White Horse Oyster & Seafood Bar — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Down on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, I saw the sign for the White Horse Oysters and Seafood.

I am a big fan of oysters and wanted a light snack lunch, and this looked like it would be exactly what I wanted: fresh oysters, a good glass of wine, and a relaxed vibe - perfect.

I sat at the bar and this was a cool option, as I ended up being able to watch the oysters I would eat being shucked fresh right in front of me. I chatted a little with the shucker, and he seemed knowledgeable and nice.

I had six oysters—two each of their three varieties, each listed on the menu with tasting notes that proved accurate:

Carlingford (nutty & sweet with a delicious aftertaste) – from Carlingford Lough, Ireland, known for its mineral-rich waters that give these oysters their meaty, sweet profile.

Lindisfarne (silky with a buttery & clean finish) – from the cold, clear waters around Holy Island in Northumberland, producing a soft, delicate oyster with a clean sea flavour.

Caledonian (big fruity flavours & a tangy finish) – from the west coast of Scotland, these had the boldest flavour, with a slightly briny tang and deeper body.

No, I am not an oyster expert, but I looked up where each oyster came from while I sat there, wanting to understand more about what I was eating.

The oysters came with lemon, pickled shallots, and Tabasco. I had one of each with lemon and one of each with the shallots.

To drink, I ordered a glass of Bolla La Real Casa Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (Italy). According to the menu, this was fragrant & aromatic white with floral notes, alongside citrus & peach. I thought it matched the oysters beautifully. It was crisp and refreshing enough to cut through the richness of the oysters and I used it to clean my palate between each one.

It’s a calm, easy space with friendly staff, I can recommend the oysters.

There is a menu of lots of other things, and when I saw some of it coming out, it looked nice and the other diners looked happy.

Having spent the morning hiking up Arthur’s Seat, this was the perfect way to reset, spend a little quiet time before continuing to explore the beautiful city...

The ratings are clearly buoyed by an easily impressed tourist crowd. If you really appreciate seafood and good service, then an experience like ours will disappoint.

We found the service to be poor: impersonal, rude, and disinterested in putting things right. There was an arrogance to some of the staff that was off-putting and got our backs up. Other staff looked seriously stressed.

The claim of being a "tapas-style" of food service rang hollow when poorly prepared dishes arrived to the table cold or lukewarm. Incredibly, the £110 seafood platter was put on the table with no introduction or explanation. A missed opportunity.

Charred sourdough was more like cremated sourdough. One cocktail was good, the other mediocre. A beer was ordered - and we were told they had none in the fridge (!). I had to ask for some ice to try to chill it.

Straw fries came to the table cold. The tempura was not genuine - it was battered. It was edible, but it wasn't tempura. The oysters were poorly shucked, with shards of shell in amongst them. The seafood platter - with the exception of the oysters - was just about passable.

Unfortunately the impression you get online does not match the more grim reality. It's more like a dark and dingey dive bar with bad food, than a decent seafood place.

The loos were clearly not monitored or cleaned on a regular basis with "water" (being generous) all over the floors and we had to restock one of the loos ourselves.

Given all that Edinburgh has to offer, a dinner here is a wasted opportunity to enjoy genuine Scottish hospitality and good food. If you want a good meal, good drinks, and good service, do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. You can have a much better time for less...

I was extremely disappointed with my experience at this restaurant. While I understand the time limitations on New Year’s Eve, the service felt unreasonably rushed and unprofessional. We were only given 1.5 hours for our meal, but instead of handling this with grace, our server made the entire experience feel hurried and stressful from start to finish.

The tables were very small, so we preferred to order in stages to avoid overcrowding. However, our server insisted we place our entire order at once, despite the limited space. As expected, when the food arrived, not everything fit, and the food runner seemed visibly annoyed as he had to rearrange our table to make room.

We ordered a full dining experience—pre-dinner drinks, a bottle of wine, appetizers, mains, desserts, and after-dinner cocktails—clearly investing in a special evening. Yet, while we were still enjoying dessert and sipping our cocktails, the waitress abruptly came over with the card machine, entered our total, and presented it for payment without asking if we were finished. I was still in the middle of my dessert when she snatched my plate away without a word.

To make matters worse, I stepped away to use the restroom with half of my espresso martini still on the table. When I returned, I discovered that my dining companion had been pressured to vacate the table, and my drink had been cleared without giving me the chance to finish it.

We spent £250 for dinner for two people, and the service we received was rushed, dismissive, and far below the standard you’d expect for that price. The lack of care and professionalism left us feeling unwelcome and undervalued. I would not recommend this restaurant and certainly won’t...