twenty princes street

it's easy to be impressed by the setting - when the grey hallway of the old hotel gives way to a vast space adorned with chandeliers it has the cool vibe of new york or l.a. our marble table by the window under the glow of the balmoral also felt pretty special.
the food is certainlygoodtoo - and very reasonably-priced for the standard.
i had the chicken supreme with a confit leg and pumpkin gratin, little cauliflower gougeres (like savoury profiteroles) and a delicious sauce that was rich and, to be a bit fancy, umami. had a side of macaroni cheese to share too (just because...) which had a lovely background flavour i couldn't quite make out.
i finished things off with a scoop of mascarpone sorbet (good, but very sweet) and a scoop of spiced orange ice cream which was tasty but a bit rough in texture.
the service wasn't as slick as the surroundings though- a little slow and two things we ordered were forgotten about (but didn't take too long to emerge when we pointed it out) and the toilets were disappointing and freezing.
there is an extensive drinks list and the lunch deal looks pretty good.

i've been dying to try twenty princes street for a long time, ever since the lovely guys at zomato were singing it's praises to me not so long ago. i had heard of their amazing 'twenty's plenty' menu from various sources, including lunchquest, so one day s.o. and i were stuck between a rock and a hard place for somewhere to eat and decided to try twenty.



hiking up the shabby chic stairway, we were amazed when ushered into a glorious georgian, open plan dining area. the enormous windows, chandeliers, and polite clinking of glasses made both of us feel that we'd stepped into a very sophisticated other life. what made the experience all the more pleasant was the exceptional quality of service. our waitress was lovely, polite, and actually seemed to be enjoying her job and happy to help. it also seemed to welcome an array of clientele, from yuppies, to couples on holiday, to older guests probably staying at the hotel. everyone seemed to be quite impressed with the room and views overlooking edinburgh castle.



enough about the interior design i hear you say! the food! the exceptionally well priced lunch menu (twenty's plenty) entitles two people to two mains and two drinks. the menu is fairly extensive and comes off of the a la carte menu. i had heard wondrous things about josper grills (which the kitchen uses to ensure tender meat), but despite this i went for the 'togarashi marinated salmon'. s.o. chose the burger, josper grilled.



food envy soon ensued, for though my salmon was perfectly cooked and the broth was tasty, i found the dish to be heavily underseasoned for my tastes. i was pleased that they have salt and pepper on the table, so i didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of asking for it. the burger on the other hand was outstanding. the meat was divine, and the chips were prettygoodtoo (i ate most of them!).



so our first foray into twenty princes street proved fruitful. next time we'll stick with the red meat and most likely be heading for the steak menu!

this is another short and snappy post but thought it was worth sharing with you all the lovely dinner i had at twenty princes street at the start of the week. twenty princes street had been on my radar for a long time and when i was catching  up with agoodfriend it seemed like the perfect place to meet. the inside is gorgeous! i loved all the decoration and it’s got lovely views of the castle. we were seated at a lovely table in the middle and it was a perfect viewing spot to see what everyone else had ordered. the menu has a lot of things on it i like to eat but my eye was caught by the salt and rosemary baked sea bass with creme fraiche and chive potato salad and marinated vegetables. when i ordered the waitress said i had ordered well and it was one of her favourites. getting the seal of approval from the staff is also a nice thing to hear. i really hoped i had chosen well. the presentation of this dish gets a two thumbs up. i was so intrigued by my sea bass coming out and having

had dinner here tonight and have to say, the food was absolutely fantastic.

black pudding and pulled pork roll to start.. i was envisioning some kind of bun and thinking that wasn't overly glamorous but what arrived was more akin to a spring roll and having the crunch of the crispy skin on the roll was great to offset the rich texture of the pork and black pudding.

the steak was cooked to perfection and the triple cooked chips were perfectly crunchy on the outside and delightfully fluffy on the inside. the peppercorn sauce was rich without being overpowering and i even ate all the grilled cherry tomatoes even though i don't usually like cooked tomato.

the jaffa cake dessert was slightly over de-constructed making it difficult to piece together all the flavours but the chocolate souffle is quite possibly the best i've had in town. amazing crust at the top and indulgently rich and gooey in the middle. the chocolate shot that accompanies it is devilishly alcoholic and delicious.

the room itself is gorgeous, high ceilings with modern fixtures, a mix of booths and tables, all with a fantastic view out the floor to ceiling windows looking out over waverley hotel, waverley station and princes st.

i was disappointed as when i arrived, i stood at the host stand for about 5 minutes and noone was there to greet me. service was otherwise friendly and attentive if sometimes a bit curt.

price point isgoodfor the great quality of food. overall, would happily return for another meal.

i came here for a lovely relaxing family meal last sunday lunchtime. upon arriving, we went to the bar for a drink and took in some beautiful views of edinburgh (although a cold day, the sun was shining for once!) once we had had our pre-drink we were taken into the main dining room and it had such a lovely feel to it. there were other diners there and they looked as if they were all having a relaxing meal too. the atmosphere didn't feel 'rushed' and the room felt very spacious.

the girls who were serving were lovely, friendly and chatty - but also very natural. they were very knowledgeable about the food and wine and this was very impressive.

i had a scallop and lobster dish to start which was absolutely amazing! the flavours all worked so well together and i was very impressed, savouring every mouthful. as a main course i had the salt baked sea bass which was cooked to perfection. the girls took the fish out of the salt bake at the table, showing off a little skill which was a lovely touch. regarding the menu, i have to say i could have picked anything to eat - everything sounded reallygoodand i had a hard choice deciding what to eat! the only criticism i have is that there was a burger on the menu which looked totally out of place and like it had just been thrown in there for people to eat who don't enjoy fish or pork etc. i guess you do have to cater a range of food and i'm sure it isn't just a standard burger - it will probably be one of the best burgers!

overall, i had such a fantastic time i am already considering booking to come here for my birthday in the summer. i though the quality of the dishes along with the prices on the menu were extremely good.

amazing!