We’re jumping in with fork and knife and sharing our Edinburgh dining experiences! To be honest, it actually started in our last blog about our stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre.
Trust us, we’ve explored many fun and interesting places, but it’s much easier to group our dining experiences together and then wander around the city, sharing all the exciting things we’ve experienced!
No 1 High Street
1 High Street
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh EH1 1SR
Wandering the Royal Mile, we knew we wanted some pub fare, and this place gave great pub vibes.
No. 1 High Street was the gathering place of the Edinburgh Cape Society, founded in the 1700s. It’s located in the heart of the old town’s literary quarter, with many famous publishers based nearby.Â
The day we were there, it started to fill up with local businesspeople, despite being in a fairly touristy area on the Royal Mile.
Chuck started with a local beer, Tennents (£5.50), which quickly became a favorite on the Scottish portion of the trip. Mark has an Inch’s Cider (£5.75), it’s an excellent Hard Cider made with apples from within 40 miles of their Cider mill.
We both had their Soup of the Day, which was a Potato Leek Soup (£5.50), a hearty (read: super thick) soup with a much larger piece of Leek than we have usually seen. Served with fresh Bread, we probably could have made a meal of this alone.
However, we each ordered their Clansmen Burger (£14.95), a Beef Burger topped with Scottish Cheddar and Bacon. It was served with Fries and Slaw.
Several things to note. Beef in Scotland was much leaner; it also tends to be cooked more well done than either of us prefers, which is why it looks so tiny on the bun. It was good, but not amazing. Additionally, coming from the US, “Clansmen” has a different connotation, which made us uncomfortable, even just ordering it.
We also noticed that they offer a good number of vegetarian and vegan dishes, including “Vegan Fish and Chips” made with Battered Banana Blossom! (If you read this and have tried it, let us know!)
Random Weird Stuff:
One of our travel companions (not mentioning any names) went to the bathroom, while washing his hands, the pipe under the sink seemed to give way. Water was suddenly washing all over the floor and out the door into the restaurant. Unfortunately, because they had to shut off the water, they also had to stop seating.
China Red Chinese Buffet
30 Grindlay Street
Edinburgh EH3 9AP, United Kingdom
Okay, this is going to sound really odd. We had a very long day, walked a lot, and it was a drizzly and cold day. We, along with another couple we were traveling with, didn’t want to venture far.Â
Red China Chinese Buffet is conveniently located just around the corner from the hotel.
We were seated promptly, and the restaurant was not overly crowded, but it became more crowded as the evening progressed. It was spotlessly clean, and the buffet was well-stocked and well-maintained.Â
The claim to have over 100 dishes is not surprising, featuring a variety of options, including Sushi, chilled Seafood, multiple kinds of Soups, Salads, and Dumplings. They had a nice variety of entrée dishes and even a small Hibachi-type station.
Dinner cost about £20.00 each, and we left feeling full, with only a short walk to the hotel.
Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh
Miller HouseÂ
18-20 George Street
Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 2PF
When traveling, we typically eat street food, look for family-run businesses, or places that serve local cuisine.Â
We’re not anti-Hard Rock, it’s just not something we gravitate to. With that said, we have several friends who enjoy trying Hard Rock Cafes wherever they travel. We know that for them, it’s just as much about the music and memorabilia as it is about the food.
So, we were happy to go along for the ride when it was suggested that we have lunch at Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh on our free day in the city.
There were bout eight of us and we were seated right away with no issues. A server came over almost immediately and took our drink orders. We stuck to soft drinks.
Returning with drinks, he answered anyone’s questions and took and confirmed our orders. So far, it’s a level of service we don’t always see when traveling.
Knowing we had dinner plans, we decided to share an order of Classic Wings (£11.95), Spicy Shrimp (£14.95), and a side of Onion Rings (£6.95).Â
Everything arrived as ordered, hot and delicious, and quite honestly, we were really impressed.Â
Mussel & Steak Bar
110 West Bow
Grassmarket, Edinburgh
Scotland, United Kingdom
EH1 2HH
We neglected to make any dinner reservations. Instead, we chose to wander around, looking for local food and a cute place. BIG MISTAKE – in Edinburgh, as we’re seeing in a lot of major cities across Europe, you need a reservation.
Fortunately, the manager here was able to get us a table with only a short wait, which was terrific, since they were unable to seat us outside due to the cold weather.
Mussel and Steak Bar is located at the bottom of Victoria Street in the city’s Old Town. The restaurant, as the name implies, specializes in fresh local seafood and shellfish, Scottish Beef, and seasonal Scottish specialties.
We were seated in a small upstairs dining room, and almost immediately after being seated, a waiter took our drink order and asked if we’d like some complimentary Oysters. Chuck doesn’t eat Oysters, nor does one of our friends, so more for her husband and me!
The server returned with four delicious, plump, sweet local Oysters. He then tried to tell us about a few additions to the menu.
Random Weird Stuff:
A table sitting across the small dining room from us had apparently been drinking quite a bit, got very loud, and even got shushed by someone. We asked to be moved downstairs and were quickly accommodated. Several other tables left or also moved downstairs, and we’re pretty sure the manager requested the drunk table to leave. When they finally left, most of the tables downstairs clapped, and we did too.
Service was picked up downstairs as if nothing had ever happened. We had a Stewart’s Craft Lager (£5.00) and a glass of house Sauvignon Blanc (£9.00), and ordered our entrees.
Mark ordered one of the Kilo Pots of Fresh Steamed Mussels with White Wine, Shallots, and Cream (£24.00) – AMAZING!
Chuck ordered their Beer-Battered Fish and Chips, made with Scottish Haddock, Chips fried in Beef Fat, Garden Peas, and Tartar Sauce. (£25.00). It was delicious and a good-sized portion.
Travel Tip:
One of our dining partners upgraded to a Fish and Chips with a local, seasonal fish, which, unfortunately, we can’t remember the name of – but she raved about how good it was! So, if you go there and they offer an upgraded Fish and Chips, get it!
The food was delicious, the service was excellent, and the manager could not have been more accommodating.
Edinburgh is a foodie’s paradise; we had notes to try a dozen more places, but knew we had limited time, so we opted to roll the dice and pick randomly, and we had a blast.
We can’t wait to share more of our adventures in Edinburgh!
