Edinburgh Weekend - April 2009

---Intro---
As we were staying in the Bruntsfield Hotel (review of which is also in this ‘Trip’) we decided to eat in the adjoining restaurant for our dinner on the first night. I had already seen the menu on the website, and I was really looking forward to a nice meal. As you’ll see on the website (www.bisquebar.com) it makes it sound like a pretty good restaurant!

We booked our meal when we checked in - we were told that there would be in a party of 18 at 7pm and were advised to go later, so had booked for 8pm.


---Arrival---
The restaurant is on the ground floor of the hotel, so it wasn’t far for us to come! We were really hungry by this point having had a busy day!

The restaurant is open to the public, so it wasn't mainly hotel guests eating there – a mixture of both. There is a large seating area which nice enough, including the option to eat outside which would be really nice in the summer.

We gave our name to the waiter who couldn’t find a booking which was strange as we had booked not long earlier. Anyway, the restaurant wasn’t full by any means, and he showed us to a table for two which was on a raised area, overlooking the main seating area.


---Onto the meal---
Having sat down, the first real issue was that they didn't bring us any bread...we weren't even offered any at a cost. I thought this was a bit much really for a restaurant with not the cheapest of prices. I would always expect bread at a decent restaurant.

The second issue was that they didn't have the wine which we wanted on the menu, so we had to have a £24 one rather than £18 (there's no cheap wine). When you're paying £24 for a bottle of red wine you'd expect them to at least let the wine breathe for a bit, but the waiter poured it straight away. If the restaurant had been exceedingly busy perhaps I could have understood this, but it wasn’t.


---Starter---
For starter I chose the whitebait which was ok, but just ok. For the price (over £6) I'd have expected something a bit better. I mean you can’t really go wrong with whitebait, but then I have had a lot better. Similarly hubby went for the crab and crayfish which was just alright – nothing to write home about. Other starters include soup, goats cheese tart, and prawns – there is quite an emphasis on seafood.

The starters were brought to us almost immediately. I'm not a fan of long waits, but this was just too immediate for me.


---Main Course---
Our main courses were also brought quickly - it was like they were trying to hurry us up. I went for the pheasant and venison casserole which was very nice I have to say (and at £12 odd it should be), although a distinct lack of vegetables. Luckily hubby had ordered some cabbage as an accompaniment which I had a bit of. Hubby's main course was less than impressive - chicken stuffed with haggis (which was nice), but some weird peppery carrot thing, and no potatoes or any kind of staple food.

I realise that what we got was actually what it said on the menu. However, I don’t think it was really made clear that with some dishes you really needed to order a side dish – hubby’s meal was certainly incomplete with no potato, and if we’d been told this by the waiter taking our orders then he’d have ordered some.

As well as main courses they do a selection of lighter meals including various salads, and risotto. There is a good selection in this section of the menu. Then on the other hand they also do Scottish beef steaks!


---Dessert---
They were slower coming with the desserts - you'd expect that to be the bit they were quick with. My sticky toffee pudding was tasty but stodgy (and was pretty much like one out of a tin). Hubby went for the cheese, and he did enjoy that. The waiter came over with a cheese board and hubby could choose 3 (price was £6.25), and he was quite impressed with the selection.

We then followed our meals with some port.

While the meal wasn't bad, and on the whole the service was good (well, mainly) even if it was a bit quick, it was certainly not worth the money (came to £87 in total). If it had been half the price it would have been worth it, but for the price it was a big disappointment.


---Feedback---
We were given a feedback form, and hubby completed it. To the restaurant's credit they read our feedback, and we were given a sincere apology and complimentary glasses of port. We were told that our feedback would be given to the head chef the next day as he had left earlier. However I have to say I think it’s quite strange that the head chef wasn’t cooking in the restaurant on a Friday night. Despite our apology I don't think I could recommend it!


---The Bar---
Hubby and I had a few drinks in the bar after our meal, and again the next night. The bar does have an excellent selection of drinks, and they are not too excessively priced. Service in the bar is very good.



---Breakfast---
We were staying on a Bed and Breakfast basis, and breakfast was served in the Bisque restaurant.

There was a selection of cereals, fruits, ham and cheese, pastries, breads (and toaster) and fruit juices (along with tea/coffee). However, I don't think it was a particularly wonderful selection at all. I noticed that there were no oatcakes, which I have found there normally are in Scotland. There wasn't a great deal of choice.

Hubby and I both went for the full Scottish breakfast - Pork and Apple Sausage (or veggie option), bacon, black pudding, haggis, grilled tomato, mushrooms, potato pancake, and choice of egg. I went for scrambled, hubby went for fried. Scrambled was clearly better as it must have involved 2 eggs, rather than one. Although hubby's egg was ok, on the second day his fried egg was overcooked.

On the second day I opted for the smoked salmon and scrambled egg which was served on soggy burnt toast but was otherwise ok. Hubby had a grilled breakfast again, but was a bit annoyed as he really wanted baked beans instead of the pretty rubbishy tomato, but they didn't do beans.

Other options available were poached haddock, or omelette. The woman on the table next to us was given a very undercooked omelette which she sent back.

If you aren't staying B & B, the breakfast would set you back £12.50, which is not good value for money at all.



---Final remarks---
From looking at the menu this does sound like a quality restaurant, and to be fair on the whole the food was good. However, it really wasn’t worth the prices being charged. Service was too quick, there was no bread, and all those other little niggles. I feel a bit guilty being so negative after the apology we received, but at the end of the day, this was the experience we had!

The fact that the breakfast was not good was really the main thing which would stop us from going back to the hotel again, and breakfast is an important factor for hubby and I, and without baked beans there could be tears!

For those who still are interested (who knows, maybe lunch is better), then you can find out everything at www.bisquebar.com

---Intro---
Having decided to walk on fire for charity (best laid plans – it was cancelled) and having decided to make a weekend of it in Edinburgh I had the task of finding a hotel. So off I went trawling the Internet to see what I could find....and the Bruntsfield Hotel was what I chose. It's always good for hubby if I book the hotel, after all if it's not up to scratch then it can be my fault! Being a Best Western chain I was reasonably confident that it would be acceptable.


---Booking---
I booked online and it was all very quick and simple. The cost was £270 for the two of us in a double room for two night's bed and breakfast. Not cheap but it is Edinburgh, and it was a good price compared to some of the hotels I was looking at!

However, perhaps I should mention that was the last transaction I made on my credit card before it was used fraudulently. Anyway, more about that in a minute.



---Getting there---
Living in Cumbria we're not far from Scotland, and it's about a 3 hour journey. We decided to visit the zoo prior to check into the hotel (see review).

Anyway, getting to the hotel from the zoo involved various detours as they're currently digging up Edinburgh to put in a tram, but otherwise it was reasonably easy to find, although hubby doesn't really like city driving.

The details are as follows:
Address: 69 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, Lothian, EH10 4HH, Scotland - Telephone: (0131) 2291393

The hotel's website can be found here - www.thebruntsfield.co.uk


---Parking---
On arrival at the hotel at about 3:30pm (you can check in from 2pm) we had to wait what seemed like ages for an irritating taxi to get out of the way so that we could get into the one available parking space (parking is round the front of the hotel). Everyone else seemed to have avoided this space as it really needed a long reverse to get into it.

On going into reception the woman seemed surprised that we had managed to get a space in the carpark, and gave us a resident's permit. So, although we were lucky to get a space, I wouldn't necessarily expect to get one. I suppose it must depend on when you arrive really. If you don't get a space you will have to pay to park in the road.


---Checking in---
The reception area was pleasant enough, nothing special. There is also a lounge room where people can sit and wait if they need to after checking out, or whatever.

The receptionist lady was French, and while her English was good, I really don't think she understood when I tried to tell her about the fact that my credit card was most likely cloned after I used it to pay for the hotel. She kept on saying that sometimes she might put a transaction through twice by mistake and then cancel one. I couldn't really get her to understand that that wasn't my point, that the point was that someone has fraudulently used my card details for transactions elsewhere. I thought it would be something the hotel would like to know, in case they do have a member of staff who's selling card details to people or whatever (NOT that I was accusing - because it was possibly more likely to be something to do with the online booking process), but there you go!

I filled in a form, saying that if we smoked in the room we'd be fined £150, gave them the details of hubby's card (fingers crossed with that one). We could have ordered a newspaper, but it would have cost us. We were given two card keys to our room - 234 and a map of Edinburgh which was very useful (and the lady on reception gave us some directions).

We also booked a table at the restaurant for 8pm, as we were told that there would be in a party of 18 at 7pm and were advised to go later.


---The Lift---
The hotel's lift was really annoying. Poor hubby managed to get a static shock off it every time (I don't think we can blame the hotel for that though). But most annoyingly it was just so slow, we seemed to spend half of our time waiting for the lift - in retrospect we should have just taken the stairs maybe. There are only 2 floors, and there are 67 rooms.


---Our room---
Our room was a Classic room. If we'd paid more we could have had a room which looked like this - http://www.thebruntsfield.co.uk/GuestRooms.asp

However, I don't think I could fault the room really. The bed (which was two singles joined together) was huge, and very comfortable. I slept like a koala (without the tree).

The bathroom was basic but clean - the shower (in the bath) was powerful and came out at the right temperature which is always a bonus.

Slight niggle was that although there was shower gel, shampoo, etc, I think we could have done with the shower gel being replenished the next day.

The TV had a reasonable picture, although it could have been bigger. There were the usual tea/coffee making facilities, a hairdryer, a fan (which we had on at night) - all we needed really, although unfortunately no free Wifi. No mini bar, not that we'd have used it anyway.

The view out of the window was of the building across the road. If we'd been at the front of the hotel we'd have been looking out over a park. Being at the back of the hotel we weren't bothered by any noise at all.

The room was cleaned well while we were out.


---The area---
Having dumped our stuff hubby and I went for a potter. We headed towards Grassmarket which was about a mile away where we went to a couple of pubs sitting outside and watching the world go by. There is a nice pub near the hotel called the Cuckoo’s Nest. The Bruntsfield hotel is within easy walking distance of the city centre if you like a little bit of a walk!



---The Bisque Bar & Brasserie---
Since the restaurant is open to the public I have reviewed this separately, but I will say here that I would certainly NOT recommend it – highly overpriced. The bar however does have an excellent selection of drinks, and they are not too excessively priced.


---Breakfast---
We were staying on a Bed and Breakfast basis, and breakfast was served in the Bisque. I will say briefly here that breakfast was not really up to scratch, the selection of cold foods was basic, and with the Full Scottish breakfast hubby was particularly disappointed that there were no baked beans. It really wasn’t that great at all, but I talk in more detail about this in my review of the restaurant!


---Other---
On the Saturday we spent the day sightseeing. It's about one and a half miles to the castle, but it's uphill. We visited the castle (well worth a visit) and the Scottish Whisky Experience (which I have reviewed). We walked down, and then back up the Royal Mile, and visited various free attractions - the Museum on the Mound, the National Gallery, and a museum of Edinburgh. While you could end up spending a lot of money, there are lots and lots of attractions which cost nothing, so it doesn't have to be expensive.

We did walk a fair distance over the day, and I was glad of the comfy bed back at the hotel.

With regards to the clientele...I would say that probably most of the guests were aged 50+. However, there were some families there with small children, mainly foreign.


---Checkout---
Checkout time is 11am. However, we left straight after breakfast at 10am. Since we hadn't spent any money and had pre-paid it was a quick process!


---Concluding remarks---
While the hotel itself was reasonable enough the experiences in Bisque really let the visit down, and since that is the restaurant serving breakfast for the hotel I cannot give the hotel higher than 3 stars.

Good location and competitive price. We were also lucky to be able to park. On the whole I would recommend the hotel, but would recommend that you eat elsewhere - there are loads of reasonably priced restaurants nearby.

---We're going to the zoo---

Back in April I was supposed to be doing a firewalk in aid of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), since they have moose in Inverness which I’ve adopted even though I’ve not met them yet. Unfortunately the firewalk was postponed due to low numbers, but I was still very eager to visit the zoo, because I really wanted to see the koalas. Edinburgh zoo is the only place in the UK which has koalas, and I've not been lucky enough to get to Australia yet. I wasn't really bothered about anything else, it was only a couple of months ago I went to Chester zoo.

So, I decided that hubby and I would visit the zoo as soon as we arrived at Edinburgh before checking into our hotel.


---Getting there---

To find the zoo follow signs for City Centre Attractions - basically you'll get to the zoo before you get to the city centre. It all seemed a bit confusing getting us into Edinburgh as one of the lanes disappeared on a roundabout with no warning leaving us in the wrong lane so we took a 10 mile detour (as we then took another wrong turning as hubby was in a bad mood!)

The postcode for your Sat Nav (if you have it and if you want to trust it) is as follows - EH12 6TS


---Parking---

We had to pay £3.50 to park, although got a car sticker for the privilege. The Car park is on a bit of a slope, so you might want to leave your car in gear. It's then a walk down again to the entrance (unless you're a member and can go through a special door - Oooooh!)


---How Much?---

We entered the admissions area, and were greeted by a member of staff who wanted us to get the special (more expensive) admission rate - however she was in no way pushy about it.

In April 2009 normal admission cost £12.60. However, if you spend £14 you are giving a donation to the Budongo Trail, and can also Gift Aid your money. Now usually I would have done this, but having already been quite let down by the zoo (with the firewalk cancellation) I just wanted to pay the standard price. And £12.60 isn't cheap as it is!

Admission is free for the under 3s, and currently standard admission is £8.50 for 3-14year olds. Up-to-date prices and concessions can be found on the website.

Information about opening times can also be found on the website - they are open every day of the year except Christmas day!



---The Animals---

We didn't see all of the animals in the zoo by any means. We weren't trying to. I imagine that when we have children we'll make more of an effort to make our money's worth, and to see everything!

The main priority was the koalas, so we headed up towards them, seeing various animals on the way - Flamingos, Sea Lions, Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Pygmy Hippos among others. The walk towards the top of the zoo (it's on a hill) can get a bit steep at time, so those who don't want the walk might prefer to go up using the Hilltop Safari which goes from the bottom to the top at various times. I imagine that at peak times there would be quite a wait for this though!

While the zoo has evidently tried it's best to make conditions as good as possible (and clearly a lot of money has been spent on the zoo's upkeep), the saddest thing I think was seeing the polar bear, and that really put a dampener on the whole of our visit. The poor bear was just pacing up and down. Apparently in the Autumn she (Mercedes) is being moved to a 4 acre enclosure in the Highland Wildlife Reserve (to be near the moose) which will be a lot better. However, I think the damage has already been done. Similarly the tiger looked so depressed, as did various other larger animals (hubby decided we wouldn't even look at the lion). It sparked conversation between hubby and I (a rare thing!) about the pros and cons of zoos. At the end of the day it's probably better for children to watch a documentary about Tigers in the wild than to see one behind some glass. I think zoos can be very valuable for research and conversation, but where the bigger animals particularly are concerned it just seems wrong.

Many of the enclosures appeared to be empty. On closer inspection many of the animals were just hiding. However I can imagine that some children might get a bit frustrated!

When we arrived at the koala's enclosure (there are two of them) we found that they were asleep. So, we (I!) decided we'd go back at 3pm when they were giving the koala talk. I wasn't going to be satisfied just seeing a sleeping koala hidden behind a Eucalyptus tree!

Meanwhile we walked to the top of the hill (there's a good view from the top!), seeing various animals including wolves, and zebras, then made our way back down towards the penguins seeing camels and reindeer (among others) along the way.

The penguin enclosure was pretty big with various different types, and hubby got some nice pictures of them - I do like my penguins! Then we looked round the monkey house, before heading back to the koalas.

For more details about what animals the zoo has then visit the website - I should mention perhaps that there are no elephants or giraffes (probably for the best with space issues), so don't visit if that's what you want!



---Talks---

There are various talks and feedings throughout the day - probably well worth making a point of seeing these when visiting with inquisitive children. We caught part of the penguin talk although missed the parade. The only thing I was bothered about was the koalas though. Two of the zoo's staff gave a talk about koalas while another was feeding them - it was great to see the koalas up and eating - apparently it's the most active they ever are, and we got a couple of nice pictures. Honestly, I could live life as a koala, looks fantastic - sleep, eat, sleep more! Anyway, I was happy after that, and hubby and I decided to head off.

We didn't go into the Budongo Trail which is the big new feature at the zoo, although we did see some chimps from the outside, it does look like it's quite a big enclosure. In retrospect we probably should have gone in as it is the zoo's big thing! Mind you sometimes (no matter how good the conditions) it seems that much sadder seeing Chimps in captivity as they are just so similar to us. I certainly felt a bit like that in the monkey house - it's when you see their eyes I think. But anyway, hubby wanted to head off!



---Refreshments---

At peak times there will be lots of little refreshment booths open. However, not while we were there. We found we had started to get a bit peckish, so we visited the Oasis Café. We both had burgers £2.50 each), a packet of crisps (£1), and soft drinks (about £1). Burgers weren't wonderful, but they hit the spot! There was a nice indoor play area for small children in there.

Mansion House which is a big house (unsurprisingly!) at the zoo has a restaurant apparently. It is also available for weddings and functions.


---Other facilities---

There were lots of activity areas for children, it probably gets absolutely packed in the summer months. We were wise to go during a school day I think! Mind you I imagine it would be nice to take a picnic to the zoo on a nice day (not to mention then not having to fork out for zoo priced food!)

There's a nice gift shop with your usual overpriced gifts - I bought a koala magnet for the fridge for £1.50 (with my pocket money from hubby).


---Final Remarks---

Although we weren't actually there very long (2 hours) we could have spent longer - I would have spent longer if it wasn't for hubby! You could easily spend a full day there if you were going to see everything, and make a point of listening to the talks. So, while it’s expensive, you probably could get value for money. However, despite the koalas, I wouldn't say it's the best zoo I've been to by any means, and I have to say that we both left feeling a bit uneasy about it all really.

For more info visit www.edinburghzoo.org.uk – unfortunately the photos we took have been inadvertently deleted, however I might add them when I return for the firewalk in October.

Review edited from a review by me at dooyoo.co.uk

---Introduction---

After I'd booked our hotel for our weekend away in Edinburgh I looked on the Internet to see what tourist attractions we might visit on the Saturday. Edinburgh Castle was top of the list because everyone had said it's a must-visit. However it wasn't long before I came across the Scotch Whisky Experience (formally known as the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre) which is located pretty much right next to the castle. Since we generally tend to visit places that I want to visit, hubby was really happy to hear that I'd chosen an attraction with him in mind.

I visited the website - http://www.whisky-heritage.co.uk - and was eager to book us onto the tour. However, when I entered the date for our visit it came up that the tour was under reconstruction. It turns out they were doing a £3million refurbishment. Although disappointed that we couldn't book a tour, the whisky experience was still on our agenda for the day.


---Arrival---

On arrival at the Scotch Whisky Experience we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the tour refurbishment was complete after all - excellent stuff! I should note that at present you still can't book online, but I'm sure that very soon you will be able to. While it wasn't necessary for us, I would imagine that certainly during the summer period that booking onto the tour would be absolutely essential to avoid a long wait!

We noticed that there were two options - a silver tour and a gold tour, and I asked the lady on the desk what the difference was. The silver tour costs £11 per adult, and includes a whisky glass (you get given a flat packed gift box right at the start, and the glass later), and one taste of whisky, along with the tour. Children between 6 and 17 cost £5.95 (no whisky though), under 5s are free, Senior citizens, Disabled and Students cost £8.50.

The gold tour was a whopping £19, and included an additional 4 tastes of whisky, and also a year's membership to the Scotch Whisky Appreciation Society which has such perks as 10% off drinks in the bar, £2 off a 70cl bottle of whisky in the shop (which hubby took up) and a 2 for 1 offer for future tours.

Since we were on holiday, and since we'd got into the castle free we decided to splash out on the gold tour!



---Into the Barrel---

Having been on our feet and having walked a fair distance it was lovely to be seated in a barrel for the first part of the tour, a little ride round in a barrel. This part of the tour can be done in 15 different languages.

I really enjoyed this (not just because we were sitting down), it was interesting learning about making whisky, and the special effects were good (that'll be the £3million spent!). Basically a ghost of a Scottish man talked us through it - hubby and I are convinced he said 'Shite' at one point...I did try and take a few photos for reviewing purposes, but it didn't really work!



---Out of the Barrel---

Out of the barrel and we then walked up some stairs to a room with some displays....it was interesting to learn about how much whisky is lost "to the angels" - 40% over 25 years - which explains why it ends up costing so much.

Then we had a little wait in a small room. They could have done something here perhaps or had a display on the wall. We were waiting for the group ahead of us to finish in the next room.



---The Lecture Room---

We made our way into a room set out in a U-shape with comfy seats and a table in front with each person having a Glencairn glass in front of them which were our glasses to keep. These glasses are specially designed to make the most out of your whisky apparently, and they also sell them for £5 in the shop which is a bit excessive I think!

The room could have held 16 I think, there were 9 of us if I recall rightly. Also on the table were four bottles (between each pair) with coloured dots on the lids.

Our tour guide talked us through the different regions of Scottish Whisky production - there are 5, but the 4 we were taught about (as not much current production in the other) - Lowlands (obviously that includes Edinburgh), Hightlands, Islay and Speyside. There were pictures up on a screen, and the tour guide told us to smell the little bottles at the appropriate times to illustrate the different backgrounds to the whiskies.

Having told us about the single malts, the tour guide proceeded to tell us a bit about blended whiskies - I was interested to learn that the age given to a blended whisky is based upon the age of the youngest whisky in the blend. He used the analogies of a blended whisky being like a football team (with both youth and experience) and like an orchestra. We also learnt about the job of the chief blender - what a job, although mainly using the nose rather than tasting! Although hubby knows more about whisky than me, he did learn something at least.

Then we got to choose which of the four regions we would try a single malt from. I chose the Lowland (well, we were in Edinburgh), and hubby the Speyside. We weren't allowed to drink them yet though.



---The Bottle Room---

We were led into a room with the most amazing selection of whiskies, which were someone's collection. What a waste - all those unopened bottles!

The tour guide talked us through getting the most out of tasting whisky - from smelling it, to swirling it around the special glass to look at how it falls (I couldn't get to grips with this). Then came the tasting. As the man had said that some people like to hold the whisky in their mouths to get more flavour out of it, I made the mistake of trying that! I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't help but cough and splutter quite noisily! It could have been worse, I could have spat the whisky out - but it was still quite embarrassing!

Having drunk our whiskies we had a brief time to look at the bottles, but not enough time really. And that was the end of the tour...unless you have a gold ticket that is!


---I've got a Golden Ticket - The Bar---

Downstairs is a restaurant, but also the Whisky Bar. With our gold tickets we had the choice of either having four malt whiskies - one from each area, or 4 different types of whisky (10 ml servings - so just under half a shot each). Hubby had the first - Lowland (Glenkinchie 12yo), Highland (Old Pulteney 12yo), Speyside (Tamdhu), and Island (Laphroaig - which we usually have at home anyway). I had Blended (Langs Select 12yo), Blended Malt (Monkey Shoulder), Highland Malt (Fettercairn 12yo) and Grain Whisky (Cameron Brig). The whiskies were served on a wooden board with a glass of water too.

Although I'm not a big whisky drinker (but I'll drink anything me!), I enjoyed the experience and at least pretending to know what I was doing! Most importantly perhaps we learnt that the Scottish for "To your good health/Cheers" is "Slainte Mhath"!

For those who don't have a golden ticket, there is a huge menu of whiskies you can buy!


---Off to the shop---

The Scotch Whisky Experience has a fantastic whisky shop with over 300 malts on offer, along with various gifts and things. Hubby was happy to spend the best part of £40 on a 16year old Lagavulin which he then had to lug around for the rest of the day. I just bought a couple of postcards.


---Concluding Remarks---

We were in the Scotch Whisky Experience for just over an hour. Although it was an expensive hour it was very interesting and a worthwhile experience. Well worth a visit if you're a whisky fan, or if you're just a drunk like myself! To find out more check out the website - www.whisky-heritage.co.uk - but I hope I've given a good personal insight into the experience.

Slainte Mhath!!!

Edited slightly from a review written by me on ciao.co.uk

---Intro---
Hubby and I are enjoying the last of our DINKY (Dual Income No Kids Yet) days before settling down and starting a family. So, having booked our hotel for our weekend away in Edinburgh I decided to look for a nice restaurant, and having enjoyed a Michelin starred restaurant in Jersey last year I thought we should try another one (to find one near you visit - www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009/01/18/306085/top-michelin-rated-restaurants.html). I chose the Plumed Horse based mainly upon cost (some places you can pay £80 a head before the drinks)!


---Booking---
The website is at www.plumedhorse.co.uk – you can also see pictures there of the food. Easy to navigate but pretty slow. I booked a table for two for 8pm on the Saturday night which was simple. If you’re booking a table for 4 or more people on a Friday or Saturday night then you’ll need to give credit card details as you’ll be subject to a fee if you don’t turn up, which is fair enough! With only two of us though all they needed were our names, and I received an automated email confirmation. Although it might be possible to get a table on the night for two, it is unlikely really (the restaurant is only fairly small doing 38 covers), so I would certainly book well in advance.

If you’re vegetarian you need to let them know in advance as there aren’t any vegetarian options on the menu.


---General Info---
The chef is called Tony Borthwick. The restaurant opened in 1998 in Castle Douglas, where it earned its Michelin Star in 2000. However, it moved to Leith, Edinburgh in December 2006, where despite a few teething problems it managed to regain its Michelin star.


---Getting there---
The restaurant is in Leith which is apparently an up-and-coming area of Edinburgh. The address is 50-54 Henderson Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6DE - 3 miles from our hotel, and the Cab fare was about £12 which was a bit pricey! It cost slightly less on the way back – the restaurant phoned for the cab and it came pretty much immediately.


---Arrival---
We arrived 10 minutes early. Sittings are at 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm – unlike some restaurants you have the table for the whole evening. They didn’t seem ready for us, offered to take jackets, and then we were told to choose where we wanted to sit which I would say is a bit unusual, especially as we had to make our own way to our seats. It wasn’t the best arrival at a restaurant I’ve ever had.

From my seat I could see the door into the kitchen, and kept getting views of the chef through the window in the door. The atmosphere in the restaurant I would say was formal, but relaxed. There was no background music or anything like that.

We waited for 5 minutes or so, which is fair enough as we were early. Then we were offered water – iced tap water which was refilled throughout. The waitress brought us out a selection of rolls – hubby chose an olive bread and me a shallot flavoured one.



---Wine---
Due to my food choices I fancied white wine. So we had a bottle of white, and half a bottle of red. The wine selection was good, and reasonably priced for a quality restaurant – whole bottles starting at £18. The waitress kept our white wine in a cooler shared with the table next to ours, and she regularly topped up our glasses.


---Canapés---
In my opinion the best thing about eating at quality restaurants is the food that you are given before the proper courses arrive. There’s something about the whole novelty of it which really appeals to me.

Firstly we were each brought a beautifully presented long thing plate with three tiny canapés on it. On the left was a little choux pastry stuffed with cheese, in the centre a half quails eggs curried, and on the right a tiny little piece of pork which was just so succulent and had a delicious flavour.


---Pre-starter---
We were brought little pots filled with a cauliflower soup type thing with a really odd consistency. Although I’m not a massive cauliflower fan, strong I have to say that it was absolutely amazing!


---Starter---
I chose the crab with two types of caviar (my first time). This was beautifully presented, and the caviar was placed upon the crab in two little piles – small amounts, but I definitely got the distinct tastes of the two. The crab itself was just fantastic. The full description of my starter from the menu was as follows - Tian of White Crab, Celeriac Remoulade, Curried Brown Meat Puree, Lemon & Dill Oil, Sour Cream, Two Caviars

Hubby chose the Ham Hash & Parsley Cake, Poached Organic Egg, Sauce Béarnaise. I had a little taste of the ham hash and again it was faultless!


---Mains---
It was difficult to choose what to have for main course as it all sounded so good. However, I love eating small birds, so chose the following - Pan-Fried Breast of Guinea Fowl, White Spring Truffle,
Thyme Roasted Baby Onions, Spring Morels, Celeriac Puree, Truffled Fowl Stock. The Guinea Fowl was amazing, so juicy, so full of flavour and a good size. I LOVE mushrooms, and really enjoyed the morels, and the truffle. The whole dish was really unusual (well in my limited experience anyway!), and had such a lovely combination of textures.

Hubby chose the Sautéed Loin of Late Scottish Lamb, Slow-Poached Shoulder & Spinach Mousse in Crepinette, Winter Root Vegetables & Pearl Barley, Lamb Jus. At any place where quality is high then the quantity isn’t going to be huge. However, there was a nice lot of lamb on hubby’s plate!


---Desserts---
The nice thing about not having massive courses is that there is always room to enjoy dessert. I chose the Hot Banana Soufflé with Toffee Ice Cream. I’m running out of adjectives to use to describe the food, but the soufflé was perfect as was the ice-cream – I wanted to lick my plate! Meanwhile hubby chose the Fudge & Ginger Parfait, with Ginger Beer, Vanilla, Lime & "Sailor Jerry" Sorbet.

---Dessert Wine---
Hubby decided that it would be a good idea to have a dessert wine with our desserts. They only had these by the glass or as full bottles, while hubby really wanted a half. We reached a sort of compromise by going for a glass, but the waitress put a bit extra in them – very nice!


---Coffee---
I’m not really a coffee drinker particularly so I had glass of Baileys while hubby went for the Home Made Petits Fours and Coffee which cost £4. He gave me one of his three Petit Fours, a truffle.
The only problem we did find later on when we were back at the hotel was that we noticed we were charged twice for the coffee when we only had one. We think this is because we asked two different waitresses for it, so they must have put it down twice. We should have noticed when we paid the bill, but we didn’t. At the end of the day £4 isn’t the end of the world.


---Cost---
This is possibly the bit people really want to know about! Basically, the cost is £43 for three courses – obviously this includes the pre-starters, and unlimited tap water! On top of this we had one and a half bottles of wine, two glasses of dessert wine, a Baileys, and a coffee (although as mentioned we were charged twice for that). The cost of the meal was about £160, plus £15 added as a tip – so £175. Not cheap, but a meal we won’t ever forget – well, unless we win the lottery and start doing this sort of thing every week!


---Other---
The Plumed Horse is also open for lunch which currently costs £23 for three courses (£25 on Saturdays).

As I mentioned at the start vegetarians need to arrange in advance. Obviously a restaurant like this would be completely wasted on a child, so unless you’re very rich and have very well behaved children then I wouldn’t advise!

No dress code – one lady was wearing blue jeans which actually surprised me. Personally I wouldn’t advise turning up in jogging bottoms and dirty trainers though. As at most of these places hubby and I were the youngest there by quite a bit.


---Toilets---
The toilets are down the stairs, and there is only one toilet each for men and women. The toilet is all a bit cramped. I suppose it’s difficult with an old building, but the toilets were a bit of a letdown.


---Final Remarks---
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Plumed Horse to those visiting Edinburgh, it was a lovely evening.


Edited from a review written by myself on ciao.co.uk