Chez Jules — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Deeply disappointed with my experience. An 8.30pm booking where we were asked to wait outside and eventually called in at 8.50pm. Bread, salad etc was brought to the table instantly but we had to ask several people to come and take an order. Ordered a bottle of Malbec and was brought a bottle of wine which was put on the table without any recognition from the server to the person who ordered it. Assuming it was the wine we ordered, we went ahead and poured the wine into the water glasses as they don’t provide wine glasses to then be told a few minutes later it was the incorrect wine and was meant for another table. Didn’t want to cause a fuss and wait longer for the bottle we asked for to be delivered as well as cost the restaurant financial implications by the mistake as the wine had already been opened and poured so stuck with what was given to us, albeit more expensive than the wine we ordered. The server who took the order seemed to know the menu very well and noted down all orders and further sides, however she worked her way around the table and then was unsuccessful in asking me what I wanted in which I had to remind her that I was still to order. Food arrived but side dishes were missing. The steak I ordered was advertised as coming with fries as well as the person sitting next to me. We didn’t receive our individual portion of fries and then had to ask for them to be delivered, a single portion of fries was then delivered to the table and we were told we were to share the plate between us. A friend received their mashed potatoes over half way through their meal. I asked for my steak to be medium and it was more rare than even medium rare. There was no check back at any point and we decided a dessert would be best avoided. No apology from a manager for the wait of the table or wrong delivery of wine. Perhaps they were under staffed and focused more on turning over tables than focusing on service quality. Unfortunately this experience means I won’t be returning after high hopes. Others have spoken highly of the restaurant in the past so perhaps we were...

After reading all the reviews we were really looking forward to coming here for dinner, but we couldn't help but feel quite disappointed.

I have to say right away that the evening we got there the restaurant had suffered some serious flooding after torrential rain, so it's only fair to bear that in mind when reflecting on our experience there. They had managed to clear up all the water once we arrived, but we did have to wait quite some time to be seated despite having a reservation. Likewise, service throughout the evening was generally quite slow, but as I've said I'm happy to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this on account of the flooding.

However, what was harder to overlook was the quality of the food. I'm not really sure there's much reason to think that this would have been significantly impacted by some flooding in the front of house, but I could be wrong I suppose. French onion soup to start was somewhat watery, and the mains we ordered were served plainly with chips that I'm pretty sure we're just baked from frozen; they were very overcooked and tasted like nothing. The gravy served with the chicken I had just tasted like box stuff. I usually enjoy the simple dishes offered at traditional bistros, but they at least have to be well made. We couldn't help but feel let down by the standard of the food here.

My initial impressions of the prices were that they were low which could somewhat compensate for the quality of the food, but when we got the bill we found that we actually spent about the same as we had at other places where we had eaten much better food. I think they had some good deals at lunch time for multiple appetizers, which did look like quite good value, but I don't think there's much incentive to return here having had such a poor meal...

I was genuinely excited to return here after a wonderful visit the last time we stayed in Edinburgh. It very nearly didn't happen because of current restrictions but I left my details for as it would mean we'd have to wait but thankfully after being happy to wait 40 minutes because we know how good this little gold mine is, I felt it was well worth it.

We'd had seen online prior to coming that certain changes had been made to the way they are serving food to customers, by using disposable cutlery, drinks and serving dishes. So, knew what to expect prior to our visit.

They checked our temp at the entrance, and details taken for Track n Trace. Our table was at the rear of the restaurant where it was just nice away from the chill outside. It was just as I remembered. The decor, the atmosphere soft candle lighting.

I have to say was funny listening to other guests on a table nearby not knowing what to make of the food being served in takeaway foil trays and wooden cutlery. But on this occasion because we've been before and seen what their normal service would have been. I genuinely believe they've adapted admirably.

We shared the mussels (moules a l'etuvee), we also ordered Le Coq Au Vin with gratin dauphinoise potatoes and I had the beef (Le Steak Frites) Our drinks in paper cups and bottles of coke. It was almost like posh camping indoors. But I loved it just what we needed.

Fantastic value for money and it was apparent with the customers that just kept coming, braving the breeze outside or do as we did and support one of the local bars whilst we waited for our call. Win, win. I'd most definitely be returning...