Reviews Lioness Of Leith

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Eleanor Robertson
+5
I have been to The Lioness of Leith twice now and need to go back soon. I love the decor and chilled atmosphere - the food is a perfect mix of Gastropub and brasserie. Great Brunch Menu!
Oct 23, 2015
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Carl Nash
+4.5
Amazing vegetarian dishes. .... Amazing vegetarian dishes.
Friendly bar staff.
Great craft beer selection.
Fab atmosphere.
Sep 14, 2014
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Jimmy
+4.5
Went here for breakfast! Great food! Great little place! They even have a Street Fighter 2 Arcade Game!
Apr 06, 2014
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EdinBlogger
+4.5
As you all know, we love Leith, but now we also now love the Lioness of Leith - it's a great wee bar with great food and excellent service.
Mar 25, 2014
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The Chaotic Scot
+4
Every time I've had a drink in the Lioness of Leith, I have turned into the ultimate nosey neighbour of the pub dining world, my eyes following the journey of the food filled plates as they emerge from the kitchen and travel onwards to their tables.  My internal dialogue goes a little something like this - "Mmmm, that looks good", "Oooooh, I wonder what that is", "Why did I eat earlier?!", "I'm coming back soon to try that". FINALLY, I have got around to sampling the menu for myself.

I reveled in the chilled, midweek atmosphere, far preferable to jam (hipster) packed Friday and Saturday night. I opted for a liquid starter, after being informed by the lovely barmaid with a Geordie accent that weeknights = £4.95 cocktail nights. It had to be a mojito, and this one involved gin and apple. Enough said. 

Okay, the food. Let's cut to the chase, the whole menu sounds fantastic. After another internal dialogue of indecisiveness I chose the Pork Belly Ribs. And not just any Pork Belly Ribs, these were "Succulent pork cooked slowly in Thistly Cross cider, served with winter slaw & traditional clapshot". Can I be forgiven for having to consult my good friend google for a description of clapshot? I'm a terrible Scottish person...

Anyway, the meal was presented beautifully, and tasted just a good. The pork ribs were juicy and substantial, and topped with a curly wisp of crunchy crackling. The clapshot was a first for me and a nice alternative to mash. 

All in the all, the service was great, I love the atmosphere, the candlelight, the quirky fixtures and my dish was spot on. If the rest of the menu is of the same consistently high standard then it would just be rude not to dine here more frequently.
Dec 05, 2014
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Alison Laing
+4.5
Great place to chill out and have a drink or if you have time then definitely try the food as it is yummy! The decor is pretty cool with some amazing artwork on the wall next to the bar and really comfy bar furniture throughout the bar.

They have a wide range of drinks and a great cocktail menu. I would definitely recommend Sunshine Lollipops cocktail which is delicious and has a bit of a kick without overpowering. Also each week they do a cocktail of the week which normally is pretty tasty. Food wise if your after something light try the bread and hummus or the chicken tempura with sweet chilli sauce. If you are after something a bit more substantial the sticky beef ribs or sweet potato & chickpea gnocchi (I’m not normally a fan of vegetarian food but this is delicious). To round off the meal I would definitely recommend the homemade sundae as the staff will pop whatever you fancy onto the dish.
Nov 30, 2014
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Amy
+4.5
Lovely place to grab a drink and the prices are quite cheap. The staff are also very friendly and offered table service so we didn't have to keep going up to the bar. Me and my friends got a little bit peckish so decided to order some light bites - My friend and I got the tempura prawns which were delicious! I am a massive prawn fan and the prawns at the lioness were some of the best I've had. I only wish there was more on the plate. They came with some rocket salad and of course some chilli and soy dipping sauce. The decor in this place is pretty cool as well - quite retro which made it feel warm and cosy with its brick walls and wooden tables with candle holders made out of alcohol bottles. Give it a go if your haven't already.
Nov 13, 2014
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EdinBlogger
+4.5
Sundays are your final shot at freedom, you can wallow in dread for the upcoming return to work or you can go all out and enjoy the day through overindulgence and a multitude of meat.

EdinBlogger first started over a glass (or two) of wine and a fairly shocking roast dinner, with our final sip of wine and 100th chew of the disappointing piece of beef we decided to begin our blog by hunting for the best roast dinner Edinburgh had to offer. Up until this point all our roast posts have been fairly average, we can easily rustle up our own roasts at home and had not found a reason to leave the flat for some time.

We were keen to find out if the Lioness of Leith would manage to fulfil our strict criteria for Sunday satisfaction (regarding roasts).

We've already reviewed the bar for brunch, but a roast is an entirely different experience and worthy of a separate review. In the Lioness, a whole chicken sets you back £17.50, when we asked if this would be an obscene amount of food for two we were told it would depend how hungry we were. I had my half marathon training as a reliable excuse for overeating, I needed to replenish my chicken reserves and there was no way a half chicken could satisfy these needs. The side dishes were where restraint had to be placed, there was no way we could justify ordering them all so we settled on four:

- Roast potatoes (of course)
- Yorkshire puddings (also of course)
- Roasted carrots
- Cabbage and bacon

At £3 per side we could already see the bill mounting up, but it seemed like the appropriate amount of food for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

When the meal came out our excitement soon became uncontrollable, we couldn't resist diving face first straight into the chicken. The skin on this badboy was ridiculously good, you hear folk (myself included) raving on about the Colonel's addictive skin but this was a whole new level. Peeling back this crispy skin was like unwrapping a really juicy Christmas present, what was uncovered was the most succulent chicken ever to grace our gravy.

The sides were all delicious, however the portion sizes were smaller than expected - especially considering each side was the same price. This seemed especially extortionate when it came to the Yorkshire puddings, £3 for two seems incredibly steep. To be fair these were amongst the best yorkies I'd had in a restaurant in Edinburgh, they were so light and crispy - the perfect gravy gatherer. I wondered if there had been four of us would we have been served one each? Surely that's not how it can work, but you'd certainly be short on sides if you work on the assumption that they can go further than 2 people.

Upon closer inspection of the cavity we found half a lemon, a heap of herbs and a community of cloves all of which had fulfilled their duty of making this a truly finger licking chicken. The garlic cloves were then ejected and smushed on our plates to enjoy with the final crispy potatoes, truly scrumptious.

I'm not usually a fan of eating chicken from the bone, but this meat just fell off so easily, it's almost like it wanted to be eaten. We made light work of the half chicken and vowed to keep our word and leave the other half for later, this led to interesting discussions about where the other half truly began. After a few cheeky mouthfuls of the second half we reluctantly decided to call it a day.

So looking back on this meal we'd say the chicken is really good value, it could easily serve four, but you'd be wise to double up on some sides to make sure everybody gets their own personal Yorkshire pudding and an ample portion of potatoes.

I love cooking, but some Sundays we can spend 3 hours preparing a roast and 10 minutes eating it, then a further hour tidying up (I like to use everything when cooking, sometimes stuff we didn't even know we had). We're more than happy to spend a little extra money having a roast prepared for us to avoid losing half our day in the kitchen, squeeze every minute out of Sunday to make it a fun day.

Will we be back to the Lioness of Leith for a roast in the future? Most definitely, this was hands down the best roast we've had in Edinburgh and will be moving to the hall of fame shortly after this post goes live.

Our 1/2 chicken (minus a few bites) was then wrapped in foil and placed in a brown paper bag for us to enjoy later, we commended each others restraint and took a stroll home - safe in the knowledge that sandwiches were going to be fantastic.

For full review, please visit:
http://www.edinblogger.com/2014/lioness-leith-roast-dinner/
May 27, 2014
Zomato
Foodie Explorers
+5
Superb bar/venue/restaurant with a quirky and eccentric vibe.

Excellent food and drink inc their own beer. Well worth the venture down to leith.

More information and pics here http://www.foodanddrinkglasgow.co.uk/lioness-leith-21-duke-street-leith/
Apr 14, 2014
5
Diane Shirvinton
+5
Whilst visiting Leith, we had our evening meal here. It's a burger place that suited my husband, but I struggled with it. I did have chicken in a basket, which was good. And the pile of onion rings we got was enormous, just slightly too much. The selection of drinks was good. I always like a pub which offers real ales.
5
Dustin Stumbo
+5
Service was top notch and the food and atmosphere were on point as well. We loved our time here. It’s a great place to hang out and have a brew.
5
Tammy Owins
+5
Welcoming ‘Lioness’ staff at the pub, good local beers and food. Dining area filled with happy families, couples and solos as the evening went on.
5
G Fortune
+5
Great service and lovely burgers including veggie/vegan options and small kids menu. Note that it is only burgers plus side dishes served here. Great beer, wines and cocktail choice. All reasonably priced. Accessible entrance for buggies and wheelchair users.
5
Russell Phillips
+5
The Lioness of Leith just became my favourite burger place in Scotland. The burgers are outstanding. The meat patti itself tastes great and is of good quality and there are a good selection of burgers of various toppings to choose from. Everyting was cooked fresh, the chips were great and the portions sizes big. We chose a single portion of chips betweens us which was perfect with the size of the burger... they are big. Service was great and the right amount of attentive. I did however visit on a Sunday afternoon so I can't say what the service is like at a busier time. For me it gets 5 stars for atmosphere because for a Sunday afternoon it was about three quarters full and very chill and relaxed with good music in the background at low volume so you could have great conversations. The decor is eclectic and really suits what was obviously once an old pub but it's well and truly had new life breathed into it. Again I can't say what it's like when it's busy but then again my expectation would be different on say a Friday night. If you are looking for awesome burgers I would highly recommend.
4
Jp Russek
+4
Lovely pub, more like a bar. Dont think the bar tender ladies liked me too much for whatever reason (pourqoui?) but the laid back vibe here was so lovely. By the way kid friendly too, there were a few ( all well behaved) which was nice to see as several pubs here are not so keen on little ones
5
Andre Motta
+5
very cool bar, with beatiful decoration and hipster vibes. prices are quite good too. try their own beer, a nice lager.
5
Bryan
+5
One of the best burgers I've had in Edinburgh the sides were incredible too, beer was cold and fresh they have good selection of IPAs...Gamma Ray being the best.
5
Patrick Cardoso de Bastos
+5
Fantastic place with amazing hamburgers.. Serious nice atmosphere and polite staff, we really enjoyed having been here on newyearsday... Beer selection was great... Ambiance is cool
5
Taz Choudhury
+5
GREAT BURGERS Came here on a Thursday evening with a booking for three people. The staff were really friendly and were quick to take our orders and bring them out. I got the G-Funk burger. Really good! The pattie was cooked to perfection. The bun was good quality and the burger was the right size. I immensely enjoyed the BBQ sauce within which gave a great sweet flavour throughout. The picante fries were great as well, having a great crisp and hint of spice to it. Nice place to grab a burger, fries and a drink.
5
Kate Fumo
+5
Highly recommend having food and drinks here. Burgers are HUGE! Our party had 3 different burgers and 1 chicken. Amazing! Nice draft selection , including some awesome hoppy ones Our server was very knowledgeable on the beers and very helpful regarding other beers and spirits and also other pubs/bars,etc. Will definitely be back!
4
Desmond Dsouza
+4
A good shout if you are a burger fan. The prices yes are a little steep for a burger but the flavor and size is pretty good. They have a good mix of beef, chicken and vegetarian burgers and some nice accompaniments. The house beer is lovely, fresh and crisp and there is a good variety of spirits too. The ambience is quirky and has a lot of art work on the walls. The services is lovely, friendly, knowledgeable and good. Go here for a quick bite, just a meal or even a relaxing evening.
5
Lena I.
+5
If you’re on the hunt for a delicious burger joint in Leith, Edinburgh, then look no further than The Lioness of Leith. This fantastic eatery has stolen my heart with its incredible burgers, quirky interior, and friendly staff. Let’s start with the interior — it’s clear that the owners of The Lioness of Leith have put a lot of thought and effort into making the place unique. The decor is quirky and fun, with bold colours, funky lighting, lots of plants, and an overall odd yet cosy atmosphere. Whether you’re grabbing a quick bite with friends or settling in for a leisurely meal, you’ll feel right at home in this charming little spot. But let’s get to the real star of the show — the burgers! Oh my goodness, they are simply incredible. The menu features a wide range of burgers to suit every taste, from classic beef burgers to veggie options, and everything in between. The quality of the ingredients is top-notch, and you can taste the care and attention that goes into each and every burger. And let’s not forget about the staff. The folks at The Lioness of Leith are some of the friendliest and most delicate people you’ll ever meet. They are always happy to chat and make recommendations. I love this place.
5
Simone Reid
+5
Absolutely banging burgers! Amazing atmosphere and staff are top notch. Great taps and cocktails. Also fabulous non alcoholic cocktails.
4
Jamie Cameron
+4
We popped in for a few drinks before a party near by. Lucky for us it's such a nice place. Great decor and the staff were friendly and helpful. We were at their mercy arriving without a reservation. They had a table we could use for an hour which we jumped at. Overall a great place to have a drink. The food looked amazing but we weren't there for that. The prices are a little high but where isn't these days.
5
James Firman
+5
Good burger joint with some excellent beers. I had the Phoenix burger (with some extra hot sauce on the side) with picante fries and sriracha slaw which were very tasty. I would highly recommend the clwb tropica by tiny rebel if you're wanting a tropical IPA it's fun in a can good. We had to reserve a table and prebook our food which is understandable in the current climate although whilst there it did look like they were allowing walk-ins with all the track and trace carry on being followed.
5
Andrew Girdwood
+5
Make the hipster jokes early. The Lioness of Leith is a funky pub at the bottom of Leith Walk that’s full of fun decorations – like parrots, neon and a pinball machine converted into a table. It’s a complete overhaul of the dangerous and dark pub that once stood on the corner. The walls have been knocked into large windows. In the sun it’s lovely and bright. I appreciate it’ll probably get much more gloomy at night. Staff and friendly and fun. The range of drinks is good. My experience, though, The Lioness of Leith has been all about the Sunday lunches. I’m yet to try their dinner menu because it looks so weird and posh (hipster, right) but half a chicken on Sunday between two with Yorkshire puddings, tatties, veggies and some lovely gravy. What a treat! Turn up for a Sunday lunch and be prepared to wait for your table. [Update April 2023: I wrote my original review when the Lionesses was just a pup. How has it changed? It's still great. Staff still friendly. It's so great it's super busy so book your table!]
4
Iain Mcleod
+4
Very pleasant comfortable wait for my son. Youthful slightly alternative vibe. Gourmet burgers that cater for vegetarians. Reasonable prices enjoy the "don't be a dick sign" acoustic sunday set
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