Monteiths

This is one of those rare occasions where a three-​star evening was pulled into the four-​star range by the sheer will of a good staff member.
A few week’s back, with a visiting Canadian cohort in tow, I met up with Caz H at Monteiths for a night of drink, food and chat. Honest to gosh, Monteiths hadn’t even landed on my radar until Caz suggested it… for the most part, I avoid places on the Mile like the plague, but the reviews seemed complimentary and the cocktails looked good, so why the heck not?
First off, the entrance alone is going to make this a repeat experience. It’s one of those entrances that I love bringing visitors too — a turn down a little alley, a fairy light adorned tunnel and a short walk down a nondescript set of stairs, through an unmarked door to a cute and cozy little underground restaurant… very Edinburgh show-​offy. Though not a cocktail gal myself, my visiting Canuck is a big fan, so I was happy to see an interesting and diverse cocktail menu.
Interrupting gush session: three or four stars aside, if this review was purely based on the cocktail list, it would be an easy five stars. Whoever is behind that cocktail menu has officially hit bar ninja status, not only for mixing some wonderfully balanced cocktails but for offering libations less on the sweet side. The thyme negroni? This cocktail convert salutes you!
So yes, the cocktails more or less went over exceptionally well…
So onto the food: We started with the grilled squid and a bread plate. Honestly, next time I come here, I would stick to starters or the small plates menu that seemed to be kicking around the bar. Hands down, the squid was the best part of the meal.
For my main, I ordered a rare steak and here’s where we get into the three star category. First off, they mixed up Caz & I’s order and she received the rare whereas I got her medium rare. Easy enough fix but I still feel a bit bad for doing a switcharoo as mine looked closer to medium. Not an extraordinary mistake but a bit of a pest as we had both dug into our food when we realized it.
Second, the steak was… ok. It’s not one i’ll be writing home about and though I happily finished my plate, I would be hesitant to drop £25 on their ribeye option again. Overall, it was a dinner with a fairly hefty price tag that was a little wishy washy.
So why would I return? Because aside from an iffy steak and a hefty price tag, the service here was top notch. Our server was attentive, cheerful and hilarious. We were plunked at our table for well over two hours and he was a doll throughout. Especially on the Mile, this isn’t something you find often and it was refreshing not to have to lean awkwardly to get someone’s attention while deep within tourist town. So Mr. Googly Eyes, I tip my hat to you. Service ninja status indeed.
So my recommendation? Go for the cocktails and share small plates (or start the night here). I’ll definitely be back to give the mussels a go.

We came here for dinner in between Christmas and New Year with our friends who live in the town. We were sat promptly at a very cramped table with not much room to manœuvre but luckily the table next to us left soon after we arrived and our awesome (Aussie? Kiwi?) waiter moved us across. Even then the table was small but a least we had some breathing room between us and other diners.
We started with some bacon, calamari and prawn/​crayfish to share which was all very nice and reasonably priced. I did find the menu a little uninspiring and there wasn’t much I wanted so I went with my standard; steak.
The steak was cooked well and came with chips and a nice bearnaise sauce. Not the best rib eye I have had, especially the build up they give it on the menu about where they source their meat from etc but it was still pretty good. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals (the girls had the lamb and my friend had the Ox Cheek — which looked the best of the bunch). We split soe sides which were a little on the small side so I’d recommend ordering 1 per person and sharing.

Braving it back to places I had on the ‘never again’ list has proved a worthy risk recently. I’ve been to Monteiths probably 4 or 5 times for various reason, all of them about 4 years ago. Since those experiences went from below average to just a joke I’ve never recommended it to anyone nor been back myself. We all vote with our feet! We found ourselves spontaneously looking for food recently nearby and decided the ‘revisit’ plan applied here, took ourselves down the twinkly entrance and became their 2^nd table at 8pm on a week night.
Previously years ago, the food had been nowhere near as good as the menu claimed, nowhere near worth the very ambitious prices asked, and was served by staff who couldn’t care less and didn’t seem to enjoy their jobs at all. This time, we enjoyed 3 delicious dishes (squid starter, smoked haddock — don’t think it was the advertised Arbroath Smokie though — risotto and a chicken and sweet corn dish) and were amazed how happy it made us. One server was terrible while the other was a total pro, and the bill for a starter, 2 mains and a bottle of wine was nearly £70, so still quite steep. But I can still remember the taste of the sauce on my chicken and we had a good time.
One positive experience is not a trend, but a chef that good is a bonus!

The beautiful archway outside lures you downstairs into the dinner from hell that awaits you below.
There really is a nice ambiance to the entire setting. The archway, the rustic interior, the cozy outdoor courtyard… and once the sun sets they even keep the lights real dim so that it is nice and romantic and the rest of us can’t see a flipping thing.
So I start by ordering the «Filet of Beef Carpaccio.» The description of the appetizer I will quote directly from the menu: «roast onion mayo, pickled summer vegetables»
Sounds great. The veg turns out to be fennel, radishes, and carrot shavings. No thanks. I push these off to the side to reveal a teaspoon of the mayo concoction — also a let down. It’s strangely sweet and rather thin. Okay, so I’ll just eat the beef. I would have, too, if the taste of the fennel hadn’t seeped into beef, making it so that the fennel was all you could taste.
But hey, sometimes dishes aren’t for everybody. That’s okay. Rather than being a gracious host with smiles and apologies, the waitress gives me a shocked look when I tell her that the appetizer is just not for me. She asks what is wrong with it, and I politely just say that I’m not a fan of fennel. Her face sours, and she mutters about how fennel was clearly marked on the menu as she stomps away. Color me infuriated at this point. It was NO WHERE on the menu, Miss Snarky, and neither was your attitude!
I unfortunately have to stay and receive my main course — one of the specials of the night: lobster with a side of duck fat chips. Thank god for these chips with the unappetizing title — they were delicious, and without them, I would have starved. The lobster was yet another let down, spiced with a cloying sweetness that built the more you ate.
Also, be prepared for the wait staff to overestimate your appetite if you are American. She advised us to order more sides, saying that one appetizer of mussels would not be enough for two, and one side of duck fat chips would not be enough for my husband to try some of mine. One serving of each of these was more than enough! None of us are large people. Just because we’re American doesn’t mean we’re pigs.
In summation, the waitress was rude, the food was sub-​par, and the environment was nice but much too dark. I wouldn’t go back.

Neat little place off the royal mile with crafty cocktails and good food. Ordered the hake was lightly flavored but topped with flavorful Ingredients. They made a specialized veggie risotto for my wife which was good too. Grab a cocktail here if you’re near.

Cosy bistro in the heart of the Royal Mile.
Fantastic food in a very cosy basement setting, just off the Royal Mile.
We were moved from our original table as it was very busy so that was less than ideal. But the excellent service after this more than made up for the earlier inconvenience.
The puddings were especially yummy

We had booked for an early New Years Eve dinner through Open Table and were drawn to this restaurant because of the individual dishes on the menu. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised that they had made the extra effort and had decorated for NYE but in a classy way. The photos on the website doesn’t do it justice and it has such a nice vibe. They have a great cocktail menu which we tucked into straight away. Maybe it was just me or I just picked the right ones but they were strong cocktails. Not complaining, it was refreshing to see someone actually making ‘real drinks’ with great flavour combos. We then had some amazing starters, the Crispy Pig Cheek Bön Bön was out of this world. Don’t be fooled by its small size, it packed a punch. The mains also matched up to the great starters. The steak was nice and thick, great quality and perfectly cooked to my preference. Also the roasted honey carrots were something else. My partners venison cottage pie was also nice but was more on the small side, good job we had ordered the side. As it was NYE we did the whole hog and got desserts. Typical of me I stuck to the cheese board. Great cheeses, lots of it, nice condiments and perfect cheese to biscuit ratio. The staff were perfect that night. So friendly and attentive, always there when your drinks where nearing the end and constantly making sure your water was filled to the top. As we had booked for an early dinner our table had a time limit, they let us stay as long as we could and when our time came to leave they even offered to make space near one of the bar tables to stay longer. The perfect dinner to bring in the New Year. I would put this as my No.1 restaurant we visited during our trip in Edinburgh. A must! (Visit — 31/​12/​2014 Dinner)

We just had drinks at Monteiths, but it’s a lovely little place! We decided we wanted after-​dinner drinks during our night in Edinburgh, and were drawn in by the fairy-​lights at the entrance. Surprisingly, we were able to snag an open table at the bar on a busy Saturday night.
The drink menu is huge, and very well put-​together. They have a vast selection of craft cocktails as well as top-​shelf liquors, whiskies, etc. I tried a drink called the «mead cobbler,» a lovely concoction including mead, bitters, and pomegranate juice. My husband of course ordered Scotch whisky, and was very pleased with the selection– he was able to order something he hadn’t tried before.
The ambiance is fantastic, and the food I saw go by looked delicious. This visit was spontaneous, but I’d definitely plan a trip here on purpose next time I find myself in Edinburgh.

Excellent service. We ordered the bites: haggis, chips with lobster mayo, whitebait, and cashews. All were excellent.
Ambiance is nice and good to chat with friends.

Quaint little restaurant along Royal Mile off one of the «Close». You reach the restaurant through a tunnel of willow branches strung with lights. The restaurant itself does not seem to have windows so a bit drab. They make interesting cocktails albeit in small portions. I ordered a dirty martini which wasn’t dirty enough. The waitress offered to make a new one. The glass used to serve the martini was tiny.
The food was excellent. I ordered a chicken Brest stuffed with langoustine meat with an excellent white gravy and a whole langoustine with the chicken. I never had a chicken and langoustine combination which was intriguing.
The downside was the service. While friendly, the service was very slow. Go if you have time and no agenda otherwise it may be painful to sit there and wait for single tasking staff to go through service.

Came again (with the other half) for Valentine’s Day. Was delighted with the service and quality. Absolutely tremendous and my favourite place for dinner in Edinburgh!
We are still raving about the sauce that came with the fish we ordered, and I am still dreaming of the delicious sloe gin-​marinaded salmon!
Beautiful and magical place, cannot go wrong here…

The BEST burger in all the UK. If I could bottle their mustard that came with it I’d be a millionaire. This place is one of my FAVORITES in Edinburgh. Great atmosphere, fantastic food and good wine. Plus great service. You cannot ask for more. Highly recommend it.

Stumbled upon this restaurant on my recent visit to Edinburgh, the restaurant itself is tucked away and if it was not for a friend noticing a sign for it we would of carried on walking to find another restaurant…
The entrance to the restaurant is beautiful! An arched walk way made of bamboo sticks and tree lights. Once inside we were plesently surprised very cosy looking and the bar was fully stocked an added bonus!
The food was amazing I got a burger with chunky fries and the cocktails were amazing as well.
Only slight downfall service was a bit slow however the restaurant was busy.

Who can resist a nice, juicy steak? Not me, that’s for sure!
Monteith’s is one of those places I’ve passed by many a time, intrigued by the arches of branches and fairy lights that lead down to it from the Royal Mile, but I’d always assumed it was a little out of my price range. Which it is, for the most part. However, when an itison voucher appeared in November for rib eye steaks, chips, a 250ml glass of wine plus coffee and petit fours for two for the very reasonable price of £34 I snapped it up.
As often happens I left it to the last couple of weeks of the voucher’s validity to use it, but it meant that my boyfriend and I could enjoy a treat on an otherwise unremarkable Saturday. I booked a week in advance, so was a little disappointed to see we had the table right next to the stairs down into the restaurant and right next to a plant — the plant was so obtrusive it rendered one of the seats at our table unusable. But apart from where we were sitting (and it wasn’t so bad, as at least we weren’t right next to anybody else, and I had a great view of the bar), the interior is really lovely. It’s all muted tartan in earthy colours and animal skulls, modern Scottish I guess you’d call it (have they been decorated entirely by Anta?). The staff are young and decidedly cool (check the bartender’s massive beard).
We were one of several tables using a voucher, so there was a slight wait for our food, but nothing outrageous for a busy restaurant. We were offered a choice of two wines, a Chardonnay or a Merlot, with us both plumping for the Merlot (of course, red wine and steak!). For what is presumably the house red, it was lovely! I was really surprised just how nice it was, and also very glad to see a voucher deal offering a 250ml serving (though it looks small in the glass as those things are huge!).
And the food itself was really, really good. A nice sized rib-​eye, which would normally have cost £22. There was fat in it, but not so much that I ended up cutting more off than I ate meat (as I’ve had in other restaurants). And I was delighted to see that it was indeed medium, not medium rare, not medium well, just medium. In fact my boyfriend opined that it was better than Kyloe’s. Chips were few but they were those mega brick sized ones so their volume more than made up for their number. And whilst the béarnaise maybe could have done with a smidge more seasoning, it was still the perfect accompaniment.
Coffee was good, although the petit fours were about half an inch long and there was only one each — a tiny square of something chocolatey. It was very nice, but miniscule (I know they’re petit fours, but really these were teeny).
I’m too poor to come to Monteith’s regularly, but should they ever have a deal again I’ll snap one up!

Sparkly, cozy and romantic. The ideal place for a romantic date!
I recently visited this place with a large group of people. I can’t deny that it felt a bit cramped, but the cozy and warm flair of this place made it hard to notice.
You walk down an alley of trees and lights, which feels already very romantic. Then you are welcomed by staff and candlelight.
We ordered our Christmas menu in advance, such the service and flow of food was very well organised.
I ordered Brianleith Cheddar for a starter, which was served as a type of spring roll, but a few of us commented on the fact that we felt it did not taste anything like cheddar. The turkey as a main tasted deliciously and was presented in a way I never came across before when it comes to Christmas turkey. The dessert was a warm and sweet sticky toffee pudding. The ice cream tasted a bit too watery for me, but overall I would definitely order it again.
The prices are on the higher side, but if you take out your loved ones and colleagues alike, they wont be disappointed.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Quite an enjoyable Christmas lunch was had here last week with my boyfriend albeit I felt slightly rushed away from our table before the coffee arrived which I got miffed about (no prior warning!) especially as I’d spent £60 on a bottle of champagne to make it a special occasion! Mollified slightly by being escorted to some seats at the bar area. Harrumph… Apart from that the service was speedy and friendly and they had the champagne waiting for me on arrival as requested. Tick.
Food-​wise, portions were possibly a bit small upon first glance however we both felt satisfied and it’s kinda nice leaving a restaurant not feeling overly stuffed. If my dad had been with me however… Oh no… He would have complained about the size of the turkey main…
I’d bought an itison voucher for a 3 course lunch and petite fours. Overall, extremely good value and I didn’t feel like they’d skimped at all with the quality (you know how much of a rage I get into when that happens!!). My baked cheddar starter turned out to be a big spring roll looking thing filled with unidentifiable vegetables and a small amount of cheese. Tasty, though didn’t match the description on the menu. The turkey ballotine was yummy! The ju was possibly a bit overly salty however as a salt fan it hit the mark with me. Would have loved a couple of extra roasties but that’s cos I’m a greedy sod! My dessert choice was the cheeseboard, his was the sticky toffee pudding. Tick, tick. Only gripe was the disproportionate quantity of oat cakes versus cheese however the 3 cheese offerings (cheddar, blue and Brie) were of a generous size and the red and green grape chutney was an excellent accompaniment.
Would recommend and I’d buy a voucher from there again! Have a chat with the beardy bar man! He’s really knowledgable about his gin and where you can buy the more unusual bottles in Edinburgh.

I forgot how much I love this place until we popped in for drinks on the way down the Mile the other day. I wanted somewhere that wasn’t hoaching with tourists. «There’s no such place» said the OH … Then I remembered Montieth’s.
Hidden down a wee alley, it’s easy to miss. The fairylights are a clue that you’re in for a treat if you take a gander down. There’s a lovely outdoor area & inside a cosy bar & restaurant. Lots of dark paneling & tartan but in a tasteful stately home kind of way rather than tacky tourist-​Ville.
We almost had the place to ourselves. There was one small group of ladies having cocktails at the bar.
The cocktail menu is great and the bar staff know their drinks. I asked for a gin cocktail & after being asked a few questions to find out my likes & dislikes the apple bramble swizzle was recommended. It was delicious & went down a treat. I could’ve had another but I didn’t want to turn up to the photo exhibition a wee bit tipsy ;-)
The last time we were here was in the winter. The fires were lit & it was a Cody retreat from the winter weather raging outside.
This place is a definitely a secret worth keeping.

Small and hidden. Perfect on a rainy day. Luckily for us, it was a gorgeous sunny Scottish day and we still enjoyed it.
Mussels were the best we’d had in a while. None of the broth was left.
They were very helpful in suggesting gluten-​free options for my boyfriend.
The only (slight) letdown was we both wished the duck-​fat fries were a tad crispier.

I really liked this place and I’ll explain myself in a minute but first to the good bits.
Monteiths caught my eye a year or so ago, I came here for a few cocktails and though we ended up sitting outside I enjoyed it so I couldn’t wait to come back for some food.
*Cue violins* Unfortunately, I’m a poor student who can’t afford fancy things!
Roll on an Itison voucher that came up back in March. The OHs birthday was coming up and I had the chance to spread the cost of a fancyish meal over two paychecks. The voucher was for two steaks, two glasses of wine, coffee and handmade petit fours so I was well up for it.
Last night we finally used the voucher. I started with cured duck, served with orange and some delicious figgy stuff. Not a huge portion but it felt just right, if a little bland. Across from me, the starter of haggis was carefully consumed, as it came in a pretend sheeps stomach that it had to be pushed out of. I had a taste and it was mild but very good.
For mains, shocker we had the steak. Served with duck fat chips and some vine tomatoes, we both had the peppercorn sauce. I ordered rare and I got rare, which is so… wait for it… rare these days (AHAHAHAHAHA!) Ahem. After we had our coffees and I had a vanilla panna cotta which was delicious, though there was a lot of it. With panna cotta less can definitely be more.
The service was excellent throughout the meal and our waiter seemed like a really nice guy. So why the three stars?
Well, the music alone should bring it down a star but my issue was after the meal. When it came to the bill there was an extra £22 odd added on, specifically for a glass of wine and a bottle wine, neither of which were ordered. I said grand, and went up to the till to correct the mistake. When I said this to the lady at the bar she, in front of me, asked our waiter if we had ordered this bottle of wine and he said yes. She asked if he was sure and he said yes. She then said she was going out the back to ‘count it’, count what I don’t know, possibly wine bottles.
I’ll be honest I was a bit mortified, I would expect this in your average run of the mill place but not in a place that has Remy Martin on the menu for 80 quid. Some discretion would have been nice, not a blatant distrust. To their credit they apologised, after confirming they had in fact not sold us the wine.
Being absolutely scarlet at the whole thing I don’t think I’ll be back, not that I can afford it but if I am to spend my millions of pennies it’ll be elsewhere.

Been here several times before and I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt before reviewing. they lost.
It is such a nice — secluded — location. You go down the steps through an alleyway of crowned greens (ivy?) filled with twinkling fairy lights. First thing you see is their ‘outdoor’ smoking area and you may miss the actual entrance leading you to the basement of the building.
There is the large and well stocked bar and 2 big high back easy chairs as a semi lounge area. Cosy. The furniture is deliberately mismatched — a bit too conscious about that, not the effortless mismatch I noted in other places.
As we were a party of two we (like last time) were asked to take place in the pass through area — were everybody will be passing — waiters, guests coming and leaving. which I declined this time and asked for a table which has less traffic. We were supplied — good — close to the fireplace.
This was an ‘Voucher Visit’ for lunch. Meaning we had to order the starter, main and dessert in one order. We were supplied water laced with cucumber and grapefruit. This is not my favourite fruit but it does made the water taste different.
The meal was served promptly and the staff was a little rushed but efficient and very friendly. I was (as with my former visits) not impressed with the food. There is essentially nothing wrong, but nothing really wowed me as I wanted it to be. There was not enough taste. There was not enough presentation, rather under presented. The portions are not enough. — We had the braised beef and white beetroot with trimmings and gravy. The beef was falling apart which I was pleased about, but no taste. The gravy was barely there and my wife had to ask for more. The trimmings were: 1 sprout, 1 baby potato, 1 turnip (undercooked) 1 baby carrot, 1 mini ‘pig in blanket’ and on the plate and the trimming bowl we had loads of curly kale (blanched) — who are you kidding?
Dessert was rolypoly and coconut ice-​cream and a my wife had a chocolate cake & mandarin cake.
The actual dessert was a chewy rolled poly with jam and vanilla ice-​cream covered in coconut flakes, chocolate cake with 2 mandarin parts and a cream cocktail thingy. all nicely presented, all without the mmmm I like this factor. It was all. nice, pleasing, non offensive.
Will I go back, actually yes I will. I have such hopes for this place– every time they show us that there is potential, but so far I have been left hanging, wanting for that dish to wow me.
NOTE: there is NO wifi or mobile phone signal when in the restaurant — is that a good or bad thing. I am still unsure. But I understand the no distractions idea of that.