My wife and I will be in Edinburgh and was wondering if someone had any suggestions for a special evening dinner? We are staying at Dalhousie Castle and 2 free evenings.

Many, many Thanks as the advice that we have recieved through the years from the other Fodorites has proven priceless.

We very much liked Off the Wall in the Old Town, right on Royal Mile. Cuisine was truly Scottish, with regional ingredients, and very refined. We particularly liked scallops in smoked haddock cream. My overall impression was, here you can have Scottish cuisine at its best. Expect a refined yet not sticky atmosphere.

http://www.off-the-wall.co.uk/

We had also eaten at Number One (in the Balmoral) which was excellent but somewhat poshier and trying to mock French cuisine. Besides that the check in Number One was twice as high, we liked Off the Wall even more, because it was more Scottish.

I was a poor student during my time in Edinburgh, but if I had had money, I always thought The Witchery looked like a good place to spend it:

http://www.thewitchery.com/

Enjoy your trip, it's a wonderful city.

After a bit of research, it appears that The Witchery gets mixed reviews. It seems to be viewed as very atmospheric with good but not great food, snooty and very, very overpriced. So it would seem that a poor student is a bad recommender of special evening dinners. Who'd have guessed?

The Witchery was a great place. We stayed in the Balmoral the meal was average... visit our web site to see our pictures ... emilyandjim.infi

I had dinner at the Witchery some years ago after reading reviews. It was not spectacular but it is unique. Try it.

Try Rhubarb at Prestonfield
http://www.prestonfield.com/dining.htm

Same owner as the Witchery but better food

Or how about the Tower Restaurant at the Museum of Scotland
http://www.tower-restaurant.com/main.html

Or Forth Floor at Harvey Nichols
http://www.harveynichols.com/output/Page126.asp

I think you'd struggle to beat Martin Wishart

http://www.martin-wishart.co.uk/

The Kitchin

http://www.thekitchin.com/

gets more varied reviews.

I ate in Caroline_edinburgh's beloved Centotre the other night, and was moderately impressed. My main course was bowff, but I think that's because of what I chose, rather than anything else.

I have eaten in the Witchery some time ago (I actually went so I could work out what you lot were going on about) and it was OK without being fantastic. GREAT wine list. But not worth the money

The Tower at the Royal Museum gets a good name.

I wouldn't risk the Tower for a special meal. Went there with family for a birthday meal last year and we were all pretty disappointed - with the service, the menu, the quality of the food (chef seemed to think that the more random ingredients you put on the plate, the better) and value for money. Not to mention the £8 cheese plate which featured freezing cold, rock hard, unripe lumps of cheese (we complained).
Would definitely not return.

I adore the Grain Store on Victoria Street - the food there just gets better and better (lots of fresh, Scottish ingredients and simple but innovative cuisine), the location is lovely, and the service is excellent. It has quite a relaxed, informal atmosphere but the quality of the food is top class (or has been every time I've been there).

Other than that, I have heard lots of good things about Martin Wishart and Kitchin, though haven't been to either (yet...).