Monteiths

Purchased a voucher deal for lunch for 2, tried to make the booking with still a month to go before expiry date of voucher. Refused a booking as I had missed the cut off date for bookings by 2 days eg book by 1st of Dec but voucher doesnt expire till 30th Dec. Voucher was purchased less than 2 weeks before the cur off booking date!! Restaurant very unhelpful and refused my booking yet money paid up front and voucher still in date . What a CON. Very poor customer relations from this restaurant. DO NOT purchase any of their deals!!

Visited Monteith last night with Sugarpie. This was a living social deal which entitled us to have 2 steaks with duck fat chips, glass of wine and coffee with petit-fours.

Not Easy to find on the Royal Mile but we located it soon enough. We went downl the steps - lit up by fairy lights in a bow over it - if you are tall - mind your head.
The bar area has comfy leather chairs and is well lit. we were met by a lovely waitress who gave us our table straight away.
The restaurant has an mix of seemingly mismatched chairs but they somehow fit in the whole ambiance.

On top of the deal I took a wild mushroom starter with poached egg (£6.5) very good. We were given a hot sundried tomato bread with a herb butter.
We got our wine (Red-merlot) in brilliant large glasses. The steak was cooked to perfection. server on a chopping board, nice touch. The chips were crunchy out and soft/crumbly inside.
On several occaisions we were enquired if we enjoyed the meal, which we did! I also took a Monteith Gold Lager - which is a NZ beer of a brewery with the same name - don't know if they share some connections though.
after we had an espresso with rich choco & walnut petit-fours.

The smoking area is 'outside' with a plastic stripped roof (for legal smoking law reasons not entirely closed - thus classed outside)
they have some heating lamps there as well.

We enjoyed the meal - the service and the attention we got.
We shall be going here again.

Went for a romantic dinner in Monteiths with my girlfriend last Wednesday after hearing that they had recently launched a new winter menu. I had been a couple of months before for an enjoyable business lunch so I had reasonably high hopes.On arrival we were promptly greated at the door by a friendly waitress who let us sit on the armchairs in front of the fireplace. The restaurant was only half-full but it had a charming, cosy atmosphere.

While looking at the menu we decided to try a couple of cocktails. My girlfriend had a clover club cocktail which was really fresh and fruity while I went for a gaelic sazerac which was whisky based, tasty but very strong! The drinks whetted our appetites suitably and the food didn't dissapoint; to start I went for the steak tartare which was beautifully seasoned while the missus had the scallops which were interestingly served in there own shells. To follow we shared the beef wellington and a 1/2 lobster (well priced at £18). The wellington was perfectly cooked and ideal for a rainy night while the lobster was really fresh and came with a delicious buttery sauce.

The only small weakness for the evening was the dessert selection which seemed to be fusion led and out of sync with the Scottish focus running through the rest of the menu. However, by this point we were quite full and decided to skip dessert and have coffee in the romantic heated garden.

Overall we really enjoyed the Monteiths experience. The combination of challenging cocktails and good restaurant-level food in Edinburgh is hard to find and we will definitely be returning.

A promising start to our meal as we walked down the starlit arbour to be met, alas by an unsmiling, disinterested waiter, who walked us to our table then promptly walked off. Luckily another waiter appeared to take drink orders, though friendly his knowledge was sadly lacking on the wines available. The wine list appeared with a very uninspiring selection of wines that made selection a bit of a lottery. We lost the lottery big time and had to endure a wine that was so faulted I'm surprised they let it into the country. Should of sent it back, but even though he was made aware of our disappointment, he just turned a deaf ear to our comments.
Food arrived and and would have to say the chef tried to be creative but the food flavours appeared dull. The Broad bean and watercress veloute had no flavour from the main ingredients was overly creamy and overwhelmed by a very, very smelly, overripe round of cheese served in the centre of the bowl. The duck and macaroni dish was ok though just a bit bland again. My daughter however enjoyed her meal though I thought the use of capsicum and monkfish was a rather incompatible combo. And the fish seamed a bit tough.
Finally the bill was settled and normally I tip gladly but not in this case as the friendly waiter was replaced by a dour lady who presented with all the charm of a sentencing judge.

Met my friend here for some drinks and chat on Sat afternoon. Ordered some wine and sat quite comfortably in the 'garden' under the willow arch which was lovely. Decided to order some food about 6.30, had to ask twice for the menu, we were given the a la carte menu first and then realised there was a cheaper fixed price menu, so asked for that instead. We ordered our food and the starters did come quite promptly - but as we were eating our starter, the waitress came up to our table and asked us for a credit card to put behind the bar (and in her own words) "In case we did a runner" - my friend and I both chuckled as couldn't believe what we were hearing. I explained we were not happy about this, so she then said she would have to ask us to pay for the bill now - my heart rate was rapidly increasing at this point - I told her we certainly would not be paying for food we haven't even eaten yet, so we would pay for half the starter that we were still trying to finish and the wine that we had drunk. She didn't push us on this and left us to finish our meal. The meal was actually ok, but even the cheaper fixed menu is still quite expensive. It's a shame as the venue itself is very atmospheric, but surprisingly enough we didn't leave a tip and we won't be back!

I might go back here to drink, but not to eat. Would have been unhappy to pay full price, but at 2-for-1 with the list card, at least it wasn't a disaster. The steak was good quality, but overcooked. Everything else sounded good on the menu but failed to deliver.

I was worried about the tourist who got charged in foreign currency on the card machine, and was told by each of the staff members that it was automatic and they had no control over it. I had the impression from travel programmes and stories that this is a scam one is supposed to avoid by insisting and having the staff phone the card machine supplier. It's a shame if his evening was ruined by this.

We chose this restaurant after reading the high recommendation in the List and were VERY disappointed. Slow service with waitresses spending equal time chatting, chef seemed to cook one course at a time, prices not reflecting the food quality or portion size. We felt ripped off and hardly full. £62 for 2 courses each, 1 glass wine & an orange lemonade. Wished we had gone to Home Bistro at 1/2 the price & great service or Atrium/Wedgewood. Thanks List.

We visited on a Friday 6pm and were impressed by the feel of the venue on arriving which is very snugly. There were only another 2 tables eating and 2 waitresses, plus one behind the bar. The bar area was quiet so no excuses for slow service. We were sat at our table then had to wait for the menus to be brought to us. We ordered our drinks and food at the same time. We thought the prices were expensive so were expecting a high standard: I ordered the sea bass on parsnip puree & the lamb (£5.50 + £19.50), my other 1/2 ordered risotto & the vension (£6.50 + £21.50).

We waited for our drinks. And waited. We were then given one thin slice of bread each which we ate while still waiting for our drinks. Eventually our drinks arrived and we waited for our starter. And waited. My seabass was delicious, however the portion was very small and my poor other 1/2's risotto was blander than baby food and the barley was almost crunchy.

We then waited forever for our mains. By this time we had been in the restaurant 45 mins. It appeared the chef cooked one table's course at a time so every 10 mins one of the 3 tables in got served. I had a good view of the bar the hour we were there and watched the 3 waitresses chatting during most of the hour we were there thinking one of them might be more use in the kitchen.

Our mains arrived and I honestly couldn't see my lamb under the garnish the portion was that small! The lamb was just warm, but the peas and beans underneath were undercooked, chorizo fatty and the sauce it was in couldn't be soaked up by anything. The venison was lovely, but the red cabbage was bland and sauce "disgusting". Our plates sat there for 5-10 minutes while waitresses passed us 4 times. A new waitress arrived at 8pm obviously to start a shift and immediately cleared our plates. Dessert was clearly not a choice by this point.

We then waited for one of the now 3 waitresses to return for payment. I stood up and put on my coat, the waitresses at the bar oblivious to my clear signal we wanted to leave. When none of them came we had to take the bill to the bar. They couldn't take card payments so my other 1/2 paid cash. He left a 5% tip (which I wouldn't even have done), no thank you from the waitress as we left who obviously thought they deserved the regular amount of tip. Will not be returning.

Very Poor. This restaurant cancelled our 'confirmed' booking 90 minutes before a celebration dinner on the Saturday before Christmas. They tried to blame 'TopTable.co.uk', but it was clearly their own fault. Forunately, we managed to get a cancelled booking (due to bad weather) at Cafe Marlayre, which was excellent.

I have heard similar stories about this Montieth's before and will never book this restaurant again.

Sorry Montieth's, but you cannot get away with treating your customers like this.

Went here last night, hoping the some of the previous commenters had caught the place on an off day, but sadly it seems not.

Our pre-dinner cocktails were fantastic - a zippy, fresh and tart appleberry fizz and a sultry sweet plum julep were both beautifully presented and thoroughly enjoyable.

A look at the menu seriously raised our hopes of some excellent dining following the drinks - several dishes sounded promising, with the offerings ranging from shellfish to game to the cheaper cuts of meat which seem to be all the rage in Scottish restaurants at the moment.

Warning bells went off when we were served some fairly dry and tasteless bread with acrid balsamic vinegar and tasteless olive oil. The starters, when they arrived, were disappointing. Langoustine tails with a wonton crisp and some sort of garlic and citrus sauce were flat and flavourless, overwhelmed by the massive mound of lawn trimming-flavoured garnish set atop the dish. The pork belly was overcooked to the point of being dry and was only just saved from abandonment by the accompanying celeriac puree.

The mains were equally uninspiring. Confit leg of hare with plum tarte tatin was a bold combination, and the sweet-sour tang of the plum did enliven the dark, meaty flavours of the hare. However, the leg was overcooked and slightly dry and the large smear of carrot mash lurking below the meat was reminiscent of tasteless pap spooned from a jar to feed babies. Tender slices of hare loin fared slightly better - properly cooked and accompanied by some crisp, peppery watercress, they were, if not exceptional, better than simply edible.

The halibut was also a mixed success. It was a good-sized, well cooked piece of fish, but it was swamped by the apparent addiction of the chef to vast mounds of grass-like garnish. The accompanying garlic risotto didn't quite gel with the fish, but overall the dish wasn't bad. It just wasn't very good either. We gave up on the idea of dessert.

Despite the restaurant being very quiet (only about half full) the service was excruciatingly slow and unreliable. With the list card, the bill was acceptable, but I wouldn't have been happy paying full price for food of that quality.

I would recommend Monteiths as a drinking venue for the cocktails alone, but I certainly won't be rushing back to eat there.

Went to Monteiths a few months ago - decor is gorgeous however there is no real separation of the bar and dining area - early on a saturday evening it was loud and crowded - not the atmosphere to enjoy a meal in especially as it made conversation across a table virtually impossible, the food is good - but not astounding, it feels as if more attention has been paid to it being prettily displayed than packing great flavour

Food wise, our dinner at Montieths was exceptional. Started with the pork belly which was beautiful and good sized portion served on a slate which was a great touch. Main was even better as the haddock in a tower with pomme ana, black pudding topped with a poached egg was amazing. Brilliant combination. Only downside was the staff were overrun as they had a few calls off but the two there were impressive under pressure. Great experience and superb value with the List card.

We went to Monteiths on a cold, dark Thursday and found a wonderfully warm, comfortable and relaxed eaterie. Great entrance leads to a nice little garden which I'm sure would be fantastic in the summer. We just had a main course each and a dessert to share but the food was good and great value. Looks like they could be on to a winner with their 'lazy sunday's'... don't know yet, but with the friendly and efficient staff, I won't be waiting long until I go and find out.

This place has a lovely feel to it when you walk in and fantastic friendly staff. The dinner menu is varied, but lacking in veggie options (only 1). The food however, was a good standard with their walnut and blue cheese salad being a particular highlight. You really need the 3 courses before you're full. The best things about it are the lovely setting, atmosphere and fast and friendly service. The worst thing about it is that it's only got 1 veggie option for main.

As the lunch menu says lunch is served until 7pm, I booked a table here for 6pm. After reading the review here I was a bit worried that lunch was only served until 5pm so, not wanting to pay dinner prices, I phoned to check. I was told lunch was only served until 5pm so I was going to cancel my booking but was then informed that on Sundays they actually do a brunch menu all day so I kept my booking. When we arrived we were presented with the (expensive) dinner menu. When we asked about the brunch menu they told us it was only served until 5pm. After explaining that I had been told it was the brunch menu all day they let us look at it but there was no sunday roast or sausage and mash left so we decided just to leave. Might be really nice food but we never found out. From first impressions it might be nice for lunch/brunch but the dinner menu seemed very expensive for the surroundings (it cant decide whether its a bar or restaurant).