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Tang's

Tang's
44 Candlemaker Row
Edinburgh, EH1 2QE
Phone: 0131 220 5000
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  • Food served: Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm, 6–10pm; Sun 12.30–9pm
  • Number of wines sold by the glass: 2
  • Also offers: Gluten-free options, Children's portions, Takeaway
  • Music on stereo: Mellow Japanese music.
  • Capacity: 48
  • Largest group: 48
  • Open since: 2007
View larger map of EH1 2QE
  • Average price 2 courses:
     £9 (lunch)
     £14 (evening meal)
  • House wine: £12.50 per bottle
Nominate this restaurant for
The List Reader Award 2010
Eating & Drinking Guide 2009

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2009 – in the shops now or buy online.

Occupying a prime tourist location near Greyfriars' Bobby, Tang’s is a relative newcomer among the Japanese restaurants of Edinburgh. Heading into its second year, owner and chef Qun Tang is keen to emphasise that Japanese food is meant for sharing. With this in mind, there is a choice of special sharing dinners for four or more, bento boxes, sushi and sashimi platters and a list of other staples all designed to be eaten in this spirit. Tuna tataki – seared tuna with ponzu and garlic chips – is a delicious combination of flavours, but katsu curry – chicken in crispy breadcrumbs with a vegetable curry sauce, billed as a favourite in Japan – is blander and less inspiring. There are certainly adventures to be had: mochi is a traditional red bean and sticky rice dessert that may prove somewhat of an acquired taste for western palates. The waiting staff are gracious, but busy periods seem too easily to result in confusion, mixing up of orders and long waits. This, along with the fact that the decor is sparse, can take the edge off a place that clearly has the potential to deliver some interesting and unusual cuisine.

  • High point: Delicately flavoured miso black cod
  • Low point: Hard to know which dishes will work

Comments for Tang's (44 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh)

1. Pixie, Edinburgh – 20 October 2008, 7:25amReport

We have been going to Tang's for some time now and the food is excelent, as a chef myself I can recomend this place to anyone who loves delicate flavours and good presentation. The resturant has a calm feeling to it and the service is very good. If you happen to pass by take the time to stop and eat, You won't be disappointed.

2. ptnufc, Edinburgh – 25 February 2009, 9:37pm(5s)Report

Cracking food at an understated venue. I was really impressed and definitely go back. Tradition means you get the dishes at the same time and it worked great mixing the vegetable dumplings, beautiful squid karaage (light and crispy fried) and hot pot with rice, veg, beef and egg. Would get a 4th dish to share between two next time but only getting 3 meant I could go for a good dessert (baked chocolate chees cake with vanilla ice cream). all polished off with some Asahi beers. Must visit.

3. Chris Radley, Edinburgh – 20 June 2009, 10:55pm(4s)Report

For Edinburgh this is actually a pretty good attempt at Japanese food. The sushi was pretty tasty, the soup we had really good, service friendly and priced reasonably. My wife is a Taiwanese chef who has eaten in Japan and even she liked it. Definitely recommended.

4. yumyum, Edinburgh – 9 August 2009, 7:13pmReport

My wife and I went to Tang's after a festival show and it was the worst meal we've had in a very long time. The excellent beers were 20 mins delayed after the order placed and warm when they came. Special Fried rice was overcooked and greasy and I'm sure there were vegetables in it although I couldn't see them they were diced so small. Topped off with two tiny slithers of chicken and two rubbery leftover prawns I left 3/4 of it. It was a Sunday afternoon so service without bags of enthusiasm can be forgiven but it was dreadful and they couldn't have cared less. £25 for two terrible meals and two warm beers. Two loyal sushi fans won't be going back. We had to get chips on the way home we were so hungry.

5. mieko, london – 21 August 2009, 1:18pmReport

I had a wonderful meal at Tang's with my husband. We had Sushi Bento Box and Gyudon, Sake and Green tea Cream Bluree. The food was very authentic, delicious and friendly Japanese girls looked after us well.
Sushi was very fresh and had good choice of sake. This place for people love Japanese food. If you want to eat fried rice with beer you better to go for Chiese take away.
Pick Japanese dish from menu! I wanna try black cod next time...

6. Flora Manson, Linlithgow – 13 January 2010, 1:50pm(5s)Report

I'm not usually one for writing reviews, but I was so impressed with Tang's that I felt I needed to, especially after reading the terrible review left by 'yum yum'. Anyone reading these reviews deserves to know that there is a chinese restaurant in Edinburgh called 'yum yum', so chances are that the person who left the review simply felt threatened by the competition and felt the need to stoop so low as to write an unfair and untrue review simply to put off potential customers.

The truth is, Tang's is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. It was very easy to find and looks fantastic- very light, warm, and welcoming. The staff straight away were very friendly and gave us a choice of whether we wanted to sit upstairs or downstairs. The menu is quite long and complex- typical of traditional Japanese cuisine- but the waiter was more than happy to explain it to us and gave us a couple of recommendations. My partner and I took quite a long time reading it over because there was just so much choice, and the staff were absolutely fine with taking us much time as we needed.

We ended up ordering five or six different dishes including squid sushi, which was so fresh and succulent, pork and vegetable dumplings, which were one of the nicest things I've ever eaten and melted in your mouth, a rainbow sushi platter which, again, was absolutely delicious, and a couple of different seaweed and pickle salads.

Sushi is my favourite kind of food but I know some people have their reservations about it, my partner for example previously didn't think sushi was filling enough and left you still feeling hungry. After our meal, however, even he was full and blown away by the quality of the food. I really can't say enough about this place, it was even reasonably priced- which is a rare occurrence indeed. If you get the chance to visit Tang's, do it!

7. Petko, Edinburh – 9 February 2010, 9:41pm(1)Report

We only went to Tang because there was a gentleman who advertised it in a negative review for another japanese restaurant on the List and it was our almost last stop on the way to exploring the local Japanese cuisine.

Athmosphere was quite nice and stylish and, being so central, it could have easily become the flagship of the Japanese cuisine in Edinburgh.
If it wasn't for the food...

As I have this thing for ramen, I've ordered the Miso (my favourite) cashew (?) ramen and was quite disappointed as it was the worst I have ever tried in my life, and I have eaten a lot of it. Apart from the complete lack of taste I was quite surpised to find nori on top of the dish and it does not mix with miso, believe me, although the taste of miso was quite quite distant. The noodles themselves were sticking in ugly shapes as they were clearly overboiled. The pork slices were actually prepared chinese style - quite sweety and 'meaty' but that's not a surpise judging by the name of the restaurant. And with real ramen, one bowl is enough to last you for a day and I have often struggled to see bottom with my belly ready to burst from just one bowl, whereas I felt quite hungry finishing the Tang one and moving to katsu don.

Katsu don, another one of our favourites, was quite disgusting with fatty 'meat' drawned in oil and rice which felt like cous cous. There was not a molecule of the sous that actually makes the real taste of katsu don.

Service was ok but far from cordial.

If you haven't tried anything Japanese in your life, probably you will be satisfied. If you want the real thing, look elsewhere. So far, I have only found one place in Edinburgh that fits the bill.

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