The Rosehip

We had a couple of Kiwi friends visiting from New Zealand, who were keen to try haggis, so 5 of us went to The Rosehip for dinner on a Tuesday night. The restaurant had a few other diners, so it was lucky we were right in the corner, as far away as we could be, as the conversation went from zombies to dragons and everything in between. Anyway, our Kiwi friend ordered «Scotland’s National Dish please», which confused the waitress for a moment, but she correctly identified this as the Haggis, Neeps & Tatties with oatcake and mustard and whisky sauce. Another ordered the vegetarian version and the 3 of us who live in Edinburgh all ordered burgers. The haggis and vege haggis went down a treat, as did the burgers. My Cajun Chicken Burger was moist, not at all spicy, which I was worried about when ordering it and the bun was one of the best I have had for a burger. It was soft, like a bap style and didn’t leave me with heartburn, which I find most cheap burger buns do. All burgers came with coleslaw and fries, which were moist and delicious also. We were asked which sauces we would like — a bottle of ketchup and mayo, which came in cute little mini jam jars.
The Rosehip is a restaurant and somewhat more expensive than your average pub or bistro, but the food, service and ambience were all great and it is on Rose street and catering to the tourist market too. I wouldn’t rush back, but would recommend it for some good quality, hearty British food.

The food was fine but the service was so slow that I knocked off a star. We entered the restaurant when the back was empty, submitted our drink and food orders, but were still not served food until after the restaurant had filled up and everyone else was served. Turns out our order was lost (which happens, but about 5 tables had their food before ours– this shouldn’t go unnoticed). On top of this, everything was very overpriced. Also, the bathroom is about 2 stories under the restaurant which may not be good for older folks.

Sure.
That sums up how I found myself at The Rosehip on a holiday Monday:
«Do you want to go here?»
*Shrug* «Sure.»
It also sums up my experience at The Rosehip on a holiday Monday:
«Would I go back here?»
*Shrug* «Sure.»
Let me explain: we did not seek out The Rosehip. In fact, we tried and failed at three other establishments before finding refuge here. You see, we were on a hunt for mussels and with the ports closed for the holidays and many of my usual suspects closed for the long weekend — we were striking out left right and centre.
The Rosehip won out because it was open, had mussels on the menu and we were very very sick of wandering around in the rain. We plunked down and ordered a bottle of wine, two orders of mussels and a side of chips.
«Was the food good?»
*Shrug* «Sure.»
Though I won’t be craving these mussels until the end of my days, they were ok. The broth was a nice white wine & tarragon — delicious with bread — but the mussels themselves seemed a little less than fresh and a bit too… puffy? I’m not quite sure how to describe that, but being an island gal who grew up on the things, I know when a mussel isn’t quite right.
But hot, plentiful and available on short notice — a win for £12 on a holiday.
The wine was… ok. The chips were… ok… tasted like they came out of a bag but the portion was huge. All in all the meal was… ok.
Service was nice, the venue is pretty (very cute wallpaper) and the price was to be expected. It’s not an extraordinary bet, but I daresay it’s a safe one.

It’s so yummy! It is kinda pricey but for a nice night out its great. I got the Rose Hip Burger which was absolutely delicious and big!
It has a nice wine and beer selection to go along with its modern rustic cuisine. A recommend for anyone looking for a great burger or a tasty squash salad.

The are serving a nice selection of local food. We had haggis and it was great — both presentation and taste. Service is quite good as well.
We actually ordered starters — ½ kilo of mussels. Tasty — although the sauce with bacon in it always makes me think twice about ordering mussels, in case someone does not digest meat…
I am taking one star as they didn’t have a beer that was in the card and that I particularly wanted to order. Apparently the brewery is closed so they should have corrected the menus. But is is rather a small detail.

Great warm, inviting environment mixed with a little funky décor. It’s good for the whole family and serves late. Nice change from basic pub food.

Das Frühstück war lecker, alles drauf was auf ein ‘full scottisch’ gehört. Preise moderat, Personal freundlich und hilfsbereit, da sollte man ruhig mal vorbeischauen.
Das nächste Tattoo werden wir in 2 Jahren besuchen, dann werden wir hier auch wieder frühstücken

Outstanding cocktails and food. I really enjoyed my steak & ale pie and the setting is really lovely. I wanted to try so much more on the menu and cannot wait to go back.

Very much enjoyed our meal here. Had the special of the evening– monkfish, delightful. Fresh flavorful ingredients and everything was well cooked. Elderflower Collins cocktail was spot on and drink service was quite attentive. Inside was charming and very busy. All the waitresses were working extremely hard to take care of all the tables! Overall a fun place to visit with tasty food.

In for a quick lunch. Soup and sandwich were nice. Staff is friendly and quick. Place has a good atmosphere.

We didn’t have a reservation, didn’t even know you needed one as we just walked in on a Friday night around 21:00 (or 9pm for Americans like me) and I may not know a lot about cuisine (American, from Los Angeles, our stellar restaurants are few and far between) but I know we were treated very warmly, and had one of the best meals we’ve had on our trip to England and Scotland here (the cheese plate, Scottish sea bass with ratatouille, the sticky toffee pudding and even the cider on draft were exceptional!). Thank you everyone at Rosehip for making my first night in Edinburgh so delicious!

Went here on a Friday night and the place was pretty packed so I had fairly high hopes. We ordered the following:
pigeon breast (special of day) — the breast wasn’t overly cooked but some how it was a bit dry. Overall it was ok.
soup of the day w/​bread — my gripe is not with the soup itself which was also just average. However, the soup is suppose to come with bread. Our server did not bring the bread (we thought she’d bring it) after a minute or two we realized it wasn’t coming. We tried for another 2 minutes to wave down our server to enquire about the bread. Then another 5 minutes went by, no bread… By the time our bread finally came we had finished our soup. She then asked, do you still want the bread? As if she was going to take it back… This is pretty poor service IMO
Conan Dylon steak sandwich — pretty tasty with the caramelized onion. Steak was well cooked, but for some reason the sandwich wasn’t hot which suggests items are sitting under a heat lamp.
cheese cake — this is suppose to be a milk cheese cake but had a lot of chocolate or toffee cream. It wasn’t bad
Overall, food was average. Service was a bit suspect (although they did always have a smile)

Yeah… no…
We wanted a fancying breakfast before hitting the shops on Sunday and got here just in time. The breakfast menu was very limited, the usual fry up, scrambled egg, breakfast roll. I wouldn’t mind too much as I like a protein packed brekkie but it wouldn’t suit everyone.
The price was… pricey. I wouldn’t come back for food based on that alone. But had it been cheaper the rubbery scrambled eggs and lack luster presentation would have turned me away just as quick.
So why is this a two star review? Well, my fork was filthy — it looked like it had baked bean juice crusted on it. So was my water glass-​less bean juice more flecks of grey. The staff were discussing a particularly crazy night out which I didn’t want to listen to bit couldn’t help it as they were practically shouting at each other from different parts of the place.
Finally, the rose hip to break the camel’s back: the toilet. I found one toilet, in ok position but right off the main bar area, with no vestibule– you just walk right in– and a good half inch gap under the door. No way was I peeing there!
Overall I didn’t enjoy my breakfast here. I won’t be back.

We were seated quickly in the upstairs area. The staff were friendly and gave us a table despite not having booked.
The waiter then disappeared and forgot to take our order until we had to catch another waitress to take our drinks and food order. About 10 minutes later only half our drink order arrived and still no food.
We had to catch the waitress again to find the missing drinks and still no sign of food, so we just settled the bill and left. The service was slow and the staff seemed to forget quickly which tables they were serving.
That being said the cocktails we ordered were tasty and well made… When they eventually arrived! But we did leave hungry. ³⁄₅

Visited the Rosehip on Sunday night for dinner. The place seemed relatively quiet when we arrived, we were sat by the window (to encourage passers by to enter). Thankfully the heating was on full blast so this area was very cosy, however as the evening progressed it got busier and the new people were sat at the tables near us. This would normally be fine, but we felt the tables were pretty close together, now in a confined space and it felt like everyone could listen in to each others conversation. Became a little to cosy for my liking, especially since there was a large restaurant up the stairs at the back only half full.
We ordered burgers. They arrived with nice big homemade wedges, coleslaw and the chicken burgers were big and all very filling. All yummy but the white burger buns were a bit cheap tasting. A seeded roll or more sturdy roll would have been better, the burger fell away from the hands and it was a bit messy.
Personally prefer the Sea Dogs restaurant, who used to be sited here — gutted it closed! Rosehip is trying and to gastro pub and restaurant dining, but I think they should stick to one or the other.

Yes, the old site of Seadogs, with two dogs still standing watch near the stairs. how I miss your mushy peas goodness… anyhow.
Rosehip — Good, honest food. Had an itison voucher for a couple of steaks and they came out perfectly cooked (one rare, one medium rare). The menu seemed more pub grub than anything else however no complains whatsoever. Nice to note the wedges were actually hand made rather than some —
Service was attentive yet not imposing.

I expected more of the Rosehip. Hence only 2 stars.
It was a cold Thursday night, I had a long day behind me and what I was looking for now was a nice dinner out. My husband and I had bought a itison voucher for a steak meal at Rosehip some time ago and decided to make use of it finally.
After arriving at the restaurant, we got a table in the upstairs area. Ordered 2 glasses of wine and they bought over a bottle. No big deal, it was rectified swiftly.
My husband ordered a brie starter: 3 smallish triangles of fried brie which came with sweet chili sauce and salad. It was delicious, and just the right amount for a starter.
A while later, our main courses arrived. The deal was for a 8oz sirloin steak served with grilled tomato, onion rings, hand cut chips and garlic butter.
Instead of chips we got potato wedges — again not a big issue but I’m more a chips/​fries kind of girl. Especially if they are ‘shoestring fries’ :)
The onion rings were lovely, and I ate them quickly before they went cold.
The steak itself was quite nicely cooked, but it had quite a few fatty bits which I had to discard. It didn’t have as much flavour, but the accompanying peppercorn sauce was nice — it wasn’t too strong or peppery.
There was no garlic butter, but to be honest I didn’t need it anyway.
It was time to pay. They brought over the bill and we noticed that they had charged for a full bottle of wine instead of 2 glasses. They apologised and brought over the right amount of change.
The waiting staff were all very friendly and that was the positive thing about Rosehip. Food wasn’t quite up to my liking but perhaps I’ve been spoiled by Kyloe when it comes to steaks.

This visit was because we had a Voucher for 2 people for a 8oz sirloin steak, fries and vegetables and peppercorn sauce.
The Rosehip is a bright place with a clean minimalistic rustic farmer’s home feel to it. Mismatched chairs, around mismatched bare wooden tables. Spartan table settings, on the tables you have no cloth.
On entering we noticed that we brought in a lot of cold air and guests at a table near the entrance asked to be moved to a warmer spot, which was promptly done.
On returning from that just moved table guests — the waitress offered us that exact table. We declined politely. So we were seated on the upper level
We ordered 2 large glasses of red wine and a breaded brie starter to share. We ordered our steaks Medium-​Rare.
The wine came and it was an bottle, we explained the actual order and that was corrected.
The brie was very tasty and big enough to share, very nice dressing on the side salad too.
The steak were server with skinned potato wedges (not fries) and noticeably varied in temperature. The Sirloin steak was a flat char-​coaled griddle with grizzle bits. It was done medium (but with the lack of thickness it was not surprising) — I was disappointed with the taste — even though the sauce was tasty the steak itself wasn’t what I am used to these days. — thanks to «Kyloe» & «STEAK.» my standards have creeped up.- But even without those amended standards I would have found to be of low quality. The onion rings were very good, but the mushroom and tomato-​half was meh.
In all it was a pub meal, and if served in a pub I would have found it fitting and may have given it an extra star.
The men’s toilets were 3 flights down right beside the kitchen. They were clean but oddly located, as on entering I was able to look into the kitchen.
The bill stated a full bottle of wine — which again we had to ask to be amended.
I have had better experiences, not a place I go back to in a hurry.

From whisky to food
Fresh, local, made to order
Simple British flair

I am really surprised that the other reviews for the Rosehip aren’t as glowing as I expected! Tonight we went to the Rosehip and it was good we had made reservations since the place was busy but not overcrowded by the time we arrived at 8pm. We were greeted with a friendly welcome and, when we requested not to sit by the cold door and entryway, we were led to a fantastic table by a window in the nicer back of the restaurant.
We both had the steak main with grilled portobello mushroom, grilled tomato, onion rings, hand-​cut chips and a fantastic fresh peppercorn sauce. I am not usually a big steak person and am also not a big sauce person. However, this meal was fantastically done! The steak was cooked well and was of really good quality, and this sauce was just amazing and I’ve never had anything quite like it. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had fresh, green peppercorn that hasn’t been dried first, and this sauce perfectly complemented the meal. I also had a great coconut porter that was delicious and fun to try. The Rosehip has a great whisky selection of over 200 types, so we’ll have to come back for some sampling next time.
The menu was great with a starter of mussels for £6 and salmon as a main for £10, and steaks for £16 or £21 depending on the size. I felt the menu had enough good choices and also tempted me with too many good options so I’ll have to come back again. The ambiance was nice and the decorations on the wall with vintage Edinburgh railroad memorabilia was fun and a nice touch. The service was good and also surprisingly quick. I enjoyed it here!

Two stars is probbly a bit harsh, but while my experience at Rosehip wasn’t awful, it definitely wasn’t «A-​OK».
On a particularly rainy weekday afternoon spent running back and forth around Rose St, running errands, we needed food. I liked Seadogs but knew that it had been replaced and just fancied somewhere to take a seat and get a sandwich.
We were greeted by very friendly staff and a reasonably empty restaurant but then told (by a very new member of staff) to just go get a waiter when we were ready to order. After that, said new member of staff stood behind the bar chatting with someone and not paying attention to me trying to catch his eye. I had to go to him to let him know we were ready to order but was then ushered back to my table to place my order formally… it was all a bit odd but it could very well have been down to the inexperience of the member of staff.
The lunch deals were pretty reasonably priced and my soup and a sandwich was, I believe £5.99 while The Man’s fish and chips were £7.99.
I ordered the broccoli and brie soup which was pretty bland and uninteresting, as well as the roast beef sandwich. When I eat in a resturant which has a menu that goes on about only using fresh local products, I do NOT expect to find plain old lunch meat in my sandwich. Sure it was roast beef, but it was grey, reconstituted roast beef.
The Man’s fish and chips were tiny and served with canned mushy peas — you know the type, unnaturally green and mostly just paste. Another bit of «fresh, local produce» I see.
So all in all, while it wasn’t a wallet buster, we left wishing that we had just gotten sandwiches from Greggs at a fraction of the price. Yeah, that’s right, a sandwich from Greggs would have been not just cheaper, but also tastier.