Edinburgh Restaurants
May 21st, 2013, 09:15 AM
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Edinburgh Restaurants
Again, as promised a separate thread that will be easily searchable. ALL of these are in the New Town and w/one exception were less than .1 miles from our amazingly located B&B which was called 53 Frederick Street.
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Cafe Rouge 43 Frederick Street
This is a quite casual restaurant that offered surprisingly high quality food for very reasonable prices. I had a main dish salad which had delicious, fresh greens, other veggies and grilled chicken. DH had lamb which he said was delicious! One bad thing is that everywhere we went in Edinburgh, bread that *looked* like baguette had a soft, spongy rather unpleasant texture......not sure if it is a Scotland thing and whole wheat or "granary" bread was hard to find, but that was our ONLY complaint about food there. This rstrnt is a great place to go when you just want a simple place with inexpensive, good food and a low-key but very pleasant ambience. We spent >$60 for dinner for 2 w/wine and dessert.
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Cafe St. Honore 34 Norhthwest Thistle Street Lane
Tucked in a corner off of a tiny street, this was a little gem of what looked inside like a charming French bistro w/mirrors on the walls, dark paneling and lovely furniture. (It is going to seem like we only ate at "French" restaurants in Edinburgh but they were all interpreted by Scottish chefs and so were not strictly French. I just had the special menu of the day which was not memorable, but DH had "Borders Roe Deer" which he said was magnificent. This is what I mean by it not being strictly French, as the deer is Scottish. The place is not cheap, but the prices are fair for the quality. I think we spent ~$100 for dinner for 2 including a glass of wine each and 2 desserts.
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Brown's Restaurant 131 George Street
A large old building on a pleasant main street, that has been rehabbed inside to be very hip in its feel. All of the very high walls and ceilings and intricate moldings are painted a restful warm beige/navaho white, with ceiling fans up in the 25 feet (or higher ceilings.) The large room is divided into alcoves and balconies and the feel is one of hustle and bustle that is lively w/o being too loud. We were, no doubt, the oldest people there, (it was a Saturday night) and it was so great to see the young people of Edinburgh out enjoying themselves. The place could have been NYC, Chicago or LA--but in the good way-- and I was struck by how similarly dressed the young women were to the young women I see out at night in LA. The menu was creative and modern. Maybe a tad pricey for what you got, but not awful. It was a nice break from the other tiny places where we ate, and it was good to see an example of a modern re-purposing of a very old building. ~$100 or a tad more for 2.
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La P'tite Folie 61 Frederick Street (They have another larger spot on Randolph Place, this one is more charming, IMO)
We ate here on a Friday night, but could have saved 30% or more by eating on Sun-Thur when they offer unbelievable specials on the same menu. Go then if you go! Really delicious, beautifully presented plates from what a friend of mine used to call the "tall food" style, where the entrees are served stacked, so to speak. My dish was bream (a fish I had never eaten which is white and mild, sort of like sole in its taste and appearance, which came topped in a cream sauce and fennel over green beans and delicately prepared potatoes. I cannot remember what DH had but will add it later. We shared an apricot frangipane for dessert and it was delicious! ~$125 but see note above to save!
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Cafe Marlayne Thistle Street, almost at the corner of Frederick Street)
This place is TINY. Reservations a must! Menu is handwritten and seems to change daily. Very good food, presented beautifully and again, altho French, not like eating in France. All of the "French" food we ate was definitely Scottish. Our selections were determined as much by convenience as anything, but our hotel just luckily happened to be in the middle of a restaurant mecca of Edinburgh.
BTW, both Browns and Cafe Marlayne were recommended to us by and Edinburgh resident. The others we just happened upon, altho DH did read their TripAdvisor ratings.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cafe Rouge 43 Frederick Street
This is a quite casual restaurant that offered surprisingly high quality food for very reasonable prices. I had a main dish salad which had delicious, fresh greens, other veggies and grilled chicken. DH had lamb which he said was delicious! One bad thing is that everywhere we went in Edinburgh, bread that *looked* like baguette had a soft, spongy rather unpleasant texture......not sure if it is a Scotland thing and whole wheat or "granary" bread was hard to find, but that was our ONLY complaint about food there. This rstrnt is a great place to go when you just want a simple place with inexpensive, good food and a low-key but very pleasant ambience. We spent >$60 for dinner for 2 w/wine and dessert.
----------------------------------------------
Cafe St. Honore 34 Norhthwest Thistle Street Lane
Tucked in a corner off of a tiny street, this was a little gem of what looked inside like a charming French bistro w/mirrors on the walls, dark paneling and lovely furniture. (It is going to seem like we only ate at "French" restaurants in Edinburgh but they were all interpreted by Scottish chefs and so were not strictly French. I just had the special menu of the day which was not memorable, but DH had "Borders Roe Deer" which he said was magnificent. This is what I mean by it not being strictly French, as the deer is Scottish. The place is not cheap, but the prices are fair for the quality. I think we spent ~$100 for dinner for 2 including a glass of wine each and 2 desserts.
--------------------------------------------------------
Brown's Restaurant 131 George Street
A large old building on a pleasant main street, that has been rehabbed inside to be very hip in its feel. All of the very high walls and ceilings and intricate moldings are painted a restful warm beige/navaho white, with ceiling fans up in the 25 feet (or higher ceilings.) The large room is divided into alcoves and balconies and the feel is one of hustle and bustle that is lively w/o being too loud. We were, no doubt, the oldest people there, (it was a Saturday night) and it was so great to see the young people of Edinburgh out enjoying themselves. The place could have been NYC, Chicago or LA--but in the good way-- and I was struck by how similarly dressed the young women were to the young women I see out at night in LA. The menu was creative and modern. Maybe a tad pricey for what you got, but not awful. It was a nice break from the other tiny places where we ate, and it was good to see an example of a modern re-purposing of a very old building. ~$100 or a tad more for 2.
--------------------------------------
La P'tite Folie 61 Frederick Street (They have another larger spot on Randolph Place, this one is more charming, IMO)
We ate here on a Friday night, but could have saved 30% or more by eating on Sun-Thur when they offer unbelievable specials on the same menu. Go then if you go! Really delicious, beautifully presented plates from what a friend of mine used to call the "tall food" style, where the entrees are served stacked, so to speak. My dish was bream (a fish I had never eaten which is white and mild, sort of like sole in its taste and appearance, which came topped in a cream sauce and fennel over green beans and delicately prepared potatoes. I cannot remember what DH had but will add it later. We shared an apricot frangipane for dessert and it was delicious! ~$125 but see note above to save!
--------------------------------
Cafe Marlayne Thistle Street, almost at the corner of Frederick Street)
This place is TINY. Reservations a must! Menu is handwritten and seems to change daily. Very good food, presented beautifully and again, altho French, not like eating in France. All of the "French" food we ate was definitely Scottish. Our selections were determined as much by convenience as anything, but our hotel just luckily happened to be in the middle of a restaurant mecca of Edinburgh.
BTW, both Browns and Cafe Marlayne were recommended to us by and Edinburgh resident. The others we just happened upon, altho DH did read their TripAdvisor ratings.
May 21st, 2013, 09:40 AM
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Nor did we, Liz. We liked the food in Scotland very much! We loved Edinburgh and we would be happy to go back. But nothing beats seeing something for the 1st time. That was what was so good about this whole trip. Every single place was new to us.
May 27th, 2013, 05:37 PM
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Would any of these locations be appropriate for children that behave well and are familiar with fine dining environments? 11 & 7 yo we don't even bring crayons anymore. I've been using a list of pubs tat are fam friendly to find places to stop in London. Thx
May 27th, 2013, 06:07 PM
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PS to Detroit re: London dining----The Cote Brasserie chain in London has very good food and while the one we went to had a rather quiet, fairly sophisticated ambience, it was low-key enough and would be fine for well behaved kids....BTW, we only found out it was a chain later....very good and nothing to make you think "chain restaurant".
http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk
http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk
