The Retreat Castle Hotel
- Food served: Mon–Thu 11am–10pm; Fri/Sat 11am–11pm; Sun 9am–10pm
- Pre-theatre times: Mon–Thurs, noon–6pm
- Bar open: Mon-Sun 8am–1am (hotel hours)
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 14
- Private dining: N
- No. overnight rooms: 8
- Also offers: Gluten-free options, Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu, Outdoor tables
- Music on stereo: Wide range from swing to modern
- Opening times: Mon–Sun noon–1am
- Capacity: 180
- Largest group: 60
- Open since: 2005
Tell us more about this place.
- Average price:
£10 (lunch)
£13.50 (evening meal) - House wine: £12 per bottle
The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).
A glittering archway welcomes guests to the Retreat Castle Hotel, a striking venue defined by its name and set in the countryside by Bonnyrigg. Decorated in a Scottish-baronial style, this flexible venue features a restaurant, bar, conservatory, courtyard and chapel, as well as eight charming bedrooms, some of which have a beautiful view of the town. Part of the Below the Belt empire that includes Rose Street's Bad Ass Bistro, the Retreat Castle Hotel offers similar pub fare. Starters include steamy carrot and coriander soup served with a round of bread wedges, and a platter of west coast mussels swimming in a buttery garlic broth. For mains, steak and stilton pie comes with a rich gravy and a crisp pastry lid, while sirloin steaks are reasonably priced and available with a sauce of your choice, as well as a hearty round of fried tomatoes, mushrooms, home-made onion rings and grilled corn on the cob. The Retreat is most popular in the summertime when the courtyard is available for outdoor drinking and a flurry of peacocks roam the premises. Friendly service, a relaxed atmosphere and good beer make this a useful spot to know within easy reach of Edinburgh's Southside.
- High point: Beautifully landscaped courtyard
- Low point: Not many vegetarian options
Reviews of The Retreat Castle Hotel (1 Cockpen Road, Bonnyrigg)
- 4. Patricia79 – 7 April 2012, 5:12pm
The Retreat Castle HotelReport -
Homey sweet little gem!!! Rooms are absolutely ace, neat and welcoming. Food delicious, generous and decently priced. Friendly and very helpful staff. Pub is just perfectly scottish like and offers amazing atmosphere. Fab stay and can only recommend to travelers, local and foreign alike. Several languages covered by staff certainly a big plus!!! Don't hesitate just live the experience yourself :D
- 3. HotelInspecter, Carnoustie – 9 July 2011, 11:45amThe Retreat Castle HotelReport
-
Fantastic little place. What a find! Have never felt so welcomed to a place as much as The Retreat. Friendly, helpful and chatty staff. They don't mess about when it comes to hard work and service. The room had been recently refurbished and was comfy with all the usual toiletries/tea/milk etc! Breakfast was included in our room price and was bloody braw! Cannot comment about drinking facilities outside as it rained for the majority of our visit! But the good food, warm atmosphere and staff made our stay. We will be back! Great thanks to the owners Peter and Jude, and staff Leanne and Paula.
- 2. littleH, Bonnyrigg – 1 January 2010, 7:18pm
The Retreat Castle HotelReport -
eaten here twice as we live locally - food is pretty poor.
we were sold tickets at £25 for NYE here by being told it was a busy and popular night and we were purchasing the last few remaining tickets. (warning bells did go off here as our tickets were numbered '3' and '4'!)
Turned up to find that not only was a ticket not even required for entry but that the "attractve buffet" was... well unattractive. (hot food had been left out and we couldnt find any veg options.)
place was almost empty and the entertainment was a very amature disco!
in summary would not reccoment this place for either food or NYE!
- 1. leith07, leith – 9 August 2009, 6:18pmThe Retreat Castle HotelReport
-
my wife and i were doing some walking in the area and had lunch at the retreat castle hotel - i had a baguette and my wife had a ciabatta - both looked very nice, except for the decayed lettuce that was served up with the rest of the toppings - must have been either not stored properly or days old - either way, serious food handling issues at that place - disgusting - will never go there again
To post a review you'll first need to sign in: Forgotten your password?
Not registered? Sign up – it only takes a minute.
RSS feed of these reviews
