Dragonfly — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

The guys at Dragonfly hit all the right notes, and I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

A warm atmosphere with eclectic but inviting decor, the drinks are incentive, artfully crafted and tasty and the clientele are reasonable and mostly locals.

But the real stars here are the staff. On the night we went (a Thursday) the place was busy but the three bartenders gave each customer loads of attention, whole ensuring that the line flowed smoothly. Watching them work on sometimes very complex cocktails was how I imagined it would be to watch Leonardo da Vinci painting his masterpieces. Their attention to detail, intensity and knowledge pays off in the form of delicious cocktails.

I had one from the menu (whiskey with lemon and rhubarb bitters). When I afterwards asked if the bartender could make me a scotch cocktail, he didn't hesitate to suggest a few different options, describing each with their pros, cons and why I might or might not like them. When we settled on a Whiskey Sour made with Scotch and a chili paste they make in house, he was clear that if I didn't like it, they'd make me a new one on the house. Needless to say, it was delicious and I didn't take him up on the offer. My partner had a Raspberry Ripple, which was equally well made and tasty.

Prices are what you'd expect, and while higher than a basic cocktail at a regular bar, you get what you pay for, and we felt that it was money well spent.

I highly recommend this cocktail bar and only regret that I won't be in Edinburgh longer to...

Sadly, another great place that went completely woke and killed all the great vibe it once had

Once one of our favorite spots for cocktails and late night drinks, Dragonfly joined the prejudicial, 'Covid woke' brigade of 'card only' payments, i.e., NO CASH accepted - not even tips to the staff.

'Tip the machine, they said' No, thank you. I would rather find a human bar.

More importantly - has anyone asked who audits 'tips' customers paid into a card machine - not 'service charge' but ACTUAL TIPS added manually (yes, that's the only option to tip the service) ? Does the staff get a report from the business on a daily/weekly basis with the full breakdown of revenues showing the 'tips' added manually by customers or their tips are simply discretionary 'allocated' by management when they get their pay slip? Genuine question.

How exactly any decent bar staff and cocktail makers would even consider to work in a place like this is beyond me. Just shows what short sighted management can do to alienate customers, ruin the human relationship between bar staff and customers and ultimately destroy local businesses. Unreal how the entire stupidity of Covid still lingers in some...

This was once my favourite bar in Edinburgh, but now it seems to have taken a few turns for the worse. They change the menu every so often, which is great; I encourage this wholeheartedly and think it's a fantastic idea. However, the drinks on the current menu leave so much to be desired. My small party sampled around three quarters of the cocktail menu, and I can honestly say that some of the drinks were very unpleasant. This is a crying shame as I know what the showrunners and staff are capable of here. A very sarcastic bartender/waiter made the experience a little awkward, and we were left wondering what we did to annoy him. Aside from these complaints, the biggest grievance I have with the place is the clientele. Very loud and boisterous guests almost ruined it for me, so if I'm going to go back in the future, I'll make sure it isn't during a busy period, and I sincerely hope they come up with some...