Fishers — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

It's getting close to 5pm. You enter through an unassuming front door, turning your back on the sunset in the harbour.

You are greeted first by a mermaid, she sits atop a bar, well stocked with potential pleasure. Below her two waiters relax, anticipating tonight's rush although it's only Monday.

You are led to a table set for two, you decide to face into the restaurant. From there you can absorb the place, wine list in hand you observe the decor.

Two large mirrors open the small dining area up, without disrupting its intimacy. The marble topped radiators heat a raised platform, furnished with wood and paintings of sunsets. The fishing poles on the wall further suggest a nautical theme, without verging on garishness.

A glass of water and a delicately cool Sauvignon-Blanc set the pallet for what is promising to be a meal which will relax into fond memory. The arrival of the first course assures this.

8 scallops served in half shells are accompanied with a savoury yet sweet butter, each cooked better than the last, you almost find yourself begrudging the complimentary bread you use to soak up their juices. That these scallops must end is a sad fact, but you've still to experience your main.

The service is efficient and careful. A genuine pleasantness exudes from the staff, combined with the occasional laughter from the kitchen, it makes you feel welcomed into a place of familial warmth. Not analysed or pressured as places of a similar calibre often do.

Your main arrives as swiftly as your starter. A fillet of Halibut, atop a cream sauce and greens, accompanied by potatoes in a separate bowl. The flavours and textures of the food give the impression that they are to be experienced, not merely eaten.

Said experience is regrettably, yet unavoidably ended. Paired with the wine, the sharpness of the capers is notably pleasant in a way words struggle to capture.

You find yourself so content with your meal that the offer of a dessert menu is readily accepted, with the options that cater for your dietary requirements already highlighted, the choice is truly a debate.

Settling on a seasonal berry Pavlova, your coffee helps cleanse the pallete of any remnants of seafood, although mourn their passing. The tartness of the berries does not detract from the sweet crunch of the meringue. The roast of the coffee tying the flavour experience together.

After sitting for a moment, soaking in an atmosphere so comforting it must be felt to be believed, you pay your bill and commit this place to memory as you carry on to explore the...

Avoid at all costs.

My partner and I decided to pop into Fishers on Wednesday afternoon (19th March) for a quick bite to eat before heading back into Edinburgh. We were the only people at first in the restaurant, so were seated quickly and served drinks within around 15 mins of arriving.

We ordered a few starter dishes, oysters, prawns and scallops to share.

Firstly, the oyster shells hadn’t been prepped properly, the shells were sharp and dirty and parts of the shell were inside which didn’t make eating them a pleasant experience.

The prawns were inedible, I actually had to spit one out into my napkin. They tasted dirty, were incredibly sandy and didn’t taste fresh.

Last but not least were the scallops. They were stuck to their shell like cement, trying to slide them out of their shell was impossible and resulted in them breaking up into tiny pieces making them inedible. Both of us have eaten scallops countless times and have never had this experience.

When the server came over to check in on us, we were polite but explained we weren’t pleased with the quality of our food. The server came across offended and tried to claim the scallops were stuck to their shell because they were baked, and the prawns can’t be sandy because customers that afternoon ordered them and had no complaints. We explained the quality was unacceptable and that we were only willing to pay for the oysters and cocktails.

Shortly after, I’m assuming the restaurant manager (she didn’t introduce herself) came over to the table and began quizzing us over why we sent food back. Again seemed offended and used the same excuses as the server but apologised for our negative experience.

Unfortunately it didn’t end here. My partner has been severely ill from eating at Fishers. It is clear he has food poisoning. He has a high fever, dehydrated, doubled in pain and suffered over 15 times visiting the toilet from being sick and having an upset stomach over the course of half a day.

Not prepping and cooking seafood correctly can be so dangerous and my hope in posting this review is that folk will be more cautious before eating in this establishment. I’m not the first person to complain about treatment from staff or the fact they have become poorly from...

I and my wife and kids drive around Edinburgh to find this place, she had some memory of the place eating there few years ago but we found it accusently. So goad that we finally found the place! Kids were sleep in the car and no parking space in a Friday afternoon 24th of July. I will never forget this day we marked our marriage registration in edingbrugh after a 2 years if struggle. The trip is a 3.5 hrs away and we still make it to the city for any excuse. Long story short after getting there a nice experienced man who was super busy greeted me and said no for indoor tables and outdoor jump on it as soon as it's ready. So I spoke to a nice couple outside who were finishing their food and they super nicely said they are leaving and will offer us the table. A blond curly head waitress who was well presented and running around working hard as everyone else checked them out and I went to use the services with my son but my wife stayed at the table once ready! The Dark hair lady possible Spanish who spoke to another table in Spanish told my wife that she is sorry can't serve food because of being busy, taking up to an hour for things to prepare out if the kitchen! She didn't even ask what we wanted! She started taking her order by asking my wife ”are you resting”? My wife said we are here to eat! So we left disappointed, hit the motorway for another 4 hours to get back home which found Dolphin takeaway and had some fish. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to Dolphine the friendly staff...