The Herringbone — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

new place in Edinburgh, with light airy atmosphere. Food was decent but not superb and pretty standard for Edinburgh. Portions were small for the price. The biggest disappointment is the service. I guess you don’t have to be an attentive server if 10% is already added to the customers bill, which I find rude. Tipping is based on the service given, not an additional surcharge. Here are some Examples: 1) we sat inside 2 meters from the bar/wait station. We sat for 15 minutes before we were greeted and that was only until I forcibly made eye contact with someone behind the bar- which was basically what I had to do to get someone’s attention for more water, dessert, the bill, two-bite check back to see if the food was cooked properly or if we wanted additional food as we simply ordered a selection of small bite dishes , etc. we waited so long for the dessert , I just got tired of the whole experience and asked for the check…then another girl came hurriedly over finally with the ready made pastry and said “sorry for the wait”. The pastry (think flapjack with fruit) was literally sitting under a glass dish within arms reach of our table, but still took 20 minutes to bring. I’m now waiting an additional 20 minutes for the bill and I think I will have to ask again. The place is not full, only the outside seating, so I can’t imagine the issue….just seems like VERY poorly trained wait staff. Average price for a standard main is £18. We didn’t order alcohol. I give this place another year before it goes under. The atmosphere won’t carry over through winter, with higher priced standard fare. I think the appeal is simply great outside seating, which is a premium in Edinburgh. I still haven’t gotten the bill writing this review so we’re now 26 mins waiting for the check I’ve already asked for. Not coming back. Update: after I again stared down staff, I can see a light went on in the staff member’s head (who appeared to be the manager as she had a different top) and she realised, like so many before her, she forgot to bring the check I asked for earlier. In this time of economic uncertainty, high costs, the one thing that doesn’t cost extra is...

Popped in here tonight because it was raining and I was passing and starving! Place was full but the staff were happy to accept a table for one, and service was fast and friendly. Menu was ok, you wouldn't struggle to find something but the starters sounded a bit.. boring... to be honest. Skipped them and went for a main. Plenty choice there and I ended up asking for the "Daily Gourmet" burger; I wasn't expecting much. It was a work of art. A kind of chicken/bacon cheesy thing but much more than the sum of its parts. Every bit was perfectly cooked; the chicken succulent, the bacon crispy but still chewy, the bun beautifully burnt. I think I was possibly mistaken when I skipped the starter. I suspect they were a lot better than they sounded; whoever is creating the dishes here is clearly very talented. So I asked for the dessert menu, and was disappointed to see mostly just the bog standard sticky toffee pudding and ice cream. So I ordered the ganache and it came with fashionable microherbs on the top of it. The ganache was an amazing mix of sweet and sour, the microherbs tasted like a tramp's underpants. (Disclaimer I do not actually know what tramp's underpants taste like)

Still giving this place full marks because it seems the menu changes a lot, the chef is obviously talented and experimental, and all the waitresses I spoke to were absolutely lovely and very attentive.

If I lived locally I'd definitely be popping in every week or so to see what...

I knew about The Herringbone for ages but for some reason never made the effort to visit. This was a mistake.

The need for a venue at short notice during the tail end of the lockdown eventually had me place a booking. It's a good time to point out how easy the website booking system was and reassuring the process.

Long story short; I've been back many times since. It's great

[July 26 update] Now fully Buzzworks the Herringbone is still good. Definitely consider the loyalty app.

The staff are friendly and savvy. Despite their best efforts it's the food that wins. The menu from the Herringbone is fairly expansive, and they have a vegan menu. I've been working thorough the main menu and while I've still not made it in for breakfast, everything else has been gorgeous.

The chicken laksa, the hake, the salmon burger and even the smashed avocado on sourdough! I know, that last one makes the place sound hipster. I don't think that's a bad thing, but the Herringbone is far too friendly and open to be in any one niche. I think there's something here for everything unless you're looking for a sports pub.

This is a gastro pub, not really a watering hole, but you could easily call it a restaurant too.

Strongly recommended.

[November 23: New owners, newly redecorated and the food still great. Menu tweaked rather than reimagined. I visited on day two of the reopening, it was busy but not crowded and the kitchens a...