The Outsider Restaurant Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food was delicious and had a wonderful range of flavours."
• "Everything we ordered was delicious."
• "The food was absolutely delicious."
• "The food was inventive and fresh."
• "The food lived up to our highest expectations, in both quantity and quality."
• "The food was absolutely delicious and fresh."
• "Some of the best food we had in Europe and definitely the best in Edinburgh."

Cons:

• "The dishes are very salty and this is the smallest mussels that I have every tried."
• "The Gnocchi was incredibly salty almost to the point of being inedible."
• "The food was fine, but didn't deliver on the expectations being overall a bit bland."
• "The venison was over salted and the sea trout was cold, lacked flavour and the fry oat bread was burnt."
• "The food was cold except for the mussels. The sole fish was undercooked, tasted so bad even the cherry tomatoes were rotten."
• "Food was OK but nothing special."
• "Unfortunately the veggie food was a bit of a let down."

Service

Pros:

• "The server was friendly and helpful."
• "Service: 5/5 - super host, really attentive and friendly, nice touch of quick offering a drink while waiting."
• "They were also very friendly and helpful staff."
• "Staff attentive and friendly."
• "Service was exceptional and friendly."
• "The staff were very attentive and friendly."
• "The service was friendly and attentive."

Cons:

• "The service itself was rather shoddy."
• "We are not comfortable for the service!"
• "Terrible service quality with literally no attention from the restaurant attendants."
• "Service was slow."
• "Service was fairly rubbish and food was just ok (but very pricey)."
• "Service very slow wait more than 40 minutes, after I had to order twice bread or salt...."
• "After being seated we were left for 30 minutes without being acknowledged or served."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "The atmosphere is nice."
• "The tables are candle lit and there is a view to the castle."
• "The atmosphere was exceptional."
• "Lovely place to go."
• "Nice, lively, hip, relaxed ambiance."
• "Lovely restaurant with bright and alive atmosphere."
• "The ambiance is incredible and I love the candle they light at your table."

Cons:

• "The place was so noisy and the tables were very close together."
• "Atmosphere was chaotic and noisy."
• "It would be perfect if the place was less noisy."
• "Very noisy as it was so busy, meaning conversation was quite difficult."
• "The atmosphere was minimalist while still being cozy, which is a lovely juxtaposition."
• "Feels like a decent place masquerading as more upmarket than it is."
• "Food was lovely. Atmosphere was lacking."

Value

Pros:

• "Incredible deal for lunch time and the food is good."
• "Excellent food at a very reasonable price!"
• "The lunch menu is inexplicably cheap!"
• "Would give them 6 stars if I could! Fantastic, perfectly balanced, delicious homey dishes, and exceptional prices especially during lunch."
• "Great food, good range on menu and very good prices."
• "Good portions as well you are not left feeling short changed."
• "The lunch menu is very reasonable - most items are under £10, including a delicious plate of mussels cooked in white wine."

Cons:

• "The food was pretty good, but everything together doesn't justify what you're paying for it."
• "It's not good enough at the prices charged here."
• "The low mark is because I found it extremely expensive, borderline overpriced."
• "Poor service and food wasn't worth the price."
• "Sadly they add 12% service charge to your bill. It's said to be discretionary on the menu, but isn't when you see the bill."
• "The food was a bit overpriced for what it is, but nonetheless nice but nothing spectacular."
• "Overall, the restaurant is over-rated as the service quality is shockingly terrible and their steaks are definitely not worth the price!"

Management

Pros:

• "The staff was so helpful and friendly."
• "The manager Paul was always looking after us."
• "The management organisation and customer service was excellent."
• "The staff members are very friendly and helpful with the food & drink choices ☺️"
• "The staff were helpful and nice."
• "Wonderful staff, great selection of wine from all over."
• "The staff maintained their care and attention, ensuring we were taken care of."

Cons:

• "The staff probably needs a bit of basic training to understand what they have in the menu and how to treat customers."
• "Informed the manager who did not seem overly bothered as if it was just the house pet."
• "Shame on the manager. Very unprofessional."
• "The owner was unnecessarily rude when we stopped by to ask if they would be open for tonight."
• "Guy doing the seating order was the grumpiest waiting staff I’ve had in quite some time."
• "The manager is an oddity to say the least, he’s sarcastic and treats you as if you’re not worthy of his time."
• "The night would still be ok if not for what happens next. A middle-aged man, who I assume is the manager, came to us and talked to us in a VERY argumentative way."