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    The Tower Restaurant

    3.7 (61 reviews)
    Ultra High-EndBritish, Scottish, Soup
    Closed 10:00 am - 11:00 pm

    The Tower Restaurant Photos

    THE TOWER RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

    Recommended Reviews - The Tower Restaurant

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    Kimberly C.

    Their afternoon tea is divine. The view of the castle isn't half bad either! I always take visiting friends here. It's also great for those rainy days wandering around the museum. I love the seasonal selection of foods with afternoon tea at the Tower. The special RAF blend tea is amazing - and can be purchased for a good cause (donations to support the RAF). The tea is very filling, selection is always delicious, and the service is impeccable. Love.

    The fresh Pea Veloute with clotted cream & crispy bacon. Get this, it's awesome!
    Claire G.

    Had a lovely dinner at the rooftop of the Museum. Nice views of Edinburgh with excellent service. Casually elegant but not stuffy. We enjoyed a bottle of wine, a great cocktail and a delicious trio of salmon as a starter. Next we shared the most excellent fresh pea veloute with clotted cream ,crispy bacon& fresh pea tendrils...so fresh and delicious! Perfect for spring. For our entrees we had the tender Lamb served with Fresh peas and mashed potatoes/vegetables? And a perfectly cooked dry aged fillet with a killer peppercorn sauce , roasted root vegetables & mashed potatoes. Great choice while in the city!

    Lesley S.

    Went here for a surprise birthday dinner can say we got a decent meal. It's been a while but I think the hubby got scallop salad and rare steak which was nicely done, and I got some fish with black pudding and horseradish salad. The peanuty ice cream dessert was particularly good. You can get a nice view as well. from the the tower! It made for a romantic evening and it wasn't busy at all. My only negative comment was that our waiter could have used more attention to personal hygiene.. We kept getting wafts of b.o. that was enough to dampen the whole experience!

    Sunset at the tower
    Carol W.

    Cocktail in the sunshine! Through the Tower restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows is a view of Edinburgh in all its stony beauty. The restaurant is located on the fifth-floor terrace above the Museum of Scotland. Drag your eyes away from the view outside and there's a whole landscape of well-sourced Scottish produce on the menu: hand-dived scallops, Pork loins, lobster, beef, heritage potatoes, and so on. Haggis bon bons with your crispy squid and a home made pork pie while moules mariners are very well cooked and reminiscent of summer holidays in the Vendee. The poached pear and crème brulees are a lovely end to the meal as the sun sets... The only problem is that the food isn't quite as good as it should be. It has so much promise and sounds so tasty but it just misses hitting the nail on the head in the way so many other Edinburgh havens do. Having eaten at all the sister restaurants of the group I do feel the food is sub standard to their offerings and would always favour the Witchery or Prestonfield. Lovely view though and a great spot for a cocktail if not a little pricey.

    Ali C.

    This is the 2nd time I have been to the Tower Restaurant. Again, the service and everything else in this place is near perfection and spells elegance. I am here to try some of their other things they have to offer for their starter and main course. This time, I tried the crab as a starter. The starter was pricey but was packed full of crab meat. It was also full with natural flavour of the crab. Simple but yet delicious. It was served in a cocktail glass which was a bit hard and tall to eat from but negligible. I had the lamb as the main course. There were 3 large pieces of lamb rump. It's perfectly cooked but not as pink as how I would like it to be. It was served on a bed of peas, bacon and broccoli stems. They were seasons just enough. Although, the lamb was not as tender as how I would like it to be, but they were still good.

    Fiona H.

    This was the first place I ever went for a swanky meal in Edinburgh, and although it was a lovely meal I have to say I certainly wouldn't be hurrying back again if I were paying the bill! That's why I'm only giving it 3 stars - although you expect to pay a certain amount in a nice restaurant, I did feel that the prices here were a little excessive. Although now they've brought in a pre-theatre early bird menu for £16.95, if you're eating from the a la carte menu in the evening you can expect to pay £35-40 per head without drinks. That said, the food was still very good. I went for the Smoked eel, Toasted Rye, Mustard Mayo and Cornichon Salsa for starters followed by the Guinea Fowl with Walnut Stuffing, Squash Purée and Wilted Kale. Although everything was cooked perfectly and presentation was impeccable, you don't have to be a genius to be able to see that the menu does sound a little bit unnecessarily pretentious. There were however some things that made this restaurant stand out, and why I thought about awarding it 4 stars. For one, it's perched on top of the National Museum and so the views over the city are second to none, especially if you're there at sunset like I was. If you're there for lunch then a wander through the museum at the end is always a good way to walk off your meal. Also, although I found it odd that service wasn't included in the prices, little things like not needing to ask for your coat at the end as it's already being held out for you to put on - or even to remind the staff which one is yours - definitely score brownie points. If you're the kind of foodie who's main concern is being seen in the 'right' restaurants, then this is your kind of place. If you're the kind of foodie who genuinely loves great food and wine, I'd definitely pay this place a visit at some point but I wouldn't put it at the top of your list.

    Hannah M.

    We booked here for our last night together in edinburgh, I'm personally always more fussed about the food than being up high for a view, but my friend (she's even more petite than me, so maybe that's the reason, haha) seems to really like being high up, every place she goes she's up gazing out of the window of a shard equivalent, but I wasn't disappointed by here. I felt a little over dressed, it was a dress I wear all of the time and had been wearing all day but I think it's a but more of a smart casual place because you're too cool to make an effort but you're well presented anyway. Our waiter was lovely, and we picked gorgeous cocktails, one so particularly lovely that my friend took down the ingredients to make at home. Seeing the portions travel past, we decided to keep starter to antipasti so we could fit in a pudding. The had a good amount of game and fish on the menu, which made me very happy, and clare went for lobster and chips. My meat was perfectly cooked, and presented well. For puddings, clare had, if i remember rightly a salted caramel torte, on such a beautifully put together plate. I however, was drawn in by nostalgia, and just had to go for the banana split, which came in the sort of heavy cut glass that you'd expect in the harbour bar. The contrast between the dishes was excellent, and really made us chuckle. The view of course, is wonderful, and best from the terrace, which is much more comfortable in the warm!

    View of the castle from our table!
    Mimi O.

    Loved the view of the castle and the food! Best oysters ever. My husband and I each had an entree and split a side and dessert. Great service. Isn't the end of the world if you're not dressed to the nines either. Make sure you step out on to the porch after eating too!

    Tiffany C.

    The food while delightful to look at it in terms of presentation was mediocre overall in quality. But most of all having dined in 5 star restaurants across the world I have never been made to feel so out of place with snooty wait staff that I felt treated me differently than their British patrons. I was dressed appropriately and wanted to enjoy a late dinner after touring the city and I was so disappointed. I spent a lot of pounds and didn't really enjoy the capstone to my evening due to the peculiarly unwelcoming staff. The view from the restaurant of the castle is beautiful and it is a shame that the service is so lacking. I did the prefixe menu and it was 3 courses and then I added a tea course at the end as well, so I feel like I got to sample a bit of everything.

    Smoked salmon

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    16 years ago

    Wonderful views, fantasic food & service. For a special night out this is the place to go

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    16 years ago

    Been here twice now for dinner. Expensive, but worth it for that special occasion - staff, food, views top rate.

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    16 years ago

    great if you can get a table. you can book on-line as - remember. a bit pricy but worth it for a special occaision.

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    Page 2 of 2

    Review Highlights - The Tower Restaurant

    fantastic food, brilliant service, great menu, and a fantastic view of the castle.

    Mentioned in 17 reviews

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    The Outsider

    The Outsider

    4.1(278 reviews)
    0.1 miGrassmarket, Old Town
    ££

    Such a cute place. And the view of the castle from here was amazing…read more Super helpful staff! I am a member of a flight crew and as I was eating dinner I was asked to get catering for a flight literally the next morning. I asked the manager if he could make me some take away (to-go) steaks cooked rare to be cooked further on the plane. (I'm a private flight attendant and we cook and plate everything onboard). He went out of his way to make sure I recieved all the items cooked perfectly. Passengers left raving about the food!!! And these are passengers that definitely eat the best steaks. The manager even talked me through a playing game plan and I ran my thoughts of the dishes with him and wow, perfect outcome. I personally got the coley fish dish and started with some cheese. I am a big bleu cheese/stilton girl and it was all amazing. Everything was so good I used the bread from my cheese to mop up every ounce of juice left from coley plate. Great service, great views, and incredible food. All local and ever changing menu to fit what's in market. You'll see handwritten additions to each menu like the cheese and fish. The steaks were the 35 day dry hung flat iron steaks.

    Three of us stumbled upon The Outsider while out looking for a place for dinner. It was so good we…read morewent back with 2 more friends a few nights later. Nice pleasant room with good size tables and very helpful, friendly courteous wait persons. Very good steaks, and fish, and affogato for dessert. Go to read the creative food descriptions on the menu!

    Photos
    The Outsider
    The Outsider - Flat iron steak

    Flat iron steak

    The Outsider

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    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh - Toast

    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh

    4.3(71 reviews)
    0.5 miNew Town

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

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

    Photos
    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh
    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh - The Ivy Full Scottish Breakfast

    The Ivy Full Scottish Breakfast

    The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh - Storefront

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    Storefront

    The Cellar Door

    The Cellar Door

    3.9(28 reviews)
    0.1 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!

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    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

    The Tower Restaurant - british - Updated August 2026

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