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    The Cafe Royal

    4.0 (115 reviews)
    ModerateSeafood, Bars, British
    Open 11:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    The Cafe Royal Photos

    THE CAFE ROYAL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Classy
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Cafe Royal

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    Reviews With Photos

    Charles S.

    My favorite bar in the world. I was at the Cafe Royal with my then-university student son. I returned yesterday -- 13 years later -- with my wife and it was even better than I had remembered. As my wife said, Cafe Royal manages to be both comfy and opulent -- at the same time. It's still located "up a wee sneaky path" if you are coming on foot from Princes Street. We had the sampler of cured salmon and after an appropriate amount of time we ordered up some fabulous, briny oysters in this the oldest oyster bar in Scotland. All accompanied by just the right amount of beer. What a lovely way to get out of the Edinburgh rain. A tip of the hat to crime novelist Ian Rankin for directing us to the Cafe Royal on some ancient podcast.

    Bar
    Marc G.

    If your looking for a great place for oysters and ambience. Fun place to visit while in Edinburgh

    Alexander H.

    Came here just for a quick serving of oysters when visiting Edinburgh. Had good feedback online and was located very central and easy to find. Inside it's really pretty. A classic setting. Like a classic french upscale brasserie. Really cozy. Had half a dozen of scottish oysters with chili, lime and gin dip sauce. And some extra Tabasco. A glass of white wine with that. 19£ for six oysters is really reasonable. The oysters were fresh and of high quality. Scottish oysters are just really good. Matched only maybe by oysters from the Normandy. An overall very nice experience. The menu looked really good. Surely a place to come back to one day to try some more and other items from the menu.

    Fish pie
    Carla D.

    Small restaurant area that almost feels like an afterthought to the more larger bar area. The food was good, especially the roasted bone marrow served with the haggis.

    Mitch R.

    My wife and I along with my Son and Son in Law stopped in for drinks. The place is beautiful and has a great Scottish vibe. The bartender's took excellent care of us. My only regret was not getting contact info from David who bought all of us a round. He was so nice to us and tolerated our American accent. A great friendship missed. Slanjevah

    Venison

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    15 years ago

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    9 years ago

    I ate at the bar, where the servers and bartenders were quite friendly. I ordered the Slow Cooked Beef Pie, which I'd certainly have again.

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    7 years ago

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    10 years ago

    Okay service. Super busy. Food was alright. Nothing too fancy-- up scale pub food. Solid choice for a night out.

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    13 years ago

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    10 years ago

    Beautiful pub, great beer. Stopped in for a quick refresher on the way around Edinburgh for one night, loved it!

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    Page 3 of 3

    The Cafe Royal Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Cafe Royal

    I went in and found it so gorgeous inside - beautiful ceiling detail with the cornicing, oval bar and little booths around it.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

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    The Ship on the Shore - Warm seafood boil

    The Ship on the Shore

    3.9(46 reviews)
    1.8 miLeith
    £££

    We had a fantastic dinner here. The boys especially loved sharing the seafood boil. Amazing meal…read more Highly recommend. Service and ambience great as well.

    Right out of the gate, let me say that the food itself was mostly excellent. The seafood was fresh…read moreand the smoked platter was well worth the time and, frankly, the price point was great. The desserts were not their forte, so feel free to skip it. The Cullen Skink as an appetizer is a must-try! So why the low score? Well, unfortunately, the waitstaff was absolutely abhorrent. We, along with other tables around us were ignored. It was so bad that, in order to get any service, refresh a drink, get a napkin, a dessert menu or whatever, I often had to stand up and wave my arms to get the attention of the staff. The absolutely lowest point came when I flagged down our server to get a dessert menu. We ordered from it immediately (because we didn't want to wait forever until someone passed our way again). She took our order, wiped our table off and went to the kitchen area. 30 seconds later, she returned with her purse on her shoulder and left for the evening. Did our dessert order go in? Nope. After about 10 minutes, we flagged someone else down and asked about our dessert. They were not aware of any dessert order and put one in for us. 5 minutes later, it was served. Ridiculous. A gentleman at the table beside us had to go find someone so he could get his bill to pay it. Once he led the waitress back to his table and paid her, we grabbed her attention just so we could get our bill and get out of there. It's a hard lesson for us to learn that, no matter how good the food is at a restaurant, terrible service can make for a n overall horrible experience. If you want to try this place, maybe get something to carryout and let the waitstaff learn how to provide proper service before eating there and ruining what should have been a pleasant meal.

    Photos
    The Ship on the Shore - Cute place

    Cute place

    The Ship on the Shore - Seafood sampler

    Seafood sampler

    The Ship on the Shore - Snapper?

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    Snapper?

    the fishmarket - Prawns, and curry plate

    the fishmarket

    3.8(24 reviews)
    1.9 miLeith

    The husband had fish and chips five times in two and a half weeks during our trip to the U.K. He…read moredeclared those at The Fishmarket the best. We walked here from Leith in search of The Fishmarket as featured on "Somebody Feed Phil." Unfortunately there was no fried crab claw on the menu like in the episode. I was quite looking forward to that. The restaurant has these weird sliding doors almost out of Star Trek that gave me problems over and over. Making two trips to your table from the take out counter? You can't get back inside without pushing through the line to order or sliding uncomfortably behind a pole to squeeze your way in. The fish and chips were really good. Two small and one large supper fed the four of us. The fries could be crisper, but it seems like all the U.K. fish and chips places are like this. Maybe the hot fish steams them a bit. We ate our fish and chips on the pier while watching a lovely sun set at 9:30 p.m. over Newhaven.

    Wow wow wow! I was…read morevisiting in Scotland, for my partners medical school send off. This restaurant was situated near where we were staying, so we visited here frequently. The food was spectacular, everything was prepared well and thoughtfully. Every time we came we were pleased. The service was also very good, they recommended dishes and drinks with our meals. Very nice group of people. The restaurant was decorated beautifully, it was colorful and light. I could've spent hours here!

    Photos
    the fishmarket - Atmosphere

    Atmosphere

    the fishmarket
    the fishmarket

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    Port of Siam - Seafood laksa

    Port of Siam

    4.3(6 reviews)
    0.3 miNew Town

    This place has newly opened on Broughton street and is the sister restaurant of The Port of Siam in…read moreNewhaven. For those familiar with original place, you'll know the food is top notch quality and yummy! They've also opened up an adjoining bar called The Bangkok bar which serves Thai street food. V handy if you're down that end of town for drinks and fancy a tasty small bite alternative. Sometimes Thai food just hits the boozing spot like nothing else!! I've not tried the cocktails but I'm assured by a friend they're worth a trip. I tried the main restaurant on Saturday night as part of a big group celebrating a friends birthday. They were more than happy to accommodate large groups, balloons and birthday cake. Nothing was an issue at all. Wine wasn't overpriced. Instead of my normal go-to Thai options I mixed it up a bit with a starter of Marinated quail and a main of Osso Bucco Massaman. The quail was delish! Crispy, salty, tasty. I would have sucked the bones dry if I wasn't trying to be a lady in front of the group! Ha ha. A really nice alternative to chicken. I'm not sure i was entirely sold on the main though which is probably my aversion to hunks of meat and bone, not a reflection of the quality of the dish. The meat was slow cooked and tender, but I was put off a bit with the sliced bit of bone marrow in the centre. I guess I'm not an Osso Bucco kinda gal really. Its definitely in a "man food" category. The sauce was amaaaaazing though! I had a few spoons waved my way for a taste. This place is well worth a visit!!!

    My lovely boyfriend to me to dinner here in December for my birthday and it was amazing!…read more For years I had been meaning to go to Port of Siam in Newhaven but just never got around to it. So now there is one on Broughton Road that is much more convenient. The food is just divine. The portions are pretty big and worth every penny. It is all beautifully presented and full of flavour authentic Thai food. I tried their seafood dumpling green curry and it was huge but so tasty. The attached Bangkok Bar is also lovely. They have a delicious cocktail menu and are always keen to make bespoke cocktails depending on what you like. I can't wait to go back!

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    Port of Siam - Work of art!

    Work of art!

    Port of Siam - Siam Winter Fruit Salad - deliciously spiced.  The best way of getting two of your five a day!

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    Siam Winter Fruit Salad - deliciously spiced. The best way of getting two of your five a day!

    The Cafe Royal - seafood - Updated June 2026

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