Cannonball Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

We recently held our wedding meal at Cannonball Restaurant, and unfortunately, our experience was deeply disappointing. Despite spending nearly £3200, the service and attention to detail were severely lacking, and the communication during the planning process was extremely unprofessional and frustrating.

While we have no complaints about the food (the food was actually amazing) and the room is lovely, the service was incredibly slow. We arrived at 7pm and were supposed to leave at 10pm however we were still being served teas and coffees at 11pm. There were long waits between each course and no one got to eat at the same time. The children didn't receive any food until around 9 PM and had to leave before dessert as they still hadn't been served this by 10:30 PM. We have been to many tasting menu experiences before (none of which took 3 hours) and wanted to share the experience of one with our family on our wedding day. However, due to the way it was served, it wasn't the special experience that was promised. We would have been better off opting for a normal menu with a more reliable restaurant.

It's clear that Cannonball doesn't know how to handle group events, especially for their tasting menu option. They thought it was acceptable to provide only 1-2 waiting staff for 30 people, one of whom was on his first night. Although the staff were trying their best the service was painfully slow, and their attention to detail was lacking.

Other issues included:

Incorrect menus for vegetarian guests, including the groom. Songs stuck on repeat due to unresolved Spotify issues. Candles we paid to have set up were not lit, with no prior notice that this wasn't allowed. No staff at our private bar and no drinks menu available as promised. The staff didn't even know what the beer options were. Mishandling of champagne bottles we had pre paid for, with some nearly going to waste.

When raising these concerns with the restaurant, they initially blamed the timing of our speeches for the delays (our speeches only ran 18 minutes longer than planned, however our dinner service ran 1 hour and 15 minutes over). The other issues we described collectively contributed to our disappointment and took away from the special experience we had envisioned for our wedding meal. The resturant put our experience down to an "off day" and apologised that thier staff were young and inexperienced, and that they would learn from it. They did refund our service charge after a phone conversation and offered to have us back for dinner to change our opinion of the restaurant, which we declined.

We regret choosing Cannonball for such a significant event and cannot recommend it to other couples looking for a special, well-managed...

Future customers of this restaurant please be very careful about booking for a special occasion! I booked a table on 27 april 2025 (tasting menu with paired wines) to celebrate my daughters graduation on 3 July 2025, then on 1 July rceived an email informing me our table had been cancelled due to the restauratn now taking a large party booking!! We were offered a table at lunchtime instead (why would we book for dinnr if we wanted to dine at lunch??) or a table at their Italian restaurant (why would be book for a tasting menu if Scottish food if we wnated to eat pizza and pasta??) Obviousy I was very disappointed with this and called the restaurant right away, only to be passed around numerous different people none of which eemed to know what was going on or what to say!! On asking to speak to a manager I was told there was nobody more senior than the 'duty manager' that I was already speaking to and the reservations team had all gone home as they only work M-F 9-5. Basically I got absolutley nowhere with them, they blamed the cancellation on an error with the booking system and could not care less about their actions!! an absolutely dreadful way to run a business, I've made sure a wide network of connections in Edinburgh know abut how we were treated and the distress it caused in trying to then book another restauant for a memorable meal in Edinburgh. We ended up booking a table at The Spence in Gleneagles Townhouse who were absolutely appalled to hear of how unprofessional a fellow Edinburgh restaurant had behaved, but certainly did an absolytely amazing job of makinng up for it and ensuring we had the most memorable expericne with them, one we have told many many people about since as it was absolutely outstanding from the moment we were welcomed though the doors, treated exceptionally well, amazing service, amazing food, amazing experience, so all in all, thank you Canonball for cancelling our booking you did us a favour, we had a fabulous time taking our business to The Spence for our daughters graduation...

Located in Old Town on the Royal Mile, Cannonball Restaurant and Bar is one of my favourite restaurants in all of Edinburgh. This historical landmark was originally built in the 17th century and has unique views of the castle with an old meets new interior. The restaurant is clean and offers a relaxed atmosphere which offers comfort food meets fine dining experience, and plenty of seating options on three different levels – bar, restaurant and private dining area.

We happened to stop in after a visit to Edinburgh Castle and I am so glad we did - this place is a gem! We were greeted and seated immediately upon arrival. The customer service was 5-star with friendly and attentive staff. The price was very reasonable for what we got: the portion sizes good, the presentation amazing, and the food was fresh and prepared to perfection. They offer a comprehensive menu with different dining options and were able to accommodate a reduced salt diet. Everything on the menu that we had was incredible delicious including: fresh homemade bread and whipped butter, creamy potato soup, smoked trout with creme fraiche, battered haddock with hand cut fries, pan seared cod with spinach and Beurre Blanc, Chocolate Cannonball and crème brulée. They also had an extensive bar and selection of wines to choose from.

Two unique features of this restaurant are the cannonball lodged in the wall, the namesake of the restaurant, and an old school desk and ode to its history as a schoolhouse and the resident ghost they call “Alice”. It is also wheelchair accessible with entrance from the courtyard, a lift that accesses all levels including the bathrooms, and plenty of seating options that can easily accommodate a wheelchair. Overall, we were extremely satisfied with the food, service and experience. I highly recommend this restaurant and will return to it...