Stac Polly

Went to the Stac based on the concierge’s suggestion and we were not disappointed. The restaurant is oddly shaped but we had a private section where we could celebrate a birthday. I had the Portobello mushroom on Brioche which was the most delicious thing I have eaten. We ordered desert which was also great. Good service, good ambiance, great food!

Top! Auf unserer Städtereise haben wir verschieden Restaurants ausprobiert. Das Stac Polly war mit Abstand das gehobenste … und hat alle Erwartungen erfüllt. Das Essen ist traditionelle schottische Küche, modern interpretiert. Alles war toll angerichtet und auf den Punkt gekocht/​gebraten/​gegart! Wir waren begeistert.

This food is not good at any price. The service was also bad (a bit rude and void of thought and care). My food clearly sat under a hot plate for a looong time. My wife sent her food back (and never does that). Avoid this restaurant.

(I’ve added a few pictures to this restaurant’s page from their own website, I hope they don’t mind.)
Like the earlier reviewer this restaurant came highly recommended by our hotel, which arguably has the best goddamn concierge in the UK. For fellow travelers, once the restaurant filled up there were noticeably few Americans in the place. Please don’t get the impression that this is a tourist trap. In fact, its better if you don’t tell anyone else about this place or it could get as difficult to get into as the Wedgwood. The food was certainly as good.
First the atmosphere was well done, stone with tasteful tartan accents. Impeccably Scotttish as was the food. With the layout and the lighting it was romantic, this is not a kid-​friendly restaurant.
The service was amiable and attentive, if a bit difficult to understand at times. As I’ve noticed at most of the UK restaurants I visited this summer; the staff are from the EU countries in deepest economic crisis (Spain, Greece and Italy were all well represented). But this was a relatively minor hassle. And the food was worth it.
The beer was excellent and local, you can’t ask for more than that.
I started with the haggis wontons in a wine reduction. They were an unusual combination of sweet, umami and spicy that was enjoyable. I followed with the salmon. You really can’t go wrong with scottish salmon, it was tender and flavorful. My father had the venison dish, and I tried some. Dear god, I almost regretted my order. It was unlike any American venison I had ever had. It was sweet, tender and completely lacking any gaminess. It tasted like a combination of buffalo sweetness and kobe juiciness.
Anyway, go there. Its a bit off the beaten path of the Royal Mile, but go there anyway. And for god’s sake don’t tell anyone about it. I want to be able to get in easily when I go back to Edinburgh.

Stac Polly came highly recommended by our hotel
We had just completed a tour of Edinburgh Castle & w/​nowhere else to go & nothing else in the vicinity, we ended up arriving about 15 min early & consequently 15 min before they opened.
(Plus, when travelling w/​parents, you’re eating the early bird timetable which actually works out well since we’re almost always guaranteed reservations)
There were 2 guys still setting up for the evening — 1 invited us in & the other looked incredibly & apparently perturbed. Gee — I’m sorry… shall we go stand out in the rain for 15 min while you finish your conversation? Not a good start to our evening…
I likened their dark beer (Caledonian Ale) to more of an amber ale & tried 2 different varieties but thought they were both lacking a certain something
Started out w/​a Poached Pear w/​Cheese — it was okay but cold. Guess this is what we get for being the 1^st to dine — things right out of the fridge
Both Mom & Dad had the Salmon which they enjoyed
My Veggie Risotto was crunchy — nuff said
Only Dad ordered dessert — the Strawberries & Cream & the verdict was delish. The strawberries were super sweet & when combined w/​the cool fresh cream, it was perfection
Would be willing to give this place another try & it’s not like we hated our meals (well, I did)…we just weren’t wowed & for this kind of £££, we would probably seek elsewhere next time

Probably the best known Scottish restaurants even thought their approach is rather contemporary, you wouldn’t know this from the outside with heather coloured walls and the fact you’re standing on a very Scottish cobbled street.
The choices of meat are very native, a lot of salmon on the menu and also a lot of venison. Being a big fish eater I was even tempted away and enjoyed a wonderfully tender piece of meat.
Oh dear, the bill, now this is one for the tourists to work out, if you want real Scottish food (excluding deep-​fried haggis) then I couldn’t recommend anywhere better, but if you were after just a nice meal out — there’s plenty of other places of the same quality without the niche but hefty price tag.