Doctors — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Walked back from Holyroodhouse to our nearby hotel in sloppy, wet snow. Miserable weather. Cold and hungry, we wanted something to eat nearby. It was Boxing Day, so our options were limited. We'd seen Doctor's while on a recent walking tour and decided to give it a try.

Walked in to a lively scene. Music in the background. Christmas lights. Soccer match on the tv. Never having been there, we had no idea we needed to wait for seating, so we started looking for a table. There were some empty, but they all had "reserved for" papers on them. While we were standing there, a gentleman who worked there (manager?) asked us if we were there just for drinks or if we wanted food. We told him food. After a moment of thought, he told us he could give us one of the reserved tables, but would need it back in about an hour and fifteen. (As it turned out, ample time given the great service.) He could've just sent us on our way saying he was booked up, but instead found us a table, left us menus, and told us to order at the bar.

I ordered fish and chips. The Mrs ordered the steak pie. The girl behind the bar asked about drinks. She had two cask ales, so I took one of each. I took the bitter and my wife took the pale. They were room temperature and slightly less carbonated than what we get in the States, but exactly what one would expect here. The bitter was nicely malty with a slight bitterness resembling unsweetened tea. The pale was a bit more dry and a touch heavier on the bitterness. Both quite tasty and we'd later have more.

The service was lightning fast with the food arriving within minutes (5 or 10, tops). It was piping hot and if the fish hadn't had a nice, crispy batter coating, I wouldn't have known it was fried. It wasn't greasy at all. Nice flaky haddock, perfectly cooked. Not salty or overseasoned at all and cooked to juicy perfection.

The steak pie was comfort food personified. A nice, crispy, perfectly browned crust filled with what amounted to a hearty beefy stew filling. Rich and hearty and everything needed to take away the day's chill.

I can't recommend Doctor's highly enough. Welcoming and friendly with great drinks, tasty food, and helpful and...

As a physician myself, I was very curious to pay a visit to the Doctors. Just across the street from the University of Edinburgh. Writing this review after my visit, I can confidently say it was time well spent. The owner is a great man. An original Scot and friendly personality. But that is only one piece of the story. The beers and drinks they have, very tasty. I recommend trying the Doctors Orders ale. A bit of malt. Very smooth. As you look around the place you may notice a few medical items if you pay close attention. And then you’ll notice that the patrons seem like nice people. I think many are local. On the one side, I saw a man. Just a hint of gray. Very prestigious looking. Seemed like a doctor who had just finished a hard days work in the hospital. Hunger came over me while sipping my ale and talking and I ordered several items on the menu, I’m not sure what their secret is but the Haggis fritters were delicious. Yes. Haggis, yes, delicious. And when they say fish and chips. It’s because you get a large, fish size piece with chips (potato). Also very tasty. Not too oily for you foodies. The hamburger, made from locally sourced beef was also mouthwatering. Mind you - The serving sizes are generous and I did my level best to finish everything on my plate. Finally, for dessert, the apple crisp/crumble with ice cream. It tasted like they had picked the apple earlier that day and baked it up fresh. In summary, If you’re a medical person or have ever seen a physician: Dr. Moses says: “Try this place”. You should enjoy...

In all respects, this looks like it’s a great drinking spot, but the food really let it down. There was a wait on the kitchen because of the torchlight procession, which is fair enough. The chap behind the bar was very apologetic and explained the situation. He also gave us the nod from our table when we could shoot back up and order.

When it came to ordering I was told that they hadn’t had any flat iron steak (or sandwich) available for a while. If that’s the case, I’m not sure why it’s still on the menu, but hey-ho. So we ordered a cheese toastie, and a steak & ale pie instead.

The wait wasn’t bad either … but I kind of think it should’ve been longer. The cheese toastie was presented as a whole sandwich of cheese slapped on a plate with some undercooked chips. The steak and ale pie is the worst pie I’ve ever had. The pastry was soggy and anemic like it had been bungled into a microwave, while the meat inside was dry. The chips and peas were both undercooked.

I get it, it’s pub food. It’s not anything fancy. But for the price they charge, it should be to a better standard than that of a local social club.

Good for drinks, atmosphere, and location but the food I...