The Gardener's Cottage

1 Royal Terrace Gardens, Edinburgh, EH7 5DX

Telephone 0131 558 1221
Food served Thu, Fri, Mon noon–2.30pm, 5–10pm; Sat/Sun 10am–2.30pm, 5–10pm. Closed Tue/Wed
Average price £15 (lunch); £25 (set evening meal)
Email
Website www.thegardenerscottage.co

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

Run by two talented chefs with impressive restaurant experience between them (including The Atrium, The Kitchin, The Outsider, Café St Honore and Falko), Gardener’s Cottage is a relatively new addition to Edinburgh dining. Be transported out of the city to a cosy cottage, with fairy lights in the bushes, a kitchen garden out front and a blackboard listing the six-course menu on offer that evening. This is a daily-changing, no-choice set menu (although dietary requirements are catered for) which feels as rustic as its setting and is bursting with super-seasonal ingredients. Smoked ham hock, soft boiled egg and lava salt is simple and delicious. Partridge, salt bake turnip, artichoke and gnocchi is a tasty combination of flavours and textures. Scottish cheeses feature heavily: crowdie is complemented by beetroot and a hazelnut and onion salad, and trendy Blue Monday is served with crumbly beremeal crackers and walnut spice. Crockery and cutlery are elegantly mismatched, and the open kitchen is very well choreographed as the staff glide between the communal tables. There appears to be a new hotspot in town.

High point: A truly pleasurable and different dining experience
Low point: Book well ahead to avoid disappointment

Number of wines sold by the glass: 10
Private dining: Flexible options for 10, 20 and 30
Provides: Vegetarian options (at least ¼ main courses), Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Outdoor tables
Music on stereo: Old records
Capacity: 30
Largest group: 30
Open since: 2012
House wine: £18 per bottle

Reviews & features

The List Eating & Drinking Guide Awards for 2013 announced

18 Apr 2013

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With the publication of its Eating & Drinking Guide for 2013, The List announced the winners of its annual Best Newcomer Awards. Selected from restaurants opening in Edinburgh and Glasgow since April 2012, the winners are chosen by the guide's…

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12 Aug 2012

Both Earthy Canonmills and The Gardener’s Cottage share a resolute focus on finding the best seasonal and local ingredients and then treating them as lightly as possible, along the way blazing a path for produce-led, accessible cooking. Is this the…

Comments & ratings

3. Catlady – 10 Dec 2012, 11:24am The Gardener's Cottage Report

Really great but if you are veggie you have to request menu in advance. I think it would be nice to make it more veggie friendly by making this clear on the website / or having veggie option.

A lot of non-veggie people I know prefer veggie choice when they are out, especially when it involves lovely local produce such as the stuff served here.

Otherwise, good place - would recommend.

2. Dan Robinson – 28 Oct 2012, 10:59pm The Gardener's Cottage Report

I totally agree with the above, it is basically awesome. I hope they can retain the price, because as it stands it is a bargain.

I had a fantastic six course set menu for £25. It was a meal I will remember and think about for a long time to come.

It kicked off with homemade soda bread with seaweed butter & tapenade. Then, parsnip soup with apple & fennel seeds. Then, homemade black pudding topped with crab and sorrel. The black pudding was unlike anything I've had. It was sweet and spicy, almost cake-like. It was really good! Then... Beautifully cooked rose veal with buttery mash, Chanterelles, fried cavolo and a beer&apple sauce. Then a scottish blue cheese with a seaweed crumble biscuit. Then.. a trifle with a honeyed cake at the bottom. Then, homemade chocolate ice team with toasted hazelnuts. I hope I haven't missed anything.

As a food obsessed person, sitting beside the open kitchen in this fairly tiny place, being presented with amazing food, by happy people who obviously like what they are doing, was a total treat. I wish I'd discover this place before.

I don't write reviews normally, but wish them all great luck with this venture. It is a wonderful restaurant.

1. Sahra – 23 Jul 2012, 3:19pm The Gardener's Cottage Report

I went to this charming teeny tiny restaurant during the first week it was open. It really is a "gardener's cottage" and you walk through the newly planted veggie patch into the little house, where there are just a few shared tables. You will be sitting very close to your neighbors- but it's part of the charm!

There is just one set menu at dinner (though they asked us if we had any changes/allergies) so all four of us got the same meal. It's 5 courses for £25, which seems good value. The courses are small but at the end you feel perfectly full.

The food was super fresh, local and delicious. We had awesome scallops, perfectly pink lamb and some amazing scottish cheese.

It's such a special place- I'm excited to go back and check out their weekend brunch and lunch. Also seems like a good place for small group events (maybe a tiny weddings?)- though I'm not sure what they do for that.

They have a record player and play old records. It's basically awesome.

Average rating 4.5/5 from 3 reviews of The Gardener's Cottage.

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