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Tigerlily

Tigerlily
125 George Street
Edinburgh, EH2 4JN
Phone: 0131 225 5005
Email:
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  • Food served: Mon–Sun 8am–10.30pm.
  • Bar open: Mon–Sun 8am–1am.
  • Number of wines sold by the glass: 32
  • Private dining: Up to 16 covers
  • No. overnight rooms: 33
  • Also offers: Gluten-free options, Children's high chairs, Outdoor tables
  • Music on stereo: Lounge, chill out, pop
  • Opening times: Mon–Sun 11am–1am.
  • Capacity: 140
  • Largest group: 80-120
  • Open since: 2006
View larger map of EH2 4JN
  • Average price:
     £15 (lunch)
     £22 (evening meal)
  • House wine: £18.50 per bottle

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Eating & Drinking Guide

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 current (2011) edition.

From the outside, Tigerlily looks remarkably like a den of iniquity, with pavement to penthouse red-lit windows illuminating the boutique hotel and restaurant’s façade. Inside, things are equally lurid. Among the chandeliers and magnums of champagne the clientele need to dress up to ensure they get noticed. And they do – Tigerlily remains the see-and-be-seen nightspot for George Street bar crawlers. On the menu, Thai influences mix with rich, Scottish classics, but none of the dishes really inspire. Stodgy prawn, scallop and chorizo risotto and overly-sweet confit duck leg both lack subtlety. In themselves, the prawns are good – they crop up again as a pleasing starter with some crisp noodle salad. By the time you get to dessert, the effects of so much excess are clearly felt. The tasting plate for two comprises four forgettable desserts, each too big to finish. In fairness, Tigerlily is a huge favourite with a lot of diners, and all its glitz and gloss does create a ‘wow’ factor. For modelling your new high heels or haircut there’s no better place.

  • High point: Getting to mingle with the fashionable George Street crowd
  • Low point: Having to mingle with the interminable George Street crowd

Reviews of Tigerlily (125 George Street, Edinburgh)

5. Yumbo Gumbo, Edinburgh – 4 March 2011, 11:07amTigerlilyReport

How this place managed to win the List Readers Award last year, I will never know. The food and overall experience is vastly out of touch with reality. There are many better places to spend your money in the capital and feel that is being well spent.

AVOID!

4. Charlie H, Edinburgh – 29 August 2010, 1:25pmTigerlilyReport

Cool looking bar, but was really let down by one barman who was the rudest man in edinburgh. Ordered a small glass of house white, was charged around £9, at which point I queried the cost of a small glass of house white. I was told that no, in fact, i'd ordered a large glass. No i hadn't, i replied. Back and forth for a while, the customer is clearly not always right in Tigerlily. Luckily another customer had been at the bar the whole time and confirmed that I had, in fact, ordered a small glass of house white. The barman begrudgingly went away and made it a small glass, charged me for it, and i left. I haven't been back and dont plan to. Extremely irritating. Shame though, because it is a cool looking place

3. Kirsty Louise, Edinburgh – 15 January 2010, 10:14pm5 starsTigerlilyReport

Had I read these previous reviews I can honestly say I wouldn't have dined in Tigerlily, however I didn't and couldn't be more glad! I had a wonderfull evening. The bar is simply gorgeous (as was the food and cocktails:) Our server was fantastic, very attentive and not only talked us through the menu but also suggested wine when I looked a little unsure of which one to go for? I had the sashimi to start with and found it rather pleasing for a light starter. I had a tuna steak as my main course which was cooked to perfection. I have dined elswhere and had my tuna over-done and dry but this was quite the opposite! The presentation I found beutiful, I think possibly not to everyones taste as it's very modern. My partner had the duck and loved it! After our meal we sat at the bar for a cocktail. The list overwhelmed me and had me (again) indecisive on what drink to order? We chatted to one of the bar men who was more like a cocktail waiters as his knowledge was brilliant and made me a slightly off menu cocktail which was amazing:) All in all we had a wonderfull evening and didn't spend a small michelin fortune! Infact we got our duck & tuna on a 2for1 offer plus a couple of drinks at the par were half price too, cant grumble about that in January!

2. Sputnikki, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh – 30 November 2009, 2:49pm1 starTigerlilyReport

Shakespeare could've written the quote "All that glisters is not gold" with Tiger Lily in mind (had it been built in the early 1600s, obviously). I ate here yesterday with my family and I can safely say I won't be back. The day menu is little more than glorified pub grub. Not that there's anything wrong with that, assuming it's well executed. Sadly this is not the case at Tiger Lily, which charges a damn sight more than your average pub (presumably to pay for its ridiculously impractical, rectangular serving plates, on which I challenge anyone to try to rest their knife and fork!). Despite it being a busy Sunday afternoon in the run-up to Christmas, they were lacking in several ingredients. We were informed there was no mozzarella, which wouldn't have been the end of the world had it not been integral to at least 3 dishes on the menu. Nor were there any sausages and mash (v dissappointing on a wintry Sunday afternoon in December). My parents ordered the cheeseboard, only to be informed about 10mins later that there were no oatcakes, would some ciabatta do instead? (Er, no.) To make matters worse, my dad's mushroom and saffron risotto arrived cold and had to be sent back. The over-priced chocolate fondue (£12.75 for some molten chocolate, a handful of strawberries, bananas and marshmallows and a measly 3 profiteroles) arrived with just one bowl of molten milk chocolate and no white chocolate, as described on the menu. The only high point was the service, which was faultless. Our friendly, attentive waitress looked almost embarassed to be there. This is the first time I've ever felt compelled to actually write a negative restaurant review, which should give you some indication of just how bad it was.

1. Nina, Edinburgh – 13 November 2009, 1:20pmTigerlilyReport

BAD, BAD, BAD. The food was overall of poor quality. I had sashimi as a starter which was pretty bland with a presentation that left to be desired. I had the cod and noddles for the main course. Although the cod was nicely cooked, the broth that came with was pretty bland with noodles which didn't taste anything. Overall I was extremely dissapointed and angry especially when I found out how much I had to pay at the end of the night for a bad and overpriced dinner. I wish I had read the list review before going as I agree with the fact that food is definitely not the star of the show at Tigerlily. Pretty rubbish really.

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