Atrium
This restaurant has ceased trading.
- Food served: Mon–Fri noon–2pm, 5:30–10pm; Sat 5:30–10pm. Closed Sun.
- Pre-theatre times: N
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 200
- Private dining: Up to 32 covers
- Also offers: Gluten-free options, Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access
- Music on stereo: Nothing
- Capacity: 100
- Largest group: 200
- Open since: 1993
Send us more details about this place.
The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).
This review is taken from the 2010 edition.
Situated at the heart of the building that houses the Traverse Theatre, and in close proximity to sister bistro Blue, the Atrium's cream walls, brown accents and flickering candles evoke a monastic setting. As Atrium’s long list of suppliers illustrates, however, there's nothing austere about their approach to quality of ingredients. Dishes overlap on all three menus: a set menu, a tasting menu and the à la carte, allowing a flexible range of dining approaches and prices. The Atrium’s approach to cooking is essentially simple, without the fussiness often found in high-end restaurants. A starter of mild Atrium smoked salmon sits on a cake of potato and chive crème-fraiche. Gressingham duck, paired with roast butternut squash, has a crisp skin and a rich layer of fat, while roast Perthshire lamb arrives with a bonus pot of shepherd’s pie as well as the standard selection of roast vegetables. Treacle tart, presented with a dollop of clotted cream, has a pleasantly stodgy filling. There is no house wine but tiers of differently priced bottles, and a South African Iona sauvignon blanc is a lovely choice. The service can be unfocused, but the large dining room’s acoustics and unpretentious ease creates an atmosphere appreciated by many of the city's discerning diners.
- High point: At the heart of West End theatreland
- Low point: Subdued ambience won’t engage everyone immediately
Reviews of Atrium (10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh)
- 1. Sasha1 – 19 October 2009, 12:01pm
AtriumReport -
This is such a pretty restaurant, I could happily have spent the whole evening here! The set menu of £17.50 is excellent value and the best choice in the neighbourhood for a pre-theatre. The quality of ingredients was top-notch and attention to detail in the presentation excellent. It was also very nice to see a complimentary emuse bouche on a set menu. The ham haugh starter was to die for while the salmon main course was beautifully crispy skinned and perfectly cooked. The glasses of wine put the overall cost up a bit - but then again we knowingly ordered the dearest one on the list I think (at £9 a glass) as it sounded lovely and was well worth it. It would be nice though if a glass of "house wine" was offered with the set menu too at maybe £4 more. I recall last year sometime the set menu included a bottle of house wine for around £15. All in all though, a great experience - a shame we had to rush out to the theatre or I'm sure we would have been tempted by the dessert menu.
To post a review you'll first need to log in: Forgotten your password?
Not registered? Sign up – it only takes a minute.
RSS feed of these reviews
