Under The Stairs Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Decor

Pros:

• "Great vibe and would recommend mainly due to friendly staff and cool set up."
• "It's a cosy, popular, little cocktail bar tucked, as it's name suggests, in a cellar."
• "A quirky fun bar hidden away in the centre of the old town."
• "Tucked away from the main street, Under The Stairs is a cosy haven – of 50s furniture, flickering candlelight and good tunes."
• "It's a cosy hideaway, well and truly hidden under the stairs, with fairy lights, candles and a cocktail list to die for."
• "The decor is cosy and quirky."
• "Nice cosy atmosphere with dim(ish) lighting and candles flickering."

Cons:

• "Really though, it smells like someone just took a lemony wee here. What's with that?"
• "Lots of the furniture really smells badly of damp."
• "Last time I went it stank of vomit but I am sure that was due to an unfortunate event and not a common thing so not marking it down for that but it did put me off wanting to go back."
• "Smells faintly of urinals blocks."
• "The paint on the wall nearest the entrance is in need of a touch-up, especially the area around the fish tank."
• "The only downside is that it can get very busy and a few of the tables feel a bit far away and out of place, so show up early or call ahead."
• "The location of the table meant it was also noisy, and the wait staff were brushing past our backs every couple of minutes."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food is always delicious and very creative."
• "The food is excellent, they do amazing sharing boards both meat and vegetarian and lots of other vegetarian choices."
• "The food and desserts were absolutely delicious."
• "Foodwise the meat sharing platter is one of the best in Edinburgh with good thick slices of Serrano ham, anchovies and other meaty delights but the highlight is the carrot cake, gloriously moist and packed with flavour it is a must have."
• "Had a pit stop here between shows, interesting and eclectic menu including a good choice of small plates for a quick meal, chose delicious hot smoked salmon."
• "The food was absolutely delicious and so unique."
• "One of the best meals I've ever had as a Vegetarian - truly great menu all round."

Cons:

• "I didn’t enjoy or could finish a single of the 5 dishes I ordered."
• "The food, although good, portions were a very small for the high price tag."
• "The food is average, not worth the price for sure."
• "Only real let down was the dessert."
• "The crayfish was the only miss for me, they were a touch too spicy and otherwise a little bland."
• "The vegetarian walnut ricotta salami starter was burnt."
• "The caramelised carrot was not up to scratch."

Service

Pros:

• "Great atmosphere, perfect for catching up over a drink."
• "The atmosphere is very friendly and the service excellent."
• "Service was excellent."
• "The staff is absolutely splendid and makes sure, you will be happy all the time while dining."
• "The service is excellent."
• "Staff service was great."
• "Extremely friendly and accommodating bar staff."

Cons:

• "The staff are what lets it down for me."
• "When we asked a member of staff they didn’t give much guidance."
• "The service was disappointing regardless how busy the place was, long wait to be served and staff and management in general completely not attentive to service."
• "Service is, unsurprisingly, agonisingly slow."
• "Booked a table for 7pm. Arrived to be told we had to leave by 8pm."
• "Table service could have been quicker, and it took a while for the bar to fix us our drinks once ordered."
• "Our server (clearly coked up) was erratic and scary, and kept making us jump because he spoke too loud."

Value

Pros:

• "Very reasonably priced for the quality of the food served."
• "Still, amazing service and great food at a very reasonable price!"
• "High quality food at a reasonable price."
• "Really nice food, fresh and original, and the price are ridiculously good."
• "Excellent food good prices. .a real gem!!"
• "The food was absolutely delicious and not unreasonably priced."
• "With drinks, dessert and the food above, it was about £25 a head!"

Cons:

• "Not cheap though."
• "Slightly more expensive than going rates."
• "It was a high price tag for a poor experience."
• "A bit overpriced but good quality."
• "A bit pricey but it was reasonable in my opinion."
• "The food, although good, portions were a very small for the high price tag."
• "The only criticism is the poor choice of soft drinks - as a pregnant diner I got a bit bored of standard bar coke/lemonade especially when the cocktails looked so good, a couple of Virgin cocktails would be awesome!"