper yet unsnobby atmosphere (though the other patrons seemed to be a lot of banker-types). This experience at £20 or less per head? I'll take it. read more

I was kindly invited along with a number of other Yelpers to the viewing of Day 1 of the heats for the Great British Menu. Having never been to Mark's restaurant before (but hearing good things about it!) I was very excited to come along. Firstly, we were greeted by some delicious Perrier-Jouët champagne, which definitely went down a treat. The amuse-bouche selection was beautifully presented and delicious. I really enjoyed the crab (and I think with avocado) and the duck eggs benedict. So this certainly prepared us for the starter to come. We had a lovely room, which is obviously used for private dining or larger parties, through the back of the restaurant, which was really nice and intimate. Mark was giving people the chance to try each of the courses he presented. We had the starter which consisted of braised pork cheek, hot apple jelly and sea buckthorn. Certainly, I was interested to try this, having never tried cold pork cheek or sea buckthorn. To be honest the sea buckthorn did have a very aniseedy flavour, but the other flavours in the dish took most of that away, and it just gave it that spark of something different to taste. I thought the cubes of apple jelly were delicious and complimented the pork cheek very well, which was perfectly cooked and tender. There were some lovely bright pink 'petals' which looked gorgeous and the colours rerally were spectacular. We watched the show live, which was great fun and met Mark who was really down to earth and friendly. It was funny hearing his stories of how different the chefs are from what, we as viewers, see once the finished programme has been edited. Anyway, all in all a great night and I'm looking forward to episode 2 tonight. Even if he does not win I will definitely be going back to his restaurant for the full experience and recommending it to friends and family! Go Mark Greenaway! :) Thanks again, Morven. read more

I've had the pleasure of eating at Mark Greenaway 3 or 4 times now. I have to say it has been a pleasure each time and I continuously look forward to returning again. The service is excellent, the food is sublime (make sure you have desserts!) and the location is brilliant for us. Of note I highly recommend the Market Menu which is 3 courses for £20 currently which is incredible for the food and service you get. Highly recommended! read more

Zoe and I went as part of the Yelp Eats! week, which offered a 2 course fixed price menu for £15 each, which, given the regular prices here, is remarkable. The restaurant is very upmarket, with very stylish decor and a classy vibe. The staff we extremely welcoming, and very informative when asked about the food. We were brought an amuse bouche of warm pea mousse, which was very smooth, and had a texture I can honestly say I have never experienced before. It was bizarre, but in a good way! I had the Ham hough terrine to start, which was served with hazelnut mayo, red wine jelly, and toast. If you can imagine all of these things but miniaturised, and arranged at pleasing angles around the plate, you might have some idea of what it looked like. In fact, there is a helpful photo here on Yelp that someone has added, so don't even listen to me, check it out! The terrine was delicious and the red wine jelly and hazelnut mayo out of this world. This guy really knows how to combine flavours. Zoe had the Cullen Skink, which, as she said was a 'reconstructed' version of the classic dish, a piece of smoked haddock on a slice of potato, served with the actual soup in a small jug to pour around the solids. It also had a couple of little leeks with baby onions on top and it looked a real treat. Zoe though it very tasty, although the soup could have been a little warmer. We both had the 11-hour slow roast pork belly, which was served with spiced pork fillet, pomme puree and mini apple cubes! It was the finest port belly I have ever tasted, beautifully presented (again, see the photo already posted by someone else), and incredibly succulent, as you would expect. The fillet was incredibly tender, and delicately spiced. The pomme puree was the tastiest mashed potato I have ever had, it was just so incredibly buttery! This was an example of truly refined fine dining, and my words do not really do it justice. This truly was an experience to remember, although the regular prices make it prohibitively expensive to most of us. That said, for a dining experience of this quality, those prices are only fair. read more

I went to Mark Greenaway as part of a large group sampling the new menu. Having tried and loved some of the pork belly from their stand at the Foodies festival a few weeks ago, I was expecting good things and I wasn't disappointed. This was my first experience of deconstructed food, and it was a little confusing at times, but so delicious that my confusion soon evaporated in a haze of contentment. I had crab cannelloni as a starter which came balanced over a bowl of cauliflower custard and applewood smoke. Like every part of this meal the presentation was beautiful. I don't think I've ever eaten such an artistically constructed meal. Pretty as it was, I was a little unsure what to to do with my starter but fortunately the helpful waiting staff were there to explain the recommended method of eating it. I went for the duck as a main course which was more straightforward than the crab. Unfortunately I can't remember the exact combination of ingredients that made up the dish but I haven't forgotten how good it was. A plate of inspiration that i wouldn't hesitate to recommend to any meat eater. I had the jam jar as a dessert which consists of four plum-orientated components. This included rice pudding (as soon as I saw this a childhood nostalgia trip kicked in and I was sold) and some of the best ice cream I've ever tasted. From start to finish the food was excellent. Delicate flavours combined with flare and imagination. The service was good without being embarrassingly formal (my glass was getting topped up before I even noticed it needed it). My only slight niggle (and it's very slight) was that the menu was a little too weighted on the side of quality over quantity. I was still hungry at the end of a three course meal but the food was so good that this isn't a major complaint. I'm looking forward to going back for more. read more

Mark Greenaway Restaurant is classed as posh nosh by me. It is all a very gentle affair. We went for our anniversary. The manager was in and congratulated us. We were given a glass of Kir Royale complimentary as a gift from them for our years together, thank you! There wasn't an à la carte available due to the holiday season, so we had a special menu. I choose a pheasant tower ravioli with consommé and pumpkin seeds as a starter. For mains I selected the Lamb which came with a rosemary jus. And as a dessert I had a 'Knot' chocolate dish with kumquat sauce. We were also given an amuse bouche to start - which was a very tasty pumpkin foamy thing with coriander. Very tasty. I appreciated that the waiter advised when ordering that the lamb will be served pink; "as Mark likes it that way to bring out the flavours". Their sommelier suggested a pinot noir from the burgundy area to compliment the delicate flavours and it was an OKish choice. The wine did really shine at the dessert though as it went very well with the chocolate. for a £45 bottle of wine I did expect a little more though from this wine. It was lacking. As I said before - the food was delicate, good flavours, but ever so light and precious. We finished the meal with some special coffees and they kindly ordered us a taxi. In all it was just as I expected, no faults and very well crafted. The place did fill up but I never felt crowded. A well deserved 4 stars for a first visit. read more

First review of 2014!! (Okay, I'm still about 20 odd behind from Decembers lot!) Chose here, as reviews were pretty good & had old work colleagues up visiting Edinburgh from London, so thought a nice wee change from 'chains' was in order. Lovely location, but I couldn't help feeling that the interior layout of the tables, was rather 'busy' and felt close together when you first walk in. That said, once I was sat at the table, you actually were quite a way from the next table. It just needs a bit more thought on interior design for first impressions. A new carpet (or one vacuumed!) on the staircase to the bathrooms wouldn't go a miss! :-) Anyhoo.. onto food and drink. I tried a sample of Pinot Noir & then couldn't have it as no bottles in stock... offered another option, but was advised it was 50p a glass more. Now, I have no issue with that, but surely if you run out of stock and thats my only other option, you really wouldn't bother charging a first time customer, a poultry 50 pence more! We all opted for the Market Menu (2 courses) at £16.50 each. (£20 for 3). Great value, but I didn't feel the choices were mind blowing particularly. Choice of three dishes and vegetarian option was a porridge..hmm. I don't like salmon, so my only choice was belly pork. I'm on a new health kick, so belly pork wasn't ideal! I did ask if we could substitute main course from a la carte menu & pay the surplus - No was the firm answer. Frankly, that doesn't make sense, as it would have only resulted in us paying the restaurant £30/40 more... Service from waiters was excellent. Right balance of attention & leaving you alone, with good humour thrown in. What I didn't like was the whole shirt and tie suited & booted look from them all. I was pretty smart casual, but even I felt uncomfortably under dressed! This isn't a michelin star restaurant & even at that, having dined at michelin starred restaurants, they don't even try that hard to impress!! CHILL!! Overly formal & frankly, unnecessary. Pork Belly crackling was simply the best I've had. However, the pork underneath, as well cooked and tender as it was, really didn't have any individual taste of its own. Quite bland had it not been for the toffee sauce, mash & the crackling. Peanut butter brittle cheesecake was a work of art & extremely tasty - the saving course of the meal. Bill came to £82 (minus tip) for 3 people, 3 wines, 2 soft drinks and 3 teas on top of the 2 courses. You can't really argue with that - fantastic value. Had I dined from the A La Carte, I would have expected much more wow for my buck. When the average main course is £27/30, you're looking at a 3 course bill of around £60/65 for one person with a glass of wine & a coffee. Would I eat here again? Yes, it's a nice change from the normal, but I wouldn't 'rush' back and make the trip out specifically. You Gotta Eat Here - For Sure! :-D read more

I was staying at the Indigo Hotel just a few minutes away from Mark Greenaway and when it was time for dinner the weather was, as often is the case, not really the best so it was not a difficult choice to walk the few minutes to Mark Greenaway. I did not know that much about the place before so had no real expectations before. Not sure how the dining scene in Edinburgh normally works but was surprised that the place was fairly empty on a Thursday night but not that it bothered us. It did look a bit fancy and upscale so we did feel that we should perhaps have dressed up but when looking around it seemed as it was not really expected (at least judging from the guest at the few other tables). The service was friendly and efficient,the only thing that was slightly confusing was that we had 4 people involved in our service during the evening. There was a clear difference in skill and knowledge and the sommelier appeared to be the most knowledgeable on both wines and the food so ended up asking him any questions. The food was excellent for everyone. A lot of effort also went into the presentation of the food and while it at times felt as if they were trying a bit too hard everything did taste wonderful. I had the pork belly as a main that was excellent (pate as a starter, also great) and the others at the table were also happy with their choices. Desserts delivered as well. Value for money was excellent and it was without a doubt the best meal we had in Edinburgh. read more

Our dinner started with the most amazing amuse bouche (celeriac and hazelnuts and other goodness). I really couldn't get enough of it. Then my starter arrived. LOVE at first sight. A beautiful radicchio risotto with a hens egg. This was lush. Loved it. My main was aged rump with a marrow jus and some roasted veg. I didn't love it. It was good and the technique was all there but the roasted veg wasn't all that and the meat didn't melt in my mouth as I would have expected. My dessert was abstract art on a plate. Broken lemon tart. I didn't really get the concept of it and should've gone with the pear four ways, which looked amazing. Overall the food was good. It showed great technique and art but I expected a wee bit more flavorwise. Next time I will be going for the pork belly, hands down and the pear. read more

Oooooh, a downgrade. Ouch. After my previous amazing meal at MG, I had been going on about wanting to return for over a year. So, The Man surprised me by booking lunch here on NYE. My first visit was when the restaurant was located on Picardy Place. Unfortunately I found that the move to N Castle Terrace resulted in a downgrade in surroundings as well as food. When eating at a restaurant that is aiming for a Michelin star, you don't expect the wait staff to wear dirty uniforms that are missing buttons, and you don't expect the stairwell to the toilets to be scuffed and dirty. Once you get to the bottom of the scruffy stairs, you are in a cold, dank corridor that leads you to toilets that were "upgraded" by painting the tiles black. Tiles + paint + time = scratches and general shabbiness. So far, nothing particularly rang of "fine dining." This wouldn't be an issue if the standard of food was what I remembered. My starter (a veloute) was tasty though a bit uninteresting, and in The Man's pan fried duck egg, the duck egg itself was undercooked to the point of still having clear eggy slime on the top. I opted for the slow cooked pork belly that stole my heart on my previous visit, and The Man had what I believe must have been the oven roasted salmon. He *loved* the soft shelled crab but found the rest of the dish to be standard fare. My pork belly was nice but dry and lacking in some kind of oomph. The theme here is that the food was perfectly nice, but wasn't exciting. Everything was absolutely fine but not what I expected from Mark Greenaway. I'm probably being too extreme in my opinions considering we had three courses for £20 which is a fabulous deal, but if I had paid full price for the food I would have been UNimpressed. The bright star of the meal was the maitre d'/sommelier. He was wonderful, charming, friendly and spot on with service. But, unfortunately I left feeling let down. After a year of salivating to go back, I was left wishing we had gone elsewhere. read more

Please oh please can I just like live, drink and eat here for the rest of my life. That would make me the happiest little lady in Edinburgh, ever. Fact. I have now returned to Mark Greenaway twice. Once with some yelpers, and after having mentioned this visit to my friend the prompt response was table, in two weeks time, us, book, now. I was hardly going to say no!? The first visit with the yelpers was amazing. Crab cannelloni with smoked cauliflower custard. I was in awe when it came out, presentation is spot on, as was the taste of course!! Lifting off that little cone on top to be greeting by the most scrummy smokey smell, brilliant. Then there was the main. This main is without a doubt the best plate of food I have ever eaten. Gressingham Duck with potato croquettes, sausage roll, watermelon and tarragon gravy. It was mind blowing, the flavour of that gravy was so intense and delicious we may have had to ask for some more bread to mop it up with. The duck, unlike most duck I have had, was melt in the mouth. Not in the slightest bit chewy as it sometimes can be. Sausage roll, potato croquette..... man. I may sound like I am totally exaggerating, but as the other yelpers will verify, it is THAT good. On the second visit, I had parsnip veloute to start, which I had quite eagerly just jumped past whilst scanning the options. But on further inspection it came with a ham hough tortellini, curried parsnips and parsnip crisps. Yes please. My friend opted for the same, and we were both totally pleased with our choice, simply devine. Then for main I had hake with lobster ravioli, purple mash and a ginger and spring onion broth. I don't even like ginger!?! I swear I could come here and be given a whole plate based entirely on mushrooms and I would be converted. Again, utterly flawless, the fish was cooked to perfection. All the flavours are well balanced and compliment each other perfectly. Ok, now I am starting to rant on a little. So I shall break it down into simple points as to why, after reading this long winded review, you should go eat here - My friend that came on the second visit, drove all the way down from Aberdeen for the weekend just so he could come. - I have been three times, and each time I have had the chocolate fondant. If I were to go back tonight, I would have it again! - The service is always attentive and friendly. .........Oh yeah, and did I mention the life changing Duck!?!? read more

We came here for an intimate dinner for two in December. Since the Christamas menu hadn't much appealed to us, we opted for ordering off the a la carte. The atmosphere is small yet clean crisp tables and quiet conversations by candlelit make the space work. Staff were welcoming upon our entrance and I liked the meticulously organised bar on view. It was a cute gesture to have personalised cards to our party on the table waiting for us. We were started off with some Champagne then came the veloute. It had a nice texture of crisp garnish to the foam of the body and a vibrant contrast of colors. But other than that, it was an average veloute. The scallop starter consisted of a raw scallop & an already cooked one served separately on a bamboo serving tray. I could see the sear on the outside of the cooked scallop was perfectly done but the inside was ever so slightly under. Minimal seasoning meant a clean aftertaste but the one cooked item of the dish should have been perfectly cooked. One raw scallop, diced and presented within its shell was the layout I had to pour hot dashi into. This provided for the theatrical component of the night, as the sizzle of bonito flakes reacted to the hot liquid, and dry ice wispily escaped through the strategically placed river stones. It was cute, but nothing new. Scallops were fresh combined with ingredients that worked, but nothing overly impressive. The mains had were the Perthshire red leg partridge and the Aberdeen aged beef fillet. I enjoyed the partridge and all its little garnishes and trimmings. The skin separately crisped then rolled back onto the flayed meat pieces, provided for the perfect bite of meat. The puree went harmoniously with the protein and the croutons did add the nice crunch; however, the overall plate was more a visual dance than a tribute to taste. Aberdeen fillet was delicious, and a bit carried away. There was too much going on in that plate, and cannot say all of them worked. For fine dining, doesn't quite hit the spot. For atmosphere, its nice but a bit rigid. Something here seemed a tad mismatched for me. Dishes were slightly outdated and not as innovative for fine dining but prices were fairer than at proper fine dining restaurants. But then again, this felt more like an attempt at imitating what fine dining should be rather than the menu displaying actual culinary zeal. It was all a bit boring. If I want fine dining or even something similar, I'd choose another. Had a reasonably good experience, but for what it is you can have better elsewhere. read more

Had a fabulous lunch here with a foodie friend visiting from London. Luckily it was the day before he left otherwise we probably would have been back again the next night for dinner! Full review with photos please visit my blog which can be found on my profile. read more

We were greeted by a super-friendly maitre d' who took us to our table next to one of the windows. Knowing it was a celebration for us, Mark had left an anniversary card from himself on the table (a keepsake!) and we were soon nursing a couple of glasses of bubbly - lovely stuff, thanks Mark! The restaurant itself was fitted out in a contemporary versus traditional sort of fashion and was relaxing and interesting. I was particularly drawn to the main lighting of the room. We ordered a bottle of Don Nicanor's 2012 Malbec (Mendoza) to help us peruse the menu. This was decided on with a little help from our fantastic sommelier (I think there were two sommeliers on that night!) and it sure was a lovely Malbec. Not long after ordering we were presented with some lovely fresh bread & butter and an amuse-bouche of tomato gazpacho (tomatoes sourced from Cyrenians Farm, a Social Enterprise just outside Edinburgh that Mark sources a lot of fresh ingredients from) with basil and roasted cucumber and tomato jelly. This was really tasty, classic combination of tomato and basil and the jelly was a new one on us and went really well. It was served on a piece of wood from Mark's partner's parents' garden! Mrs G chose the venison carpaccio served with soused tomatoes, tomato tartare and parmesan "snow" to start. She enjoyed this very much and wolfed up every last bit. The tartare added a subtle sharpness which complimented the rest of the dish very well, the capers, cornichons (I think!) and parmesan topped it off with style. I'd opted for the duo of hand dived west coast scallops which came served with pork crackling, Dashi broth, soy caramel, sea vegetables and rice wine vinegar jelly. One scallop owas cooked with the soy caramel whereas the other one was served in the shell with the crackling and was finely sliced and raw. The eating process involved cooking the raw one by pouring the broth over it and letting it cook while devouring the other. This added a bit of fun to the dish and I liked the thinking behind it. This dish was simply delicious! We were then presented with a Cona coffee-maker full of Mark's take on cock-a-leekie soup. Again this added some fun to this (unexpected) dish. I'd seen Jak O'Donnell using one of these on Great British Menu just a couple of weeks before this visit so was most pleased to see it in action up close! The percolated broth was poured over the chicken, rice and fig. This was delicious, so fresh and clean tasting as well as having that x-factor buzz. Moving onto the mains and Mrs G had chosen to go with the beef, or more accurately, the 40-day dry aged fillet of Aberdeen Angus. This was accompanied by a celeriac gratin, oxtail cannelloni, wild mushrooms, watercress purée and a red wine jus. Safe to say she absolutely loved this dish too, insisting I tried it. I duly obliged. The beef was pink and tender, as it should be served (the waitress had mentioned this was how it came which pleased us both). The accompaniments were equally good, it was a strong main course; it was also presented in an elegant, contemporary fashion. I really could not make my mind up right up to the point of ordering. Somehow, the words "I'll go with the pork" came out. Upon seeing my 11 hour slow roasted Clash Farm belly of pork served with a pork cheek "pie", blackened fillet, sweetcorn and toffee apple jus, I was very happy! It looked terrific and tasted utterly amazing. Every single morsel of food on this well thought out plate was delectable! It really was special. We were then brought, as a wee refresher, what Mark describes as strawberries and custard, and what I would describe as a strawberry panna cotta-like pot of beauty! This really was delicious and probably should have quelled my desire for a dessert! Mrs G decided to forego dessert in favour of cheese and selected the Cornish Yang, Lanark Blue and Brie Campagnard. These were served with frozen grapes, quince, oatcakes, crackers, celery and apricot. We both very much enjoyed these lovely cheeses. I decided to forego cheese in favour of dessert and opted for "Mark's Great British Menu "Knot" Chocolate Tart". This came with custard jelly, frozen cookies, crème fraiche parfait, salted caramel and kumquat purée. The presentation was amazing and it was matched by the flavours. Everything worked together so well and I had no trouble finishing it all off. Delicious. We were now both full to the brim and ordered a couple of espressos to try and offset the sleepiness. These came with homemade chocolate bars, white chocolate lollipops and fruit pastilles. The indulgence continued! Again, everything was truly excellent! This was a hugely successful trip to Mark Greenaway and I can easily understand why there were no empty tables; he has got a fantastic name for himself here and quite rightly so. Superb service, environment, presentation, quality and taste. Restaurant Mark Greenaway oozes brilliance. read more

No exaggeration, this might be the best meal I have ever had. The complexity of the flavours in the millet/popcorn starter was out of this world, and this wasn't even what the waiter recommended. The vegetables chosen to accompany the monkfish main course managed to deliver a unique and different taste with each bite without ever overwhelming the underlying flavour. In my opinion that was mega-impressive. I deducted a star because the decor / atmosphere was a tiny bit staid but promptly gave the star back because the dessert knocked me off my seat with delight and the service was immaculate. I know this review sounds a little melodramatic but it really is this good. read more

i've been having a serious debate as to how to write this review. when looking at the rest of the reviews before i went to dinner at mark greenaway, i knew it was going to be good but was the hype going to be better than the actual dinner. i had been both looking forward to dinner at mark greenaway and also a bit worried. it seems that when i go some place yelpers rave about i seem to leave a little disheartened as my experience wasn't rave worthy. but that said mark greenaway was amazing! the food was just wow!!! it was beautiful on the plate and beautiful to taste!! i started my meal with the red wine and radicchio risotto with a poached hens egg in the middle. the risotto was creamy and packed fun of taste but breaking open the egg and mixing in the runny yolk made this dish even more fabulous. i almost wish i'd ordered the larger portion just to have had extra risotto to mix the yolk with!! for main i had the pan fried hake topped with a lobster tortellini, side of purple mash, and spring onion and ginger broth. oh and there was delicious cubes of pumpkin as well!!! the hake was cooked beautifully and just flaked apart. the purple mash was divine, so creamy and a lovely shade of purple. but the best part of this dish was the single lobster tortellini that sat atop the hake. i saved this for last and was not disappointed. biting into it there was loads of lobster soaked in a lemony sauce and it was just divine. if only i could have had a whole plate of these!! i went a bit untraditional for the dessert and had the cheese platter. as much as i love dessert, when i'm out fine dining i always go for the cheese as it's just too good to resist! i was quite pleased that i had five different cheeses to try, all a very large slice, with some frozen grapes, quince paste, and some poppy seed thins and oatcakes. the cheese was lovely and i really enjoyed this while everyone else had their sweet desserts. to finish i opted for a peppermint tea which came with a lovely assortment of petit fours! the brownies were mmmmmmmmmm!! i thought it was a nice touch as i still got a small sweet for after my meal and they came at no extra cost. so yes the food was lovely, so excuse me while i make this a bit longer and explain why it was 4 stars and not 5. mark greenaway is aimed at fine dining standards and i felt that this fell a bit short. i know that they only had 10 days to do the refurb and open the restaurant but this showed as the place feel short of the decor perfection that is required of this type of restaurant. it was nice, but just felt like it was rushed. then there was the music... ugh this actually really irritated me. it was loud and didn't seem to have a common theme and i felt like it really intruded on the atmosphere. i'm not sure if this was due to the fact that we were the only diners in the restaurant and i wouldn't have noticed the music had the place had a bit more buzz to it. they also seemed to have a wee bit of stocking issues as we ordered two bottles of red for the table and when someone asked for another glass when the bottles had been finished the sommiler had to tell her that they actually didn't have anymore. i found this odd as a restaurant of this standard just shouldn't run out of a type of red wine after only two bottles. i think for me, mark greenaway is on a journey. they've only just re-opened at a new premises and while the food is still divine the restuarant is not quite there yet. my hope is to go back in six months and see it completely settled in and i can update my review with 5 stars. read more

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We loved the entire experience! Staff was attentive but not hovering. Food was spectacular starting with the amuse bouche - a warm chestnut, potato, leak purée with truffle and peanut oil - it was delicious and just the perfect temperature served in a small elegant glass on a plank of hardwood as a serving tray. Just very thoughtful and the flavors were perfect. For appetizers Debra got the Loch Crab Cannelloni and I ordered the Hom Ham tureen with Scallop. The crab was wrapped in a paper thin crepe on a small bed of greens suspended over sauce infused with beets all in a cone shaped glass that fit into a narrow throated glass bowl. The bowl contained yet another sauce at the bottom and filing the rest of the bowl was a fog of smoke from hardwood. The two glasses were separated and the smoke released exciting the senses. Each component was tasted individually before mixing into what Debra described as the most luscious crab she has ever had. There were so many components that it was hard to make them all out. However, the result was a merging of flavors that was unique and in a class by itself. The tureen was also spectacular , packed with succulent ham in a flavorful gelatin where hints of coriander, clove, mustard and garlic seemed to be present. It was topped with a perfectly cooked medium sized scallop with small cubes of jelly for accompaniment . I honestly cannot identify what those cubes were made from but that didn't stop me from using a bit with each bite. Fabulous! Main courses did not disappoint. Debra's pork belly was soooo scrumptious she said not a word to me during that course except to make some sounds of joy after each bite. My duck breast with sausage rolls and tarragon jus was as the Italians say "OTTIMO" the ultimate. Perfectly cooked rare with crisp skin and the portion size was more than adequate. I was in heaven and the glass of Rioja I had with it was icing on the cake. We finally shared a deconstructed peanut butter caramel cheese cake with hot chocolate sauce - as we ooh'ed and ahh'ed our way through that imaginative and just incredible dessert we both looked at each other and said, "it really doesn't get any better than this!" but we were wrong because when the bill came we could not believe that food this good could be so reasonably priced. It was worth every penny for sure, and it was one of the best dinning experiences Debra and I have had. We cannot say enough about it except to say we will be back! Thanks to the excellent chefs and front of house staff for a time we will remember with great fondness! I wish there were more stars to award!!! read more

Excellent in every way. Service, ambiance, presentation and especially flavor. Everything made to perfection (either meat, fish or vegetable)! If you want a special meal experience whilst in Edinburgh, this is the place. read more

Seriously blown away by the quality of the dishes! The Yelp Eats menu offered brilliant choices and excellent value. We summed it up: "Mr Greenaway has his place buzzing. The food is of the most exceptional quality, the service spot on, and the restaurant a real upgrade on how they've had that room layed out in the past. We were delighted that their participation in the Yelp week compelled us to visit. We'll be back and we'll be back often." read more

I took a friend here in February for a nice lunch. The building is beautiful and newly renovated. The staff were very attentive during the meal, although we could have had more water with and after desserts. - We both went for the £20 market lunch menu which had a small but good variety of options. All dishes were beautifully presented (and yummy!), which definitely made the £20 worth it. And we both had very nice glasses of wine, about £6/7 each. - I recommend this for special occasions. - Marking this as 4 stars because they had just opened when we were there and the restaurant was quiet with only 4 other tables occupied, so a little lacking on atmosphere, but I assume that will change very soon! read more