Old Chain Pier — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

My friends and I went to Old Chain Pier, and our reservation was for 18:45. We were a bit late, so we called them at 18:45 to let them know we would be about 15 minutes late. We finally arrived at 19:00, and when we got there, they told us that because we were late, we could only stay for an hour and a half. We thought that was fair since it was our fault, but what happened next was outrageous!I went to use the bathroom, and when I came back, the server was bothering my friend again, saying we had to hurry up because we were late. It felt like they were rushing us the entire time, and it was honestly super disrespectful. But the worst part was when I asked if there was anywhere to charge my phone. A server rudely said I was blocking his way, and even though I apologized and moved aside, he was incredibly rude and told me I was supposed to move again, even though there was another way right next to me that led directly to his destination. Then, I asked about a charging station and handed him my charger, only for him to tell me there was no place to charge. How is that possible in 2025? This is a seaside restaurant, and with everyone paying via phone and taking pictures, how can you not have a place to charge? This is a huge restaurant, and they don't have any charging stations? Ridiculous. At this point, we were so put off that we just ordered two drinks. But the server kept pressuring us to order food and said, “You know this is a restaurant, right?” I said, “Yes,” and he replied, “Then you have to order food.” I told him no restaurant has such a rule, and he claimed it was written on their website. I checked their website, and there was absolutely no mention of this rule. He lied to us. Honestly, with service like this, no matter how nice the view is, I’d rather not spend my money here. Never...

11/10 - why have we not been sooner?! My partner and I live fairly near by and have been meaning to go for quite a while.

We arrived late afternoon without a booking. Our hostess/waitress found us a table straight away (even though it was quite busy), then by the time we'd browsed the menu, they managed to move us to a window seat- the view of the firth of forth is absolutely stunning.

The food was really good - we had just gone for burgers, but it felt like there was love in the dish. Small touches like the brioche buns being slightly charred, the coleslaw and chips were both nicely crunchy. Exceeded expectations.

They had a specials board for food and one for drinks too. So after being too full for dessert, we had one of their special g&ts. This was fun - we had already decided to try one before our food arrived.

There was a good selection of beer and an interesting selection of red wine (not just the standard three that most pubs sell).

After eating we sat for at least 15/20mins with our drinks before our waitress, very politely informed us there was another group booked on our table soon, but had alternative tables available for us to continue if we wished. We in no way ever felt rushed, we were happy to take another table and had one more drink before heading home. The view from that table was also really good, and we had, up until that point, had a four person table for just the two of us.

A place like this could easily coast off it's location, but we found this not to be the case at all. The food was excellent, the atmosphere was excellent and the serive felt like it went that mile.

We'll see you soon, maybe with our dogs too...

I was really looking forward to coming to this restaurant. It had been amazing previously when I came with an older relative.

We were sorely disappointed this time however and I'm very sad to be in a place where I feel the urge to write a negative review but this time our experience was atrocious.

FOOD-- Ordered and waited around 45 mins to then be told the food we ordered was not available. Fine, maybe it was a busy day we assumed. Reading other comments though suggests this is a frequent occurence. We ordered again and had to wait about 30 mins more. They should've known about this shortage and gave us starters of some kind to pass the time while we waited for our new order. Once the new food arrived it was small portions(hardly satisfying to kill hunger pangs) and had clearly just been re-heated. This is a huge drop in quality from the previously generous portions of delicious fish and chips.

SERVICE- We were charged the 10% for this insubstantial meal and for waiting over an hour to actually eat. The service charge should've be left off and we should've received a discount for the poor quality food.

PRICE--The food itself was expensive and not worth the value.

The only saving grace is the view out to sea which never fails to be beautiful.

I'm not sure whats happened to this previously great restaurant but it has declined considerably since the pandemic. A real shame. I left feeling angry,hungry and nostalgic for the return of this previously pleasant...