The Lookout By The Gardener's Cottage

I would have given 3.5 stars if possible, but sorry to say, I cannot. The tables were sticky, the napkins were cheap, the water was tepid, and we were served by 3 different people, only one of whom explained the dishes as they arrived, as promised by the friendly greeter. The set menu of small plates for £85 felt expensive, and not suitable for vegans or vegetarians. The wine selection was limited, and the stemless tumblers were unappealing. The proposal to pair wines at £65 per person was too expensive, especially without seeing the options. The bread was okay, but the strawberry and basil butter was fantastic. The portion sizes felt small for 3 people. The tartlet with Dunbar crab in brique pastry was disappointing with soggy pastry and under-seasoned crab. The cod fillet in lobster bisque was excellent, as was the venison with a plum accompaniment. Dessert was a beautifully presented mini tartlet, but the pastry was too hard to eat and the cream was unpleasant. There was an extra charge for cheese. The location and views were stunning, so we will remember our visit as a one-time experience, but probably won't return. Hopefully, these comments are constructive, as this restaurant has the potential to be amazing.

My friend and I went to the restaurant as a special treat to ourselves. As you read below, you must bear in mind that this meal is priced at £85 per head, excluding drinks and service. Our first impression was that we'd walked into a canteen. The tables had no table cloths and the napkins were paper. This was further reinforced when we were served our red wine in tumblers. Both my friend and I have dietary requirements. My friend is coeliac and I am vegan. We made the restaurant aware of these requirements at the time of booking. We had the the five course taster. Which I have to say was very poor. My third course (billed as the main course) consisted of four small pieces of what could have been thin plain pizza. With a little bit of sauce. My second course of Gnocchi was under cooked and over salted. My friend complained that both her main course and second course were over salted. The final shock was discovering that the wine was £15's a glass and 12.5% service charge was added automatically. The staff were the only positive aspect. They were friendly and helpful. I was still so hungry that I had to have some chips from McDonald's on my way home.

First the positives the view over Edinburgh is quite spectacular. The food is good, but overpriced for what it is. The paired wine was expensive, meanly portioned, and inexplicably served in tumblers rather than proper wine glasses. What really lets it down though is the service which, while not exactly bad, just doesn 't deliver the full fine dining experience you expect at this price. For example: we 're not guys we 're sir and madam. If you take our coat when we arrive, we expect you to return it to us at the end of the meal, not make us rummage through a coat rack. We also expect sometime to say thank you, goodnight when we leave, or at least acknowledge our existence in some way. Other niggles my wife ordered a peppermint tea, which elicited the response I think we have one bag left . I asked for an Irish coffee, which was met with a flat no . Espresso is similarly unavailable. At £150 a head you think they could 've headed down to the Black Friday sales and picked up a cheap coffee machine.

My wife and I had the fixed lunch menu yesterday: The good part of the experience was the view over to Fife. The rest was disappointing. The parsnip veloute was very tasty, but there was not enough of it in the bottom of the plate to cover the spoon. The duck leg was served with a few small squares of kale, and two sauces, both fairly bland and there was very little meat on the duck leg after the skin, gristle, and bone had been set aside. The poached pear dessert was underwhelming, a good enough poached pear, served with a small amount of hazelnut cake on the side and an even smaller amount of chocolate cream, very disappointing. The food smacked of being plated on site, but not prepared on site. £50 per head, for £25's worth of food. The drinks were extortionately priced, £10 for each 125ml glass of cava, with my wife's third glass being only 2/3rds full when it was presented to us, (had they run out and were just hoping we wouldn't notice? . Very poor beer selection, one pale ale and one lager, I paid £8.50 for a can of unknown lager. Overall, a very disappointing and grossly over priced experience, the pricing not helped by the over £17 discretionary service charge that was on the final bill, (we declined to pay that part . When asked at payment if everything had been okay, I stated that it had been very disappointing. They did not ask us why, because they knew!!! My advice, eat elsewhere, there are plenty of places with better food and offering much better value for money!

The staff was not accommodating and was rude, she didn't even wanted to listen to a anything. V poor Staffing for such a place