Elevated bistro food. Taken as a pub or bistro, the food was wonderfully inventive and tasty. Taken as fine dining, the food didn't have the precise seasoning or presentation required for excellence. Service was quick and friendly.
Had an amazing visit here. Food and service was outstanding. We all ate different dishes and everyone enjoyed. Highly recommend the scallops as a starter and pork as the main. Excellent wine choice available with advice on which wines to compliment the courses. Attention given to those in the party with food allergies. Will definitely return in the very near future. One of the best restaurants we have ever dined in.
Edinburgh is also known for their great food, missing the opportunity to dine at The Kitchin in Leigh. Since I was visiting Edinburgh Castle, it made sense to lunch at The Kitchin sister restaurant Castle Terrace. Opened in 2010, Castle Terrace quickly gained a Michelin Star. Heading the kitchen is Chef Patron Dominic Jack, food is modern British with a flair of French.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
This restaurant came highly endorsed by my concierge (The Caley) as a top recommendation from a list of spots when I requested something of similar caliber to The Pompadour.
The Short: Everything was fantastic as you would expect from a (previously) Michelin starred restaurant. However, as it is understood to me, the general idea of awarding Michelin stars is in effect a badge that conveys, "This really expensive meal experience is worth the price." Although the service was good and the wine pairing better, I wasn't convinced the food, service, and ambiance warranted the price tag.
The Long: We did cocktails in the lounge. There was a (desire to insert explicative here) fantastic old fashioned and then we moved to the restaurant after pre-dinner bites (pictured) and deciding on the six-course tasting with wine pairings. After that, I was impressed with the sommelier who was super knowledgeable and the generous pairing pours. My husband loved the pork slider course (pictured) and I thought the first course of a sushi-esque flavored salmon dish was the best. I adored the cheese course and the whisky/scotch cart was a strong highlight. The ambiance is beautiful (gorgeous wallpaper) but missing some romance, maybe a view, and the menu felt a little lacking in ingenuity (I found the slider course a little silly). That being said, our meal was amazing and any critiques are based on comparison of restaurants of similar caliber and price.
Next time we'll try another one of Edinburgh's incredible available dining experiences. I would absolutely return for cocktails though.
Without a doubt, the best restaurant experience I have ever had. Friendly, knowledgable staff, amazing food, and a perfect atmosphere. I've never spent so much on a meal, but I've never had a better meal either. Again, perfect staff, perfect meal, couldn't be happier.
Probably my favourite restaurant in Edinburgh along with Kitchin. The food is exquisite and the chef uses the seasonal ingredients well. Service here is brilliant and the sommeliers know what they're talking about and are always there to provide good info and help out with alcohol choices.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Took a Friday afternoon off work to try out The lunch menu at Castle Terrace with some friends. Service was faultless throughout - friendly, knowledgable, attentive but not overbearing. The sommelier was a real highlight, great personality and knew what we wanted before we knew.
The lunch menu was small but perfectly formed. We were all unsure as to whether to go for the full a la carte or the set lunch but went for the set lunch having seen a few dishes heading to other tables.
Started with a wonderful selection of finger foods; salt cod brandade in pastry, the world's smallest cheeseburger and a capsule of liquid Caesar salad. Flavours and skill on show were truly top level and that was just the hors d'oeuvres.
The amuse bouche was an incredibly clever 'egg' with the white made of panna cotta and a vivid yellow 'yolk' sauce of Arbroath smokie sitting on a thin biscuit disc covering cubes of mango and flakes of haddock. Again, exceptional skill on show with the textures of the egg spot on.
I started with a lentil soup with pork kormeski. Fair to say it'll be the best lentil soup I'll ever eat. Punch after lunch of luxurious bold flavours with a familiar comfort food base. The others at my table had a BBQ rabbit ravioli which looked delightful and got good reviews.
Main course was a pork pithivier. Exquisitely presented and very well cooked. Pastry was crisp and buttery and the pork filling was bursting with meaty goodness. No soggy bottoms on show either with the pithivier resting on a ring of griddles onion! Attention to detail on the garnishes was brilliant. Small quenelles of chutney with variations of onion sitting in each quenelle. The crispy onion ring was fantastic. One of our party had the skate which got full marks for flavour but was slightly disappointingly presented given the high standards on show everywhere else.
Desert was a no brainer. We all had the dark chocolate mille-feuille which was pure decadence on a plate. Different textures with varying layers of pastry and an array of depths of flavours on the filling. Our sommelier recommended an exquisite Muscat which was the perfect partner.
As we were on a roll we decided to finish with a shared cheese plate and port. The selection was fantastic and was the perfect end to a wonderful meal. Particularly enjoyed a creamy cheese from Jura and the apple and calvados jelly.
Couldn't recommend Castle Terrace more especially with such a high level and well priced lunch menu. Will be going back very, very soon!
Amazing service. I went here once a couple of year and then again a year ago for my birthday and the service was amazing, not only did they put a birthday card of the table, they then brought me a glass of champagne and a little cake at the end of the meal. The food is also really good, if you're just wanting to try it, then go at lunch when you can get 3 courses for £25, great value!
This is a quite a new restaurant in Edinburgh, that only opened in July 2010 but it has already managed to get 1 Michelin star and also been ranked as a top 100 place to eat in the UK, and is a sister restaurant to another famous Scottish restaurant The Kitchen. The main chef is Scottish and his name is Dominic Jack and the restaurant serves modern British cuisine influenced by French cooking techniques (so fairly standard Michelin restaurant in the UK) and using Scottish produce. Dominic Jack has worked in one of my favourite restaurants in the world l’Arpège in Paris, but unfortunately I did not see much influence from l’Arpege when I went to Castle Terrace nevertheless it was a very enjoyable meal. When you enter Castle Terrace there is a lounge with chairs coloured in the typical Scottish pattern (which is where, when I booked a table, t
The amuse bouche for the evening followed a comfort food theme. The trio consisted of a crab meat ravioli, miniature slider and a liquid Caesar salad. The crispy ravioli and slider were pretty looking and tasted good, but the most inventive and delicious of the three was the small Caesar salad capsule, which we were instructed to eat in one bite. As soon as you bite in
Castle Terrace won it’s first Michelin star this year and after having read many good reviews about it, I was keen to try it out during one of my trips to Edinburgh. Canapes Salmon tartare with carrot vermicelli (9/10) Salmon tartare with carrot vermicelli (9/10) The dining scene in Edinburgh is of high quality and a few restaurants stand out as being of extremely high quality (e.g., The Kitchin ). One of the restaurants that many critics rave about is Castle Terrace . The head chef, Dominic Jack, trained in some of France’s most prestigious kitchens, such as Taillevent and L’Arpege. Scallop with cannelloni of tarragon and lemon (8/10) Spelt risotto with crispy ox tongue and veal heart (9/10) I was fortunate enough to be shown the kitchen and briefly met with the head chef, Dominic Jack, who could not have been nicer. What struck me most was the amount of time it takes to prepare many of the dishes and the considerations made when preparing them. Spelt risotto with
The theatre of the cheese trolley came next, with a dizzying cheese selection presented from which five were chosen by a combination of my fellow diners and the attendant waiter. These were lined up in order from mild to strong, and accompanied by fig jelly, quince jelly, grapes celery, and apple chutney. The homemade oatcakes were, I think, MJ’s favourite thing about the whole meal. The dinky slices of walnut bread were lovely, too. In addition, I had to lend a hand with the richly flavoured vanilla crème brulee, even though I don’t really do desserts.
What I love about Castle Terrace is that it's fine dining in a relaxed setting with super service. At an amazing price.
For me, lunch is the new 'going out for dinner', what a statement! Let me explain… if you want to sample the more notable establishments in our fair city of Edinburgh then grabbing a lunch deal at a much reduced price is the way to go (they're all at it, The Kitchin, 21212, Martin Wishart's to name but a few). You can sample amazing food cooked by the very same chef that would cook you dinner and you'll still have the bus fare home, everyone's a winner. So, there we both were, pretty much having the longest and most delectable lunch we've ever had in Edinburgh and it was all courtesy of the lovely Dominic 'rising star' Jack in his new-ish abode ' Castle Terrace '… It's taken us a while to get here (Castle Terrace opened in July 2010) but it was well worth the wait. The intention was to have the 3 course lunch menu (£20) with matching wines (£17.50) carefully chosen by the sommelier (he was french, natch). On arrival at the restaurant however, Mr Predictable proceeded to surprise
Castle Terrace Restaurant is the new venture of the team behind award-winning Michelin star restaurant, The Kitchin. CT opened just 4 months ago and I lunched there yesterday with old friend and foodie, MJ.
We take every excuse to pass through Edinburgh as often as we can because we love the city, love the people and adore the restaurants. Amongst those places that we will always stop by if we can is Castle Terrace. We loved it from the first time we visited in 2011 and when, shortly after, it won a Michelin star, it came as no surprise.
Our first lunch in Edinburgh was in Castle Terrace. One Michelin star, classic décor and atmosphere, quiet, and relax. Outstanding food and service
Arindam Bhattacharya
+3.5
The best place to relax down after the whole day walking tours and visiting the castle...
Have one from the collection of scotish drinks and relax down with any of your favourite 'with drink'
I loved the place... And a suggestable one for Single Malt lovers...
Edinburgh Little Black Book
+5
The surprise tasting menu at this Michelin starred restaurant is six courses and, as there were only two of us dining, head chef Dominic Jack provided different food for each of us for each course.
Fortunately I was with another "sharer" so managed to sample both dishes of every course - one delight following another. The only downfall of such a wonderful and extensive tasting evening is finding enough compliments to describe the food - imaginative, masterfully balanced, superbly cooked with presentation to put works of art to shame.
The is a smart restaurant, with a relaxed atmosphere and the perfect amount of friendly, knowledgeable attention from the waiting staff.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
One of the great things about living in Edinburgh is that, for a relatively small city, it boasts a fantastic range of eateries, both in terms of cuisine type and level of sophistication. Within a stone's throw of the Royal Mile and Princes Street it's possible to feast on excellent yet modestly priced burgers or mezze, as well as indulge in some extremely fine dining. As someone who is obsessive about all things culinary, I appreciate good food whatever the context of its consumption. Yet every now and again it can be a real treat to push the (gravy) boat out with a meal at a gastronomically renowned restaurant.
And so it was a couple of Saturdays ago, when JML invited me to share a 40th birthday present by joining him for lunch at the Michelin-starred Castle Terrace. To be frank, there would have been tears if he hadn't have done so, such is the reputation of this sister restaurant of Leith's The Kitchin. Jointly established in 2010 by the vastly experienced Edinburgh-born chef Dominic Jack and his long time culinary pal Tom Kitchin, the quality of the food at Castle Terrace is such it took a mere 15 months for the restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. So having experienced a superb meal courtesy of The Kitchin late last year, and knowing that both Chefs share an ethos of "from nature to plate", I have been champing at the bit to sample Jack's cooking.
Right from entering Castle Terrace it was apparent that we were in for a classy dining experience. The interior is beautifully designed, without being over stated; the muted burnt-ochre and plum decor giving the place an immediate mellow air. Warmly greeted and immediately seated, it was also obvious that the front of house operation is a well-oiled machine set up to provide exactly the right level of attentiveness. So within just a couple of minutes of stepping through the door, glasses of sparkling water had been poured and we were already perusing the set lunch menu.
Once our order was dispatched to the kitchen, it was only a matter of moments before the culinary concerto commenced. An amuse bouche consisting of a trio of beautifully crafted canapés was so artistic it seemed almost a crime to eat them. However, the fantastically fishy salt cod tortellini, caper-filled mini burger, and liquid-centred hors d'oeuvre that immediately exploded with Caesar salad flavours, were nonetheless consumed with eagerness. A deconstructed take on a cheesy baked potato was to follow - except this was presented layered in an espresso cup and packed with umami flavour. All were extremely clever and perfectly judged to thoroughly whet our appetites for the main event.
Read full review at: http://www.scrumptiousscran.com/2014/04/edinburgh-restaurant-review-castle.html
Excellent dining experience. Food was very tasty and well prepared. Service whilst attentive was a little haphazard at times. Had to remind on a number of occasions that we were waiting on wine. Some food was placed without an explanation as to what it was. One of the staff mentioned they were busy..... These issues though I my serve to demonstrate how good the food was as this alone was fantastic. If front of house was Improved this would be a 5 star
Very nice though quite expensive restaurant. I have a preference for less than 5 people to serve a table for two, but it did not lead to any faults. Service was courteous, non intrusive, timely, no mix-ups, pretty much perfect. Food looks and tastes great, but be prepared for unusual ingredients and combinations.
Had the 3 course set lunch and I have to say, they are delicious! The set comes with some canapés and amuse bouché which elevates the whole experience, from good to a possible Michelin star contender. Service was quick and professional. Highly recommended!
Excellent food and service. The Chef's Surprise Tasting was the perfect amount of food and deliciously prepared. If you like Sour, try the Cherry cocktail, I had 2.
Very nice meal. Main course which was cod and crushed potatoes was least exciting. Starter of fish tartare was amazing. Staff very welcoming and attentive.
The set lunch was good value @ £35 for 3 courses.
Great fine dining restaurant
Three weeks ago my wife and I went to the two michelin star Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley in London. It cost twice as much and did not taste as good as the meal we had this evening at the Castle terrace. We've also visited the sister restaurant the Kitchin and prefer the Terrace.
I return to the Castle Terrace whenever I manage to make it up to the Edinburgh festival and the flavour is what stands out. Castle Terrace dont do clever or pretty food at the expense of flavour. The flavour always has depth and intensity and the food also looks nice.
Highly recomended.
We had an awkward and funny experience here. We came here reading all the reviews of how amazing the food was after walking all day in the city.
We immediately began to be pampered by the staff and I knew this was a place to nice for us. We sat down and were presented with the specials and didn't see an option to order individual items and discovered this was a price fix minimum 3 course dinner starting at 70£. Our guests could not afford this so we had to apologize to the manager and discreetly leave.
We finished our beers at the bar and no one made us feel bad for what happened. It was the opposite. They were all super nice to us.
At the bar we watched the bartender make drinks. He was passionate and artistic.
I will come back here when it is just the wife and myself and we are more prepared.
Taste sensation! Great place for a special treat. Lovely staff and amazing food.
Just been here with my family for a birthday treat & it really was a food / drink experience to remember. We had the 3 course menu with wine to match each dish & wow it was foodie heaven...the dishes & wine were just perfect.
Went with seafood tasting on our anniversary and it didn't disappoint! Excellent presentation and most clever sushi dish with jelled soy sauce and ice cream wasabi (not pictured because I ate it too fast)
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes