Highlands

I enjoyed Highlands. We ordered several small plates to share. The hummus and blue crab on toast were excellent! I would happily come back.

I’ve been to a bzillion pubs in Scotland (Edinburgh) and the UK, in general.
Reference:
This spot does not remind me of any of those I’ve hit up.
— The cocktails here are hella ‘spensive
— There is 1 bartender during happy hour
— Gets packed 5 minutes after it opens its doors
I cannot differentiate this spot from any other non-​Scottish-​themed pubs in the west village.
I really cannot.

I’m Scottish and this place is way more familiar to me as a Scottish restaurant than any of the other ‘Scottish theme’ restaurants I’ve tried. I had the beef wellington here and it was amazing. We ordered the haggis as an appetizer to share amongst four. Not the best haggis I’ve ever had but it seems to be hard to get a good haggis over here in NYC.

This is a great place to grab cocktails with friends, especially if you’re into whiskey.
The staff was attentive even though it was a busy night. Definitely would go back!

Out of Scotch eggs whattttttt
Seemed like this place just opened
Not the best dinner

Fun night until interruption by a group of dbags who deemed it their mission to ruin other people’s nights, inexplicably. Totally ended our night but the place has potential.

What I tried: (I came here with a large group and this section would be easier to write if I labeled it «what I didn’t try». but here goes…) Drinks: Kith and Kin cocktail; Appetizer: Whiskey bread, curried humus, Scotch egg, Pearl barley risotto, blue crab and prawns on toast; Mains: beef wellington, whiskey barrel pork chop; Dessert: molten cake, and crème brûlée
OK That was really tiring…
Out of the appetizers I tried, I’d recommend the risotto, whiskey bread, and blue crab and prawns on toast (in that order). The risotto was amazing and you could really taste the whiskey in the bread. The humus and the scotch egg were fine, but nothing special. For my main, I had the pork chop (delicious) and I tried my sister’s beef wellington. Both were great but think the pork chop was better. If you’re deciding between the two (their 2 most popular I think), go with the pork chop! I also LOVED the kith and kin cocktail. I tried other people’s cocktails in my party and they all seemed great actually. I really liked the cozy scottish ambiance of the dining area as well.
I think I would have given this place 5 stars, but I was a bit disappointed in the service. The service was fairly attentive, but our waiter seemed a little annoyed with us right from the get-​go and said a couple of strange, insulting things.
All in all, I’d recommend.

I really like this bar! A friend and I went once to get the scotch tasting flight, which was fantastic and reasonably priced, and once to grab cocktails. The bread pudding was excellent and I really enjoyed the grilled cheese appetizer. The grilled cheeses were much better and more innovative than I expected. You can’t beat the scotch selection and the bar is especially cozy in the winter. The second time we went, there was a free vodka cocktail event going on, which seemed odd but was fun. It gets pretty crowded so be prepared to wait, or stand if you go during busy hours.

Ok this place started on a sour note with my drink but it is really growing on me. We ordered a bunch of appetizers each were made in a very unique way. Hummus curry style was great, risotto excellent, the whiskey bread out of this world good. We ordered another one.
I love love love the waitress and waiters dressed in Scottish garb. Service not only looks good but is good. Very helpful in ordering and keeping everything moving. I even like the fact that they cleared our appetizer settings and replaced with new.
Beef Wellington was awesome. I checked with everyone at the table and everyone enjoyed their food and had no complaints. Oh Mindy did start complaining about the earrings Mrs. Beasley bought her for her birthday but I will leave that for another review.

I love Highlands. I’ve been here a bunch of times with my boyfriend for dinner and drinks. They are very knowledgable of whiskeys and their backgrounds. The flights are all great, specifically the animal flight. It’s a very cozy atmosphere, with exposed brick, animal heads on the walls, dim lighting and candles.
We never make reservations for dinner. We always just walk in and get seated. The bar area is also great to hang out in before dinner in the west village or just as a casual night out.
BAR/​RESTAURANT OVERVIEW:
–Bar in the front room with a few tables, then more tables in the back room
–Great for drinks or food with friends
APPS:
–Blue Crab Spread on Toast: So good! And great to split between 2 people or even 4 if you split the toasts in half.
–Whisky Bread: Really good with spiced/​sweet butter
DINNER:
–Roasted Chicken Breast: So good! Comes with a tasty glaze, brussel sprouts, and potatoes
DRINKS:
–MacCallan 14 and 15 year, animal flight, flights 1 and 2 — all just so good! Waiters has great recommendations as well

Went there for my birthday. Great food and service. Scotch flights were delicious. My only disappointment was that the strip steak came out cold and that there was an agregious $ 30 cake cutting fee.

Probably a nice place for dinner, happy hour, anything like that, but get there at 11 on a Saturday and it’s a terrible crowd. Packed with yuppy 30-​somethings, bartenders and bouncers are rude, and there’s no room to move. I get it, Saturday nights are probably not the most enjoyable time to be working at a bar in the West Village, but I feel like I could have gotten over the packed space and the less-​than-​ideal clientele if the staff had at least been friendly. But I feel like no matter where I moved, someone was barking at me, and more often than not it was the bartender. I get you can’t control who frequents your bar, but at least be polite to everyone in there.
Drinks were pretty average, and about as pricy as everything else in the area. I feel like this bar could easily morph into almost any other hip bar in the Village and I wouldn’t notice. So sorry Highlands, but I can’t recommend you.

LOVE the Highlands. This has become the new happy hour spot for me and my friends. The bar has such a cool ambiance and a really fun scene. All of the servers are very attentive and nice and are great at giving advice about what drinks to get! I haven’t actually had dinner here, but have had some of the bar food. If that’s any indication on how the full meals are, then it is absolutely DELICIOUS!
Definitely come to the bar early if you want a seat, because it does get crowded! It doesn’t get overwhelmingly packed, but you might be standing for a bit. It’s totally worth it, though.

Lapin and I passed by this scenic Scottish gastropub and thought we should stop in for a bite. The restaurant wasn’t very packed and they were very accommodating. We were seated in one of the nooks where it’s almost like sitting on a windowsill. With excellent views for people watching and the shrubbery enclosing on the windows it felt magical. Our waiter was splendid, he was patient, attentive and very informative. We made note that Lapin had a lactose issue and they were able to swap out a couple of things in his food for him.
We ordered the blue crab and prawn toast ($ 16), a bit on the pricey side but it came with a generous stuffing of meat on a piece of bread. I do wish they gave one more sliver of bread though. Lapin ordered the whisky barrel smoked pork chop ($ 26) and he got mashed potatoes instead of mac and cheese. He said the meat was succulent and tasty. I ordered the crispy red seared grouper ($ 25) but they ran out and I got the striped sea bass instead. It was still a very delicious entrée. We got the Molten Lava Cake ($ 8) but instead of Bourbon we asked for Hazelnut gelato instead. Lapin had to take 8 lactose pills but still wanted to eat every single drop of that hazelnut gelato. The food was amazing, the service top-​notch, and the ambience magical. It’s definitely worth the trip but go early, the place gets crowded quite quickly.

I came to highlands on a Friday night with a few friends, we were starving but by the time we got there only bar food was available… that was fine with us! We started off with a few of their unique cocktails which were a bit expensive but similar to other places in the area). Next we ordered some bar appetizers. I must say this was some REAL GOOD bar food. We started with oysters which were SO CREAMY, I have not had oysters like this in a while. Next up were some lobster sliders which were absolutely delicious, I would come back JUST for these. Some grilled cheese with different types of cheese was up next, very unique and tasty. Then we finished off with some sort of risotto balls. I thought the bar food was pretty good and I would definitely come back again !!

Two friends and I had a resso for dinner on a Wednesday at 6:30. (FYI, they don’t seat you unless your entire party is there). The dining area is pretty small but even so, it wasn’t completely filled. There always seemed to be that one empty table while we were dining. The bar on the other hand, was packed. It seems like that’s the more popular option. And why wouldn’t it be? They have a book of whiskey, that’s about 50 pages thick, some creative whiskey (and non-​whiskey) cocktails, and a good selection of Scottish beers.
For drinks, I had the Skull Splitter (bottle), which tasted kind of caramelly — so you definitely want to be careful with this one. If you don’t feel it immediately, it will hit you later. I also had the Mamie Taylor cocktail, which is Great King St. Artist’s Blend scotch, Pickett’s ginger beer, and lime. I normally don’t drink cocktails because they’re always too sweet. But if I do order one, it will most likely be a cocktail with whiskey in it. This one tasted very refreshing. I love ginger beer, so I really liked this drink.
For food, we started with a Scotch egg. This is the second Scotch egg that I’ve had in life. My first experience wasn’t a great one but I was determined to find one that I liked — and from the pictures that you Unilocalers posted, the one at the Highlands looked amazing. And it was just that. The sausage was flavorful, but not overly salty. The yolk was perfect — still runny but not messily so. It came with this A1-​like dipping sauce on the side but I would say you’re better off without it. You don’t need it at all. In fact, the sauce kinda ruins it, IMO.
I went with the seared tuna for my entrée. The fish went really well with the bed of grains that it was served with. The grains almost remind me of popcorn kernels. (I don’t remember what they were and I can’t find it online either — so if anyone orders this and finds out what these are, let me know!). I wanted something light since I wasn’t very hungry, so this was the perfect choice for me.
For dessert, we all shared the gelato. It comes with three scoops and you have a choice of rhubarb. bourbon. blackberry, pomegranate, and hazelnut. We ordered the bourbon, blackberry and pomegranate. The bourbon only had the slightest hint of whiskey in there. The other two didn’t taste like anything. They all tasted more like sorbet than they did gelato, and it had this gritty texture to it, which I didn’t like. You’re probably better off ordering something else, or skipping dessert altogether.
It seems as though their menu changes pretty frequently, since the menu I saw online vs. the one at the restaurant were pretty different. I wouldn’t mind coming back for another Scotch egg and maybe a flight (or five) of some whiskey!

If you appreciate good food and fine whiskey, this is the place to be. There is a wide array of whiskey that will certainly make you fall in love with whiskey all over again.
The burrata salad, duck breast and pork chops were well treated and presented beautifully. All of them were packed with freshness and so much juicy flavor. Please leave space for the chocolate lava dessert, which is accompanied by a creamy bourbon ice-​cream. I can’t wait to go back again!

First i’ll say you need to get the whiskey bread and butter. It’s tiny, you might be able to split between 3 people (if you’re not super hungry) but safer for 2 people.
The scotch egg is seasoned really well, crispy, and overall delicious BUT after having tried other scotch eggs in the city I think it’s overpriced.
That pretty much summarizes my experience here. The stew was about 30, the pan fried chicken was around 28 and while tasty… just over priced.
Summary: if you don’t mind throwing down the cash you’ll enjoy it.

I’ve been here twice. The first time had me planning my return trip, and the second was even better than the first. This is coming from a person who typically doesn’t like scotch (don’t ask — I love bourbon and rye but my taste buds must be wonky when it comes to scotch).
My sister was visiting for the weekend and we were looking for a bar with well-​crafted drinks and an equally enticing menu. Enter Highlands.
I love the ambiance here. It’s very homey — especially the seating area in the back. The crowd — at least both times I’ve been — is probably mid to late twenties, and it’s generally a pretty classy group. One note — this isn’t the bar to visit if you’re looking to meet lots of new people and/​or singles. Both times I’ve gone, people are congregated in medium-​sized groups and everyone seems to know each other. Mingling culture doesn’t really exist here (it’s a little small for that, anyway). Not necessarily a con, just a note.
Service: Great. Servers and bartenders are knowledgable and friendly. On a Saturday night between 10 – 12, that earns you major props. Because this place gets CROWDED. The first time I came here, it was around the end of happy hour on a Thursday night — also packed. So clearly, this place is popular. If you want to get a seat here, you’re probably best off making a reservation. I did that this time with my sister — mostly because we wanted to order food as well as drinks — and it was relatively painless.
Now for the ingestibles:
THE DRINKS. YES. I’m a big speakeasy fan so I’m a sucker for a well-​crafted cocktail, and this place doesn’t disappoint. My sister is a bartender, so we only looked at places that could interest her expert palette. My first drink was The Great Western: vanilla infused bourbon, st. george spiced pear, lemon. My sister doesn’t like whiskey, and even she liked it. Absolutely a must-​try. My second was The Catholic Guilt — black grouse blended, ginger, lemon, fig & orange bitters, fernet branca float — though I substituted bourbon for scotch (please don’t judge, I have no control over this preference… or I suppose non-​preference). Also delicious. My sister ordered the Sweet Ginger Brown — goslings dark rum, lime, ginger, brown sugar, ginger ale — did I say delicious yet? There are so many glowing adjectives, people.
To eat:
Highlands Scotch Egg
Drunken Mussels
Now, I grew up on Martha’s Vineyard seafood (literally sea-​to-​table cuisine) so these muscles weren’t anything to write home about. That said, they weren’t bad, and a nice surprise on a bar menu. The Scotch egg was also decent. I didn’t *love* it but I thought the preparation was fun and unique to this particular establishment. Overall though, I get the sense that we should have opted for different food, but the drinks/​experience made the visit more than worthwhile.

Those five stars are for the drinks and drinks alone. My friends and I were trying out some of the whiskey bars in the neighborhood, and our quest took us to Highlands.
First off, the menu is simply amazing. Not only is the selection excellent, but the menu is less of a menu and more of a Scotch Bible. Each kind of scotch is described in tremendous detail (pronunciation guide included), from the history to the geography and more. As a budding scotch enthusiast, this was very much appreciated and made for an even more enriching experience.
My friend and I each opted for one of the flights (3 scotches each), he the Smoky Flight and I the Second Flight. Our server went through the trouble of explaining each of the scotches before us, describing the aging of the scotch as well as the flavor profiles we should expect. We expected none of this service, but this again added to our tasting experience. He even brought out the bottles so we could take pictures or observe the labels.
The space itself is beautiful, with bottles lining the walls and plenty of separation between the bar and the tables. I will definitely be back soon, not only for another round of drinks, but also to give their intriguing menu a try.

Nennt sich contemporary Scottish Gastro Pub Man kann hier alles trinken, was man sich vorstellen kann. Von Bier, Wein bis zu Cocktails. Gibt es hier was zu essen? Keine Ahnung. War nur spät Nachts hier.