Maxies Bistro and Wine Bar

Visited Maxie's Bistro last Saturday night for my mothers birthday, the waitress was so friendly. when she found out it was my mums birthday she brought her over a glass of complimentary fizz and put a candle in her choc cake, the look on my mothers face was priceless when the handsome Spanish waiter sang her happy birthday... It's these little touches that you get from a family business that turns a good evening in to one you'll never forget, thank you Maxie's Bistro we will be back. The food, service and company made for a perfect night....

Maxies features freshly-prepared, classic brasserie cuisine in a stunning turn-of-the-century setting. Prices are moderate, too. This middle-range Scottish / French restaurant is a good choice for all gourmets, or for those who would like to exercise their gourmet muscles-- without breaking their wallets The wine list is amazing and the ambiance was private and romantic. We had the best dining experience in a long time. Our server was great and helped us choose the best thing on the menu. We can’t wait to go back!

After finding the website we made a booking for the following night, myself and my wife. From the website it looked like a cosy, intimate restaurant and we really couldn't have been more happy with it when we turned up. Our table was in a cushioned area close to the bar, which was warm and candlelit. We opted for a bottle of Spanish Rioja Crianza (although there were an insane amount of options, the wine list is extremely extensive. There really is something for everyone) and decided to go for a seafood starter, which was reccommemded by the waiter. I had poached Scallops and my wife had half a dozen oysters. The scallops were cooked to perfection and the oysters were so fresh. Truley one of the nicest seafood dishes we've had in Edinburgh. For Mains, I had a Ribeye steak served with blackpudding in a port sauce (absolutely fantastic combination!). My wife had the seafood linguine (not one to steer too far away from the seafood theme), which she adored. Being someone who eats his steak blue, it's refreshing to find somewhere that can cook a steak correctly, I've had my fair share of having to return rare overbooked steaks but this was perfection. Nothing too over the top, just a steak with potatoes and garden vegetables, divine. For dessert we shared an apple pie with ice cream ( it was a delicious half baked lattice, beautiful) with some coffees. Brilliant atmosphere, brilliant food. Friendly welcoming staff. We'll be back!

Decided to book this place after a friend recommended it and I had always admired the terrace when passing. Five star restaurant, my wife is wheat intolerant and the waitress could not have been more helpful. We both had the homemade Tomato and herb soup to start then I followed with Pheasant stuffed with blackpudding and apricots, and my wife had salmon salad for a main as she was going to have a pudding. Really nice family run restaurant with those nice comfy homely touches.

Myself and 9 friends had booked Maxies for a night out when we arrived we were greeted by a lovely friendly waitress who made us feel so welcome we were seated and given our menus and list of speicals sonwe had a look at the menus wide choice i opted for the game and vintage port pate when the food came it was presented beautifully and the taste was as good as it looked it was a nice smooth and was made better with the oatcakes the wide selection of main courses was unreal I eventually choose the pheasant with blackpudding and apricot with a port sauce because i always wanted to try it and when it come it looked beautifully layered with a nice amount of sauce and when we ate it the bird melted in ur mouth after that we could not eat anything else so we tried some whiskys and because there is 100 there a man cane over and explained about the whisky and we all picked the 1 we want with a bit advice for the man overall a great night and we all said we would go back again that much I am taken the wife on valentines day.

The food here is excellent. Couldn't fault it at all and would go as far as to say that it one of the best meals I've had in Edinburgh for a long time. A great setting too on Victoria Terrace, would be great to sit outside on a summer night. Highly recommended.

we came to maxies on sat night (9/10/10) and had a fantastic time. my friends took me out to cheer me up as im now huge and feeling it!!! they reserved a cosy wee table for us up in the bar area. we all decided to choose a number with the starters and what ever we ordered we would share, fantastic idea, ended up getting mushrooms, prawns, brie and a bacon salad, which were very yummy and perfect for sharing. i ordered the spicy chicken stir-fry, when it came out after having a few bites i could feel my heart burn starting ( being pregnant i cant handle spicy food, but stupidly try to handle it) when the lovely waitress came to check all our food was ok, and noticed i was just picking she gave me the menu and told me i could change my meal, i was very impressed as there was nothing wrong with the food, just me being silly, i changed for a tiger prawn stirfry instead, it was so so so nice writting about it im getting cravings :)x then for dessert we shared a lemon cheese cake and a hot chocolate cake with ice cream. the service here was second to none, you can tell its a very close family run buisness and everyone cares and likes what they are doing. thanks to my friends and to the staff for making my last night out without child for a while a extra special one. xxxx

Being from Edinburgh myself I'm always looking for new and exciting places to eat with my friends in between and after studies. After walking around the stunning old town (which really is a must if you're visiting from outside the city), we stumbled across a nice little terraced area near Hotel Missoni which overlooked Victoria Street and the Grassmarket. On the terrace was a variety of places to eat, we opted to dine at Maxies Wine Bar and Bistro, which was boasting a 2 course set menu for £7.95, and being in such a nice area, who could resist an offer like that! Walking into the restaurant we were greeted by a lovely young lady with a beaming smile who was only to happy to show us to a table and explain what was on the set menu list. The restaurant itself was busy and atmospheric and despite it being so popular we were sat at a more private table away from the hustle and bustle of it all. The set menu offered 2 courses for £7.95 and 3 courses for £8.95 (making the dessert just £1!! But we'll get onto that). The starters we were offered was a homemade lentil soup with a genuine home made meat stock, a salmon and cream cheese pate with a side salad, or garlic bread with cheese. Seeing as there were three of us, we opted for one of each. The main courses offered were a chicken and feta cheese with spinach in a sweet red pepper sauce, baked haddock in a garlic sauce or (much to the delight of our vegetarian companion) almond and apricot cutlets. Again, we got all three. When the starters arrived we were most of the way through a bottle of Rioja blanco which was recommended by the waitress. The pate which was my own dish was smooth and prepared to perfection. It had some, but not too many pieces of salmon in it, proving it was made of the premises unlike so many similar dishes seen in restaurants today. The garlic bread was rich and toasted with just the right amount of cheese as to not overpower the delicate garlic flavour. And the soup, god that soup!! The stock was obviously made on the premises which made the soup delicious. Like, genuinely, a soup like lentil which is usually expected to be boring and lack a lot of flavour, but this was delicious!! I would have happily paid the 7.95 for the soup alone! The attentive waitress cleared our plates almost as soon as we were finished and not long after, the main courses arrived. The Chicked feta cheese dish was fantastic. I've never tasted a dish like this before so it was a real treat. The haddock was gorgeous, the delicate flavours of the haddock were kept with the sauce, which trust me, being abit of a novice cook myself is a tricky thing to get right! The cutlets were delightful and served in a provencel sauce. Then who could say no to a £1 dessert!! Stunning place, see you next time Maxies!

Wow, what a gem!

Don't let the "dated" comments put you off. This is a genuine old-school wine bar and bistro of the sort that are increasingly hard to find. A huge and very well thought out winelist with good choices at all price levels, and a big range of wines by the glass.

A menu full of well tested classic dishes always hits the spot. I have been going to Maxies at least once a month for the last 3 years, it has become a firm favourite. Being able to enjoy a Cigar on the terrace after dinner is great, and they'll even give you a blanket to keep warm!

If you are looking for chrome fittings, laminate floors and coloured LED lights then look elsewhere, but if you want to enjoy good wine and food in a timeless setting then I think it is a great place to visit.

i was advised by friends to try out maxies and i so glad i took there advise. it is a small family run buisness, the waitress was freindly and extremly helpful, i have a bad wheat and dairy allergy. the waitress told me to choose something of the menu i fancied and they would make sure it was safe for me to eat, also giving me a different choise of sauces to choise from. ( other places i have visited have given me a sauce that is wheat and dairy free and i cant take it or leave it) . the food was lovely and i would recomend maxies to anyone with a special dietary needsx

had the parents over from canada for the first time. me and my girly friends would normally go to maxies so decided to take mum and dad. starters were lovely, for main i made dad have the chicken with haggis as he has never tryed this before, he loved it, especially with the whisky sauce, i had the steak with black pudding and port sauce as blck pudding is a fav of mine, the steak was cooked to perfection ( rare the only way a steak should be cooked!!!) and mum chose the seafood platter which i have to say we all had a bit off, the smell of the sauce made us, it was all so so so yummy. then for dessert it was liquer coffee's on the terrace, the kind waiter gave us all a blanket each to keep us cossy. the waiter was so helpful, especially after getting bombarded by dads scottish questions, which he answered all!!! maxies got a big thumbs up from mum and dad too, :) x xx

I was pleasantly surprised by the large vegetarian section of the menu. As a veggie, I rarely get much of an option but this restaurant had many veggie friendly starters and main courses. From traditional nut roasts, to a few pasta dishes and vegetable stir fries, all reasonably priced. Also a good selection of local and international beer
The service was very efficient, although there was only one member of staff working on the floor on the Tuesday night I visited.

Went in there late one Sunday afternoon - and I am glad we did! We had the chicken stir fry and the rib-eye steak. Although the chicken stir fry was a bit spicy, it was still very tasty. The steak was lovely although it could have done with a little bit more vegetables. We also tried a lovely Sauvignon Blanc of 'De Waal' cellars, South Africa. Lovely!!! The service was quick and friendly.

We visited maxies on a sunny Tuesday night, after having a wonderful hot seafood platter, served to us by the chef Norman who make s the place so friendly, The sun was gleaming down on us after this we were able to move in side to the lovely cushioned bar area for the best lemon cheese cake with ice cream. What a lovely time I and my girlfriend's had. We will defenetely be meeting up in maxies more often.

We went for dinner on Saturday night, as we have been here serveal times before and always enjoyed the food. The food on this occassion was awful - certainly not the quality we had experienced previously. The sauce that came with the steak (if you can call it that) was watery and tasteless. The chips had obviously been cooked in oil that had been hanging around for a while. We will not be returning again.

Atmosphere was great. Romantic interior and nice staff. BUT the food was horrible. Very simple and looked like made from frozen. It didn't have much taste to it. I would recommend it for its location & terrace, but not for food. Also selection of beer was poor. Generally okay but not brilliant.

We visited Maxies Bistro on the 5th of jan 2009, the food was divine you must try the chicken with haggis or the rib-eye with black pudding, and the chocolate crepes are to die for... We had our two children with us and the staff were so friendly and accommodating, our daughter loved Norrie's special mac'n'cheese (pasta in a brie sauce). Would I recommend this place to friends, definitely and we will be returning soon... Hopefully my husband suprises me and takes me for valentines day.

A beautiful, cosy restaurant with helpful staff and some of the finest specials I've tasted (sirloin and black pudding with port - superb!)

Considering we were there for New Years, the service was personal and completely unrushed. I will definately be back.

we were outside on the terrace during the festival,

the place was buzzing & the atmpsohere was electric

the wine was excellent & the waitress helped us decide what show to see.

The food was superb & i enjoyed the chocolate fudge cake.

we will definatly be back