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    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh

    4.4 (69 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 10:30 pm

    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh Photos

    THE IVY ON THE SQUARE EDINBURGH ATMOSPHERE

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

    Recommended Reviews - The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh

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    Fish & chip
    Eunice C.

    Beautiful restaurant and warm services by the staff. Honestly I want to give 5-star for the experience however, the sea bass was really a disappointment. It wasn't bad, just that i expected higher standard from the IVY. Generous portion for the sea bass (which i love), however, the skin was not quite as crispy as I would prefer (it looked like the chef tried but the sauce made it soggy). The mushroom sauce with spinach's and beans(?) was not a balanced match for the dish somehow. Our party ordered 3 sea-bass and the consensus was similar. The dish wasn't executed as good as the description. The fish and chip was tasty with the pea mash. The burger from the Kids' menu was bigger than McDonald's Big Mac and delicious. Came with tasty fries. Mom ordered fresh mint tea which turned out to be made with a dried mint tea bag. Nice cocktail menu tho. & service was great.

    Celebratory Croissant
    Jess G.

    Beautifully decorated. The staff was friendly. The Celebratory Croissant was as delicious as it was pretty.

    Noanya S.

    The Ivy was a recommendation from a friend and what a fantastic meal. Tomato soup - 10 out of 10 absolutely would recommend. Shepherd pie - 10 out of 10 Just get the meal you won't be disappointed. Beautiful restaurant

    Beef tartar.
    Daria B.

    Lovely food. Second time coming back here. Staff are welcoming and quick to serve. Recommend to book a table in advance as gets busy.

    Monkfish and Prawn Keralan Curry, Sweet potato, red fish, chilli, spinach, and aromatic rice
    Abigail H.

    Our family of four had a lovely window view of St. Andrew's Square. Their elegantly designed menu features a broad selection; my mother and I both loved the curry. The zucchini fries are lightly fried and not oily at all--just the perfect amount of crust.

    Michael T.

    Fantastic breakfast spot on the heart of Edinburg. Tried to get into the Spruce and the hostess recommended The Ivy. Got seated right away on a Saturday at 9am. Service was very attentive and top notch. Food was very delish and hearty. Highly recommend.

    Hope S.

    This location is beautiful, and we really enjoyed the setting. We had the 1917 menu, which was fairly priced. I loved the starter, and the chicken was good as well. As others have mentioned, the service wasn't the most attentive, but it wasn't terrible either. Overall, a nice experience with some room for improvement.p

    Spicy Crunch Salad
    Angelina D.

    This restaurant is absolutely stunning and has beautiful views of the park across the street. Love the decor inside the restaurant and the staff was very lovely. What was lacking was the cost of the food for what you actually got. The food was bland and OK and our opinion overpriced. If you want to go just for ambience this is the place for you and just have a drink.

    Theresa S.

    This is a beautiful upscale restaurant in Edinburgh. If you are planning to go for dinner you should definitely make reservations. We were seated immediately upon our arrival . The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere, with a bar and plenty of seating. Our server was friendly ,attentive and provided us with outstanding service. We ordered a nice bottle of Pino Grigio , fish and chips , Shepard's Pie , a side salad and Apple Tart Flambé. Everything was so delicious . The fish and chips were light , flaky and flavorful. The Shepard' Pie was presented in a unique way .The meat was molded into a round shape and decorated with the mash , the gravy was then poured around the outside. It looked so pretty and was exceptionally delicious! The salad was average but good, fresh and crisp . And let's not forget dessert , the Apple Tart Flambé with a dollop of vanilla ice cream was so delicious too , perfect and not too sweet . The only negative comment I have is that it was very dark in the restaurant and I was actually having a difficult time reading the menu. Other than that we had a wonderful time and immensely enjoyed our meal !

    Sea bass with muscles
    Erin M.

    Favorite restaurant in Edinburgh. I ordered the sea bass with muscles and it was delicious. My dining partner ordered the shepherd's pie and it was top notch. Ambiance is delightful and restaurant is clean. Service was great as well. The best part was dessert. We ordered chocolate bombs , which were to die for. The perfect mixture of chocolate, ice cream and caramel. I made another reservation this week to try additional details since I liked my first experience so much.

    Full Scottish breakfast

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    6 months ago

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    15 days ago

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    8 days ago

    This is an up scale restaurant in New Town that is not touristy, has good food and drink. The service was a little slow.

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    8 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    7 months ago

    Great food and great service. Will always go back when visiting Scotland. Service was fantastic!

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    7 months ago

    Went with three friends for a birthday dinner. Food and ambience was amazing. The old fashioned was perfect. Highly recommend!

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    9 months ago

    Always love the Ivy! Nice view of the square from upstairs. The seasonal menu was great.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The food was amazing. The staff were great and the ambiance was awesome. We loved this experience.

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    11 months ago

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    I tried the fish and chips that were great, and fish curry was tasty, and the service was great.

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    3 years ago

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    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh Reviews in Other Languages

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    Mums - Shepherds Pie Vegan

    Mums

    4.1(252 reviews)
    0.5 miOld Town
    ££

    I was so excited to try this place after seeing good reviews but our experience was terrible. There…read morewere gnats everywhere that we were killing at our dusty booth. When our food arrived we finally asked to move spots but the back of the restaurant was just as bad. I can't believe other families weren't complaining. We also found a hair in our appetizer and the mains were subpar. My husband complained about his fries and burger and the manager was combative. They comped us for one whiskey and we left as quickly as possible. The shepherds pie was very salty and the side of veggies was very clearly from frozen.

    **RACIST & DISCRIMINATORY** The young blonde hair girl in…read moreher maybe late-20s hostess, bartender or server (not sure which) was super rude! We came in excited about this place, and the restaurant had open tables at about 6:50pm on a Friday ... we had just walked all day and were starving with a 2-year old and an elderly after walking all over town and sightseeing all day long. However, was told by this girl that they didn't have a seat for us. Although there was no wait, no one ahead of us and empty tables. I told her she could seat us in that booth, we didn't mind since our 2 year old wouldn't be eating. However, she cut me off and said that would not work. I thought that was weird but that should have been That it would take them about 30 minutes to get us a table. We walk around in the cold, come back to the restaurant ... there are plenty of open tables. My husband takes my 2-year old inside to wait so she is not in the freezing rainy cold (especially since she was sniffling). The hostess then says it's going to take longer and that we must wait outside the restaurant. We tell her it's cold, and we've been waiting. She then says ... "This isn't going to work, I'm not serving you. You guys can leave." She did not want to serve of us this entire time! She could have told us when we first walked in, but made us wait and walk around outside in the cold rain with a 2-year old and an 88-year old ... then decides she doesn't want to serve us. We walked in at 6:50pm, came back at 7:30pm, waited until 7:45pm when she told us she wouldn't serve us. By this time all the other restaurants were fully reserved or with 1-2 hour waits. We ended up not able to have dinner that night, and got snacks from the grocery store. DO NOT COME HERE UNLESS YOU WANT HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! NEVER TREATED THIS BADLY BY A RESTAURANT!

    Photos
    Mums - Kind of cute interior.

    Kind of cute interior.

    Mums
    Mums

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    The Cellar Door

    The Cellar Door

    3.9(28 reviews)
    0.4 miOld Town
    £££

    Had 7 pm reservation. Showed up on time. Plenty of seats. They put us at the table by the door…read morewhere everyone would bump into us passing by us getting to their table. I said for the size of our group can we get the other tables towards the back. There were other tables available and all right behind us. The hostess said no absolutely not guests were to be assigned to their tables. There were people behind us but they were after us; plus they were of smaller size than ours, clearly our skin color is the main issue. They sat us down, and quite a few minutes pass, others trickle in and promptly everyone bumps into me. At which point I told the hostess this is not acceptable. They sat 2 people at a table for 4, in the back while this table of 4 is really too small for 4 people. One thing stood out to me, we were the only non whites. When the last group again bumped into me, I asked to be moved; she then said due to short of staff they cannot change the seating but seeing seriously everyone is bumping into me, she begrudgingly moved us to a corner table with no lights - and not surprisingly no service. I understand the importance of trying to make the white people feel comfortable about not being seen with non whites - the best way is tuck the non whites away - but this is 2022. I am from California and no, this is absolutely unacceptable. Like MLK junior or Rosa Parks, we protected, first by requesting to be moved away from the hallway, then by my two teens and I walking out of the restaurant and finding more tolerant non racist restaurant to eat, and we spent a lot of money on the other restaurant. You too can make a decision to either eat or not eat at this place. The choice is entirely up to you. And this will define who you are.

    Made a reservation via Fork. Evening started well drinks…read morewere excellent Order sparkling water never came to the table neither did a pitcher of tap water. We stared at empty water glasses all night. I order the carrot risotto d arrived so under cooked it had to be sent back It took more than 20 minutes to clear our table ams another 15 minutes to produces dessert menus All in all a very disappointing evening The bottom line-go somewhere else!

    Photos
    The Cellar Door
    The Cellar Door - Great restaurant

    Great restaurant

    The Cellar Door - Very nice and open

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    Very nice and open

    Scran - BISCOFF French toast!

    Scran

    4.3(29 reviews)
    0.3 miOld Town, Royal Mile
    ££

    The desk agent at my hotel recommended Scran for a full Scottish breakfast. He was not wrong…read more First, finding the place was a little challenge. It's not on the main road, but off through a covered alley. You'll see their sign if you look. I ordered the full breakfast consisting of a fried egg, pork sausage link, uncured bacon, fried breaded sausage patty, sourdough bread, potato scone, haggis and blood sausage fried crispy, and baked beans. I'd never tried haggis or blood sausage, but I wanted to say I'd at least tried it. I was shocked to find I really liked both. Not gamey at all. They tasted like well seasoned sausages. Don't fear the haggis! I also had a mimosa and a latte to wrap up the meal. Totally unhealthy, but totally delicious. Service was also great. Slow but steady, and very attentive. If I make it back to Edinburgh, I'll definitely eat at Scran again.

    Can I give more than 5 stars because I absolutely would!!!! I have been dreaming about this cookie…read morebutter French toast with fresh berries ever since I had it. By far the best breakfast I've had... in my entire life!? I found this gorgeous restaurant on Instagram and thought it might an over-hyped spot. Not at all!!!! The food was delicious! AND gorgeous! The latte art was perfect, and delicious. I booked on Open Table and requested a table with a great view. They seated us under the sign and it was just perfect! I highly recommend scran! The servers were so kind and even helped with our group photos.

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    Scran
    Scran - Eggs Florentine

    Eggs Florentine

    Scran - French toast

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    French toast

    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh - bars - Updated June 2026

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