The Spence — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

The Spence – Elegant Dining in the Heart of Edinburgh

Tucked inside the stately Gleneagles Townhouse on St. Andrew Square, The Spence is a refined yet welcoming restaurant that offers an elevated take on all-day dining in one of Edinburgh’s most architecturally impressive spaces. Whether you're a hotel guest or a local looking for a polished meal in an unforgettable setting, The Spence is a place that delivers on both substance and style.

Ambience: Grand, Inviting, and Uniquely Edinburgh

Set in what was once a grand banking hall, The Spence is a masterclass in adaptive reuse. High ceilings, a soaring dome skylight, and original architectural details lend the space a sense of historic grandeur, while modern furnishings and warm tones ensure the environment is anything but formal. The layout is thoughtfully designed to suit both intimate meals and lively gatherings, and the natural light during the day adds a particularly welcoming feel.

Dining Experience: Seasonality, Simplicity, and Sophistication

The menu at The Spence embraces seasonal ingredients and Scottish provenance, interpreted through a modern lens. The food is elevated but approachable — confident without being fussy — making it suitable for everything from casual lunches to celebratory dinners. There’s a strong emphasis on quality, balance, and refined execution.

One of the highlights is undoubtedly breakfast, which is exceptional both in its variety and quality. Whether you're in the mood for something classic or contemporary, it’s the kind of breakfast that sets a positive tone for the entire day — thoughtfully prepared, beautifully presented, and full of character.

On Sundays, The Spence also offers a traditional Sunday Roast, making it a popular spot for locals and travelers alike. The experience is hearty, elegant, and distinctly British — all served with the level of care and attention to detail you’d expect from Gleneagles.

Service: Friendly, Discreet, and Impeccably Trained

Service at The Spence is another standout element. Staff are professional and attentive, with an intuitive approach that makes guests feel comfortable and cared for. The team is knowledgeable, responsive, and clearly trained to high standards, striking the right tone whether you’re stopping by for a quick brunch or enjoying a multi-course dinner.

Final Thoughts: A Destination in Its Own Right

While many restaurants inside hotels can feel secondary to the accommodation, The Spence stands firmly on its own merits. With its stunning interior, thoughtful menu, standout breakfast, and relaxed-yet-polished service, it’s more than just a convenient choice for hotel guests — it’s one of Edinburgh’s most distinctive dining destinations.

Whether you're in the mood for a luxurious start to your day, a relaxed weekend roast, or an elegant evening meal, The Spence is consistently impressive. A strong recommendation for anyone seeking elevated, stylish dining in the...

I had tea at the Spence. I love afternoon tea and have a hobby of trying the best afternoon teas in the UK. The room where I had the eagerly anticipated the meal was pleasant. The service began well, the waiter seemed eager to please. But after effusively plying me with assurances of her willingness to make certain that I would be taken care of, the first course, a tiny amuse bouche, arrived 30 minutes later. The amuse bouche wasn't bad, a savory mushroom soup like concept. Truffles, as it was described, it was not. At least not compared to the fresh and dried truffles I've tasted from France, Italy and the U.S. My tier of food arrived in another 20 minutes. Mind you, I was there during tea-time hours but the room was not busy and there were plenty of empty tables. I first had the croissant sandwich with smoked salmon. Was the croissant left out in the weather to acquire a stale, papery chewiness? Sure tasted like it. Was the smoked salmon of the tasteless variety? Yes it was. Watching water boil would better stimulate my taste buds. Then there was a meat pasty. Can't remember what she said about what kind of meat. If she said it came from a greasy and gamey animal, she scores points for accuracy. I was hungry so ate around the dour little meatball but the pastry had been made with a heavy hand and clung grimly to my esophagus as I tried to detach it with tea. There was another delicacy that I can't remember. Likely the mind wants to save from me from yet another underwhelming experience. The clotted cream was good, not exceptional, but tasty. The jam was meh. But I am biased because I have had some of the best jams in the world so very few jams can meet the standard. The scone was disappointing. The hotel may want to reconsider where they source their baked goods. The warm, buttery, flakey, light deliciousness of a wonderful scone was not to be had. It was dense. And I was sad. I only tried one of the sweets because they all sat there looking like grossly over-sugared intestinal bombs. I took one nibble of the macaron and my teeth revolted. Think gavage and a bag of sugar being poured down. A great macaron is never too sweet. At this point I couldn't stomach another bite. My Earl Grey was bitter, perhaps an appropriate metaphor for the experience. Don't waste...

So, after months of trying to book the Sunday brunch club, we eventually got lucky and managed to book it for last month, and as much as I would love to have given it a perfect review, I can’t, and that makes me sad, because I really wanted to, the food was great, let me just start by saying that, lots of choice, quickly replenished, and well organised too, the shellfish for instance in its own section, followed by cheese section, meat section inc pates etc, wonderful bread section, and the sweets and cakes etc in there very own room, and the main course, which I chose lamb was fab, so what’s the problem you ask, well it’s £95 a head which includes a drink on arrival, one of the drinks was a Bloody Mary, so as we don’t drink alcohol I asked if it could be a virgin Bloody Mary, and my partner asked if she could just get a glass of Diet Coke, no problem, that’s totally fine, great, however, and this was a definite negative, I was charged another £20 on top for a virgin Bloody Mary and a Diet Coke, the second problem was a practical one, the venue is gorgeous, really stunning dining room but it is basically a huge greenhouse with the glass roof etc and I could not really enjoy the food as much as i had hoped as the heat was ridiculous, I spent the whole time wiping the sweat from me, air conditioning is a must fix for next year, I definitely wasn’t the only one with an issue I saw lots of people in the same boat as me but if the dining room is to stay the same, and it has too, as it’s stunning, they really do have to invest in a cooling system that works, finally my last negative was although the service was good, the staff were lovely, after the issues I had then a £25 service charge should have been my choice, it’s not, so the bill which I expected to be £190 ended up at £235, I hate leaving negative reviews, and was just going to put it down to experience, especially as the food was so good, but it is a fair amount of money and to me an extra £45 that you were not expecting is a fair whack, especially when we both thought by not taking alcoholic drinks we were saving them money, but still overall, great experience if I go back I will make sure it’s in the colder months but I would love to go back, thanks...