Michael Neave Kitchen and Whisky Bar

Hmmm this place is definitely worth a second visit! You can’t go wrong with the scallops and venison. However, I really want to go back and try the rest of the menu! I found it very difficult to choose as everything looked so delicious! I haven’t given it five stars because of the dessert but might change my mind when I return. The service is ok, not yet comparable to the Michelin star restaurants in Edinburgh. I would recommend booking a table so you’re not disappointed.

This restaurant is tucked off the Royal mile. Although it is out of sight from the Main Street, it has always been really full and twice I have been here without reservation, I was turned down so do make a reservation if you do decide to come.
I ordered the Scallops and black pudding as starter and they were delicately cooked to perfection. The aroma of the black pudding goes well with the scallops and there light and not greasy at all.
The highlight here I have to say is the rump of Lamb which I ordered as my main. They are cooked pink on a bed of mash, bacon and broadbeans. So tender and juicy that I fell in love with them instantly. They are the best rump of lamb I have eaten in Edinburgh so far. I would happily come back here for the lamb again.
The panna cotta has just the right texture and right amount of sweetness to finish off my lovely 3 course meal.
Michael is an extremely talented chef and at his age, he is excellent at what he does. I believe Michael’s Steak and Seafood Bar is also one of his venture which mainly serves seafood. I have a review on it as well so do read it as they are equally as good.

Tucked away down a steep cobbled hill is this gem. They have an exceedingly good value lunch deal, currently two courses from a daily changing menu plus coffee and brownie at just £7.95. I keep expecting the price to have gone up each time I visit, but a few weeks ago it was still at this incredible value. Booking essential; closed Mondays.
Excellent service and beautifully presented imaginative dishes. The only downside is that steep hill which is probably lethal when the winter ice comes.

Besser als die Junkfood-​Läden auf der Royal Mile war es in diesem sehr versteckten Restaurant allemal, aber ob es deshalb gleich Spitzenklasse war — da habe ich meine Zweifel. Michael Neave gilt als der schottische Jamie Oliver und entsprechend hoch gesteckt waren unsere Erwartungen. Das Entré zu seinem 2-​geschossigen Restaurant verstärkte unsere Erwartungshaltung. Alles sehr geschmackvoll und das Personal ist superfreundlich, ohne aufdringlich zu wirken.
Wir aßen Roulade vom Kaninchen mit Pistazien an Karottenpürre sowie eine 4-​Käsesortenvariation von Gnocchis mit Spinatkruste (1. Gang).
Im Hauptgang legte ich Linguini mit Pesto und gerockneten Tomaten vor und meine Chefin legte mit in Honig gerösteter Hühnerbrust an kandiertem Chicoree und Broccoli nach. Zum Abschluss gab es dann einen Toffee Rice Pudding mit Braeburnäpfeln und gesalzener Scholaden– und Karamel-​Tarte mit Rum-​Rosinen-​Eiscreme.
Zur Feier des Tages und weil ich nicht mit dem Auto sondern mit dem Hop on-​Hop off-​Bus da war, habe ich noch eine gute Flasche Wein ausgegeben und auf dem Gipfel der Stimmung noch ein Whisky-​Tasting drangehängt.
Ich sage nur“Glenlivet 18″. Übrigens, wer in Schottland seinen Whisky mit Eis trinkt, wird sofort des Landes verwiesen. Wasser ist o.k., natürlich nur Quellwasser von den Highlands.
Starke 4,4 Sterne ist unser erstes und einziges Essen dort wert.

Lovely spot. Great food, delicious cocktails, and a fantastic selection of whiskies. The staff were a pleasure and the occasional walking tour that passed by the dining room waved to say hi
Would definitely go back!

Was here for a special party hosted by a medical instrument company on a Monday night where they are normally closed.
I didn’t have high expectations but was I wrong, the main course, the steak, was maybe the best steak I ever had and this comparing with some of the Michelin restaurants and steakhouses.

The lunch special is so well done. Fine dining for this price has never been so well executed. Then the whisky list speaks for itself.

Excellent meal from a very talented chef and team. Creative appetizers of wood pigeon and apricot ravioli were great. We both had fish for our main, sea bass and cod, prepared very well. Nice local ingredients featured. We didn’t have desert, but the complimentary chocolates were wonderful.

I’d heard a lot about Michael Neave. Especially his £7.95 express lunch menu.
I share similar tastes to my dining companions on the day too; and know that it had been highly rated in the past. And whilst my meal was nice, it didn’t knock my socks off or even make my toes tingle a little bit.
£7.95 for 3 courses is a fantastic deal, especially considering MN is going for fine dining. I had the venison terrine, beef and then we all had the brownie as dessert.
The terrine was lacking flavour. It was a nice portion size, and I did eat it all; but having just had venison and chilli the night before at a deli in Glasgow that I can still taste, this was quite bland. A few bit of chewy fat in there too.
The beef was a little dry and chewy in parts. Not a cut that would lend itself to being medium rare, and the sauce gave it flavour. An ample serving too. Again, however, the side of new potatoes with some butter needed a lot of pepper and seasoning.
I rarely season, if ever, and never with salt unless it’s a few crystals of Maldon sea salt. So to have to add pepper to my potatoes, and wish I’d done the same to the venison, just wasn’t great.
The brownie, with cherries, was rich and stodgy and mainly tasting of cocoa. Nice, again, but not a touch on the Peter’s Yard chocolate and cheesecake brownie; or the Peppers brownies; or, well, a lot of other brownies I’ve had.
So overall this was a perfectly fine meal, and I can’t sniff at the good value. But given I could pay a tad more for a really exceptional meal means I probably will. I’m hoping I got it on an off day. Laura D, Joe A and Blythe R all rate it 5 stars, and I know that none of them give out 5 star reviews lightly. But I can’t see myself, off of the quality of a £7.95 express lunch, coming back here to spend full price on an evening meal — and surely thats the point of such fantastic offers?
But all the same, I had a very enjoyable lunchtime with wonderful company. And the service was friendly, attentive yet chilled out.

As others have suggested, this place is an absolute gem. We’ve now visited for both their lunch and evening menus, and both were excellent. The £7.95 three-​course lunch deal is quite unbelievable value — I can’t think of better lunchtime value anywhere in the city. The message is pretty clear: go soon, and go often.
Overall, we said: «Michael Neave was extremely impressive. The place has style and class aplenty, and the seasonally changing menu offers well-​executed, imaginative dishes, grounded in showcasing locally sourced produce. I look forward to my next visit.»

I loved this place!
In meeting a girlfriend for a boozy lunch, I picked Michael Neave due to the great reviews from Joe A and Steph D. I wasn’t disappointed. They sold the place well and accurately!
Their sat lunch set menu was £11.95 for 2 courses or £14. 95 for 3. What a bargain! Only another 3 bucks for a yummy dessert! However… In true ‘Laura and Elaine’ style we ended up choosing from the al a carte, the steak just too tempting an option for me to pass up.
My olive and mull cheddar tart was divine as were the tiny, warm homemade sun dried tomato bread rolls (I asked for more… Well I WAS hungover!!) which were served with your own individual serving of butter. Yum. Elaine’s pigeon breast with smoky bacon also went down a storm. I had a taste and the thick lardons of bacon were delish and really made a difference.
My steak was tasty, I asked for medium well and although it was slightly done a little more well, i really didn’t mind. It was seasoned beautifully but simply, the right mix of saltiness and spice. The fondant potato that came with it could have gone wrong (as they so often do) but it was perfect! Soft fluffy potato. It soaked up the nice bottle of French white wine we had nicely.
Dessert. Well. This was a slight let down but before I continue, they redeemed themselves more than I could have expected so I’m not marking them down. I chose sticky toffee pudding which I’d spied immediately upon first seeing the menu and it didn’t matter what else I was eating I WAS HAVING THAT PUDDING! So… It did look lovely but it had a funny taste which I couldn’t place… Kind of doughy, like it wasn’t cooked properly.
! For once the waiter was nowhere to be seen so it sat uneaten for about 15 mins before he came back into the restaurant. I explained I didn’t like the taste — was this a problem for them? No! He immediately apologised and I was offered something else. I chose the pistachio and elderflower parfait which was lovely, tart and creamy.
Another 2 glasses of wine and some coffee and we were ready to leave. Upon presenting the bill the waiter said BOTH desserts and BOTH glasses of wine were on the house with the apologies from the chef! This goes to show, it’s not about the mistake, it’s how it’s rectified!
The shame was the place was empty. On a sat afternoon! I know they are trying to build up custom slowly but they do deserve to be busy… So go forth my Unilocalers and scoff some of the highest quality food and experience some of the best service in Edinburgh!
I just really hope they don’t let their current standards slip like so many restaurants do…

Three vistis in 6 days says it all really. Why the fifth star?
Monday to Friday sees Michael Neave lay on an Express Lunch Menu for those on the go. The idea is simple: set menu of 3 starters and 3 mains to choose from, with a set dessert of Chocolate and Cranberry Brownie with coffee and a scoop of the Ice Cream of the Day.
‘Very good’, I hear you cry, ‘but why the fifth star?‘
The dishes are fairly straightforward in order for those in a rush to come, eat and go in an efficient fashion. Although they may be straightforward, that doesn’t mean in any way that the courses aren’t of an extremely high standard. This is fine dining after all.
So I’ve been lucky enough to sample this Express Lunch Menu twice this week:
Wednesday
Starter — Ham Hough with Melba Toast and Fig Chutney
Main — Roasted Venison Rump with Crushed Potatoes and Onion
Dessert — Brownie with Whisky Ice Cream
Friday
Starter — Game Terrine with fruit chutney
Main — Baked Salmon with a Smoked Fish Chowder
Dessert — Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream
Two amazingly delectable meals.
‘Indeed, Joe, very good But why the fifth star???‘
As if the above isn’t already enough, the fifth star is awarded because of this:
£8 for said 3 course menu, inclusive of coffee!!!
Food of this quality is virtually impossible to find at this price. In fact I defy anyone to find somewhere that rivals this.
Every time I go here for the Express Lunch I feel like I’m robbing Michael Neave, to the point where I’ll order a cocktail or a drink just to ramp the bill up a little.
It’s ridiculous in the most amazing way ever. Said it before (see Los Cardos, see Oink, see Mosque Kitchen) and I’ll say it again; the simple ideas are always the best.

I’m editing rather than updating this review because it’s a good review and I was proud of it… so I didn’t want you passing by THIS review for a shoddy version of it just to give this place one more star. So below find my first review and here I will make only one additional comment:
The gnocci here would make my Italian grandmother pee herself with happiness. They are what gnocci should be. The Butternut Squash Gnocci was BY and FAR the best vegetarian meal I have had in Edinburgh… This is not to lessen the impressiveness the standards there is a FINE selection of meals that I love dearly here. But not ONE came EVEN CLOSE. Michael… if you are looking for a wife. I maybe could be single.
— — — — — — -
Joe occasionally forces me to see the finer things in life, and I like to think that I contribute a little to his love for the large array of Brass Monkey-​like establishments in the city.
Today was Joe’s day to introduce me to some fine eating (dining?).
Apparently Mr. Neave is some sort of freakish savant who is ten and a half years old running this very cool, very chic eatery on/​off the Royal Mile. Blink and you’ll miss it or ignore it for its annoyingly prime location with way too many tourist traps around. But this place is a GEM.
You walk in and the two adorable waiters/​hosts, impeccably dressed I might add, are there to meet and greet. The bar is cool, definitely a place I would enjoy an overly expensive cocktail whilst a date and I wait for our table (if he’s paying… if not, I’ll have the beer). Then we go downstairs and on the table there are some of my favorite flowers on the table… (which I have only recently realized I don’t know the name of).
The food. The one star loss is simply for the completely irrational idea that we needed BOTTLED STILL WATER. For real? We’re in Scotland! That shit comes off frozen peaks of the Pentlands — I don’t want bottled water, the tap is fine.
Now the good stuff. And I am a picky jerk when it comes to fancy restaurants because well, I don’t really eat meat… and when you don’t really eat meat at a nice restaurant (I’m talking to you MARK GREENAWAY AND STOCKBRIDGE (see my other reviews)) you get treated like a SECOND CLASS CITIZEN in this city.
Oh but not here. Michael the freakish savant loves vegetarians. He even loves us pescatarians more. And there were A GAZILLION THINGS on the menu I could eat! I was in fancy shit heaven.
I opted for the tomato and green pepper gnocci which, let me tell you, my Italian grandma, dead or not, would agree that this dude knows how to cook him some potato pasta. I’m going to make a statement where the word LITERALLY (as Joe would be proud of) is used correctly. This gnocci was LITERALLY the most well made gnocci I have ever in my whole life tasted and I have been to Italy, my family is Italian-​American and I have had a very handsome Italian man make me a bowl and then do romantic and slightly filthy things to me and STILL… STILL… Michael, your gnocci wins. Hands down.
Then there was the cranberry brownie and that was OBVIOUSLY awesome cause it’s a brownie and there’s cranberries in it.
But the winner was the bread. As always, true to my American Ethnicity… the free bread made my life better.
Thank you Joe for showing me the way, both literally and figuratively.