The Scotch Malt Whisky Society - The Vaults — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

To whom it may concern,

I write this review today after being a member for four years.

In this time as a member I have been to this establishment many of times, along with others.

Of late however, I feel the service has really started to fall short. Saying that the waiters treat you with disdain and disinterest is an understatement. Which after looking, many other reviews suggest also.

I feel it is such a shame given it is such a great venue. However it has come to a point now that I won’t be returning or renewing my membership. Along with many others I visit with.

You get grunted at and pointed to sit at a table when checking in. You now get no history of the whisky, you get looked at if you ask for sauce with your food. You never get asked if everything was ok for your meal. Just a comment saying ‘are you done with these plates’

I and others shall not be revisiting along with many other members I presume .

I do however write this with the hope that it shall finally settle in with management and they can rectify the issue. At which point I would love to return. But as it stands I would much rather go to a different venue to spend my money and get treated with respect by staff who want to have you there. Not that you feel you are a chore to deal with.

To note, I visit always during the evening period, where it always appears to be the same staff and an empty premises. So you’d assume the service could be better, but you have to go to the bar to order absolutely everything which at cheaper venues you would get table service. With a very low ambiance. Even to the point at which I was paying, I just got thrusted the card machine, whilst the manager on duty carried on their conversations with a member of bar staff.

I hope this is escalated to higher management and dealt with...

What an amazaing treat. One of my oldest and closest friends treated me to a visit to the Scottish Malt Whisky Society's 'Vaults'. The experience was everyting I could have dreamed of.

From the old-club feel of the decor to the raging fires in the wall, from the attentive staff through to the thick and heavy bibles with their amazing descriptions of the whiskies I was in absolute heaven.

Hungry after the walk from Waverley station, we ordered the haggis straight off. Afterall, we were in Scotland, drinking scottish whisky, how could we not order that? It was perfect. A lot of haggis are very heavy on the pepper and spice, to the extent that the palette can be overwhelmed. Not this haggis. It was perfect in every way. There was indeed a hint of pepper and spice as their should be, but there was also a lot of other flavours. The mash was fabulous. I'm a bit of a mash fan, and this was some of the best mash I've ever had the pleasure to masticate.

I'm also a fussy bugger, not liking swede. I was not to be daunted however, and tucked in; finding to my great surprise that swede was the perfect accompiement for haggis and mash. The icing on the cherry was the whisky sauce. All-in-all a perfect start to the visint.

From there we moved onto tasting whiskies. 9 in all chosen from two thick bibles and a slim journal on the table. We took our time as gentlemen should and actually went as far as to make proper notes. Surprisingly my friend - who was not a whisky fan previously - and I both settled on the same whisky as a firm favourite, using that one to then score the others by.

Warmed by the good food and even better whisky, we said a sad farewell. With him being a member however, this is going to be a must-visit venue every time I have the pleasure of returning...

Four of us visited today as my husband is a member. The members lounge was quiet and there were two members of staff working. On arrival we were not given a warm welcome, merely told to go thru to the members lounge. We made ourselves comfortable and waited to be served - and waited - and waited. My husband eventually approached the bar and placed our order. A soft drink arrived followed five minutes later by my coffee but two whisky flights had to be requested a further twice and eventually arrived 30 minutes after ordering. The staff appeared to be disinterested in serving and had to be encouraged to give an explanation of the whiskies presented.

I asked if it was possible for them to order us a taxi and was told it was not possible as it was a business was account (??). When we got the bill it was over £100. My husband queried it and it was reduced to the correct amount of £50+. This was our second visit to the Vaults and we had expected a similar level of service again but were sorely disappointed. Today was not a...