Hadrian's Brasserie
- Food served: Mon–Fri 7–10.30am, noon–2.30pm, 6.30–10.30pm; Sat 7–11am, 12.30–2.30pm, 6.30–10.30pm; Sun 7.30–11am, 12.30–3pm, 6.30–10.30pm.
- Pre-theatre times: Set–price lunch deal available 6.30–7.30pm every day
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 8
- No. overnight rooms: 188
- Also offers: Gluten-free options, Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access
- Music on stereo: The Stone Roses
- Capacity: 105
- Largest group: 125
- Open since: 1998
- Average price 2 courses:
£12.95 (set lunch)
£25 (evening meal) - House wine: £22 per bottle
This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.
Smart surroundings and attentive service are the least you would expect of one of Edinburgh's classiest hotels. Happily, in the Balmoral's more informal brasserie, smiles and a friendly welcome await you amid the linen tablecloths and hushed conversations. The clientele is a mix of smart business types and chic locals taking a break from shopping. As you'd expect from the restaurant's reputation and price, quality produce abounds here, with an emphasis on Scottish meat and seafood. A starter-sized portion of butternut squash risotto would pass muster in Italy, such is its quality, while a salad of rare venison with apple is delicate and cooked to perfection. Main courses offer an innovative take on classic favourites. Huge, creamy king scallops sitting neatly alongside an incredibly smooth mash taste great, though the textures of both components are perhaps too similar for the dish to be truly successful. The lamb cutlets, however, are exquisite: accompanied by an imaginative roast tomato, feta and mint salad, they make a relatively light main which should leave you with enough room for dessert. Lime tart with redcurrant sorbet is zesty and fresh, while the cheese trolley is an experience in itself. The set-price lunch menu is a good deal, but any other visit is best saved for a special occasion if work isn't picking up the tab.
- High point: Smart surroundings and top-quality produce
- Low point: Service can be attentive to the point of intrusiveness
Comments
- 1. Lean, Edinburgh – 15 September 2008, 10:07pm
Report -
We went here for dinner on a Sunday night. The restaurant was about half full. We were seated on bench seating with very little space between the other diners on either side of us. Was a little disappointed in the seating considering there were numerous other tables that were empty - and remained empty all night. I ordered a chicken and chorizo salad which was not great. The lettuce was browned on the edges and seemed like it was the bits of the lettuce you wouldn't use. The chicken was very fatty and the salad on the whole was very tasteless. My husband ordered a sirloin steak with chunky chips. He asked for his steak to be medium to well done but it was close to rare. The chunky chips consisted of exactly four chips! For dessert we had a very tasteless, bland creme brulee and a rubbery chocolate mousse. On the menu they had an apple creme brulee and a traditional one. We ordered the traditional one but received the apple one which had congealed pieces of apple at the bottom. Not nice. The wine was great - a lovely Margaret River - but we ordered the Cabernet Sav. and recieved a Shiraz! But it was still a lovely wine. The food arrived in good time after ordering but service was slow, but polite, and had we had to ask for the bill more than once. I was really looking forward to this meal and was very, very disappointed. We won't be back.
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