The Gardener’s Cottage

A cute cottage with excellent food that is both delish and fresh! The menu changes frequently so it never gets boring. The ambience is good, there’s an open kitchen so you can see the chefs preparing the food. However, the setting isn’t for everyone. They have long tables where you sit next to other people you don’t know. It’s a good setting however it is slightly crowded and personally, I think there isn’t enough space on the tables and they should sit less customers on each.

My favourite place to go for dinner in Edinburgh. The seating is very continental in that you’ll be sharing the table with strangers but that’s always good for a laugh. Of all the times I’ve been, only once when there was new staff and it was really busy was the experience not amazing. Every other time the service has been fantastic, the food fantastic and the overall concept fantastic. The only downside is that the portions can be small (I am a big eater) otherwise a must-​do in Edinburgh!

A 19^th century stone cottage with veg patches outside was not what I expected for our team xmas lunch this year — but it made for a magical surprise! 18 of us took over one of its two simple but elegant dining rooms, seated at long communal tables with a view into the kitchen.
The menu was a surprise, as with a focus on seasonal produce they change the menu daily according to what they have in. So many places claim the same focus these days but I was really impressed with what these guys did with fresh, local ingredients. It really felt like each one had been very carefully chosen for slightly unusual but delicious flavour combinations. A warming starter of pumpkin soup was teamed with a crab and caerphilly tart that I could have eaten 5 of. The main of mutton loin joined warm beetroot, celerian purée and kale on the plate with a cep crumb. Dessert taught me what seabuckthorn was, and made for a cake close to lemon in flavour with hay ice cream and peanut nougatine.
Each dish was well presented with arty flourishes that didn’t go over the top. I enjoyed spying on the plating up going on in the kitchen as they endeavoured (and succeeded!) in turning out 18 consistent plates. Both our servers were v attentive with wine top-​ups and great for answering food questions too (of which there were several!). The part that made our boss happiest was that it’s great value for money for a special meal too — on a regular night the 5-​course set dinner menu is £25 (though you’ll probably end up spending more on wine as a result!).
I can imagine some people won’t be fans of the communal seating, but take the right people up the garden path (!) and give it a try for the delicious food. Highly recommend for a private dining event too — they handled our rather noisy group brilliantly!

Came for lunch on a Saturday which meant choosing from a small A La Carte menu. Their brunch options were also still available.
The venue is not without it’s charms — your unlikely to find another restaurant like it. Set off London road you walk through the garden patch and the seasons vegetables to enter an intimate venue, much more like a living room than a restaurant. Chairs are packed into a couple of large tables. This isn’t like Wagamama’s where there is space between you and the people beside you; you are practically touching elbows. I enjoyed the quaintness of it all and embraced it, but if this sounds like something you would find awkward it probably will be.
The food was good. A watercress soup and poached egg tasted fresh and was satisfying. The Hake was also perfectly cooked with nice accompaniments. A starter and a main course was probably a little bit too much food for a light lunch; the portion sizes were pretty generous.
Starters were around £6−8 and mains £16−18 which seemed in line with other place if a little expensive.
I probably wouldn’t come here all the time but if you like the idea of fresh local seasonal produce and want a dining experience that is a little bit different then give it a go.

I had been excited to try out The Gardener’s Cottage for a while so I snagged us a table one Saturday evening. The evening menu is a 7 course tasting menu for £40. A very reasonable price for a fine dining restaurant.
The place is actually adorable. A tiny cottage tucked into the gardens on London Road. Once inside you feel like you are going round to your grandmas for tea, not a bad thing! The tables are long benches tightly packed with chairs and even though it wasn’t very busy when we arrived we were sat right next to another couple. I know the place is small but this made the experience quite awkward and uncomfortable especially if you are looking for an intimate dinner.
Nevertheless we were excited to try the food. The kitchen is open plan and you can see the chefs busy working away. We chose a bottle of red from the wine list for £28, it was delicious. The staff are very friendly and attentive. They explain each course as it is served to you.
Each of the courses were beautifully presented, although very dainty portions. The ingredients are local or foraged and the flavours were earthy and organic. As if straight from the garden.
I hate to say it but nothing blew me away. The plates looked amazing with some very exciting and unusual ingredients but we left feeling disappointed. It just seemed to lack something. I expected the dishes to punch me in the face with flavour but everything was quite bland. The most memorable thing was the sea buckthorn sponge which was pretty delicious!
I would loved to have come away and raved about our meal at The Gardener’s Cottage so I feel very sad that I can’t. At a meal that came in at over £100 we wanted more. I can’t rate the staff highly enough but the overall dining experience and the food were OK.

Have been meaning to go to this place and would recommend it for brunch or lunch to take advantage of the surrounding during the daylight. Had a pea soup with crab and a poached egg for a starter followed by hake with kale and scalloped potatoes with apple butter. Hubby had the big breakfast with poached egg, yummy bacon, back pudding, meat loaf and bioche with hollandaise. Quaint place with good presentation, fresh ingredients and different menus. Only down side would the seating as you’re elbow to elbow with other diners! Would recommend for a special occasion, cool music by record player and nice décor.

The whole concept of this place is to bring fresh foods to the table straight from the garden. There’s a seven course menu that changes every night, with every course thoughtfully prepared and served! My dinner here was absolutely delicious and the service was wonderful. Every course was accompanied by a detailed explanation, and there was no aspect of the food to complain about. I’d describe each course that I had, but their menu changes every night anyways… All I’ll say is that no matter what is being served, you’ll be sure to be in for a treat :)

A mixed experience… rude greeting from the staff, (we were there 5 minutes before they opened and were made to feel badly about it). Service continued to be so so with a very long wait between starters and mains. We had a very nice sourdough bread with different spreads for a starter (Arbroath smokie, potted duck, and ricotta and tomato). My main was rabbit pappardelle and was almost too salty to be edible. The others in my party faired better with a lovely quiche, haddock with tomatoes, and roasted duck breast. The communal table was fun. Not a slam dunk but overall a pleasant meal.

Ok, so being a typical grumpy northerner, I was more than a little sceptical about the idea of going to a restaurant where I’d have to sit next to total strangers. Let’s face it, what if one of them’s a slurper. No-​one needs that…
Thankfully I’m always up for trying anything — and this place didn’t disappoint. As everyone’s as wary of the seating as eachother, it’s actually a very relaxed and non-​intrusive atmosphere when you get in. The staff are very laid back, yet attentive, happy to discuss all the dishes and where the food comes from. If you’re lucky, the chefs will also pop over (from their station in the middle, where you get to watch them cook your food) and do the same. As a hospitality pro, I’ve never worked with any chef happy to actually speak to their diners, so I loved this!
Their menu is also a little different to the norm — for dinner, it’s just a set 7 course tasting menu. Thankfully, the food is amazing! The menu changes every day, and you get to walk past a lot of the produce on the way in, as they grow it in their own garden. Everything was incredibly tasty, fresh, and full of dishes I’d never even consider if just taking in a regular a la carte elsewhere. Great for curious eaters like me. AND IT’S ONLY £35?! I can only say, get in there before the prices go up — it’d be worth it at double the price.
I have to recommend places to eat quite a lot as part of my job, and the Gardeners Cottage is always my number one tip.
P.S — in spite of the set menu, they cater for virtually all dietary requirements too. The lady next to me came in and listed hers, worried she’d either get no food, or some woeful substitute. They rustled up a menu on the spot for her, and she proceeded to spend the rest of the evening making noises I’ve not heard in a dining establishment since When Harry Met Sally…

I came upon this place largely by accident and without a reservation. Fortunately, they were able to accommodate me, but I gather that was only because I got there pretty early for dinner and was very very lucky. Make a reservation.
They offer a changing menu of 7 courses that is prix fixe; however, they appeared to accommodate a number of dietary restrictions of diners around me.
(I got a pretty close up view, because you are sitting right next to them at the communal tables).
The staff were very efficient without feeling like you were being rushed. I had plenty of time to contemplate between courses while never sitting with an empty glass or finished course sitting in front of me.
Should I find myself back in Edinburgh, and I hope I do, I will definitely come back here.

The gardeners cottage is a place I had heard a lot about but not actually been to for a meal. So when it was suggested as our next date night, I happily agreed.
After two cocktails at a nearby bar we walked over to the tiny cottage in the middle of the gardens in London road. On arrival we weren’t initially greeted or even acknowledged. After an awkward period of 5 minutes where we just stood by the door, someone came over to get the card machine and said another waiter would show us our seats shortly. We did wait another few minutes before being shown our seats.
Now the whole idea of this place is communal dining with food from locally sourced ingredients. It’s hard not to like that idea but I have to say our evening was rather downtrodden by the poor service of the staff.
Sitting in between two other dinner parties was fine although the seats are a bit close. And the idea that you just get seven courses brought to you is great! But the wait between our first and second course was about an hour, if not more. And in that time no wait staff came to let us know that there had been a mistake and our courses would be delayed. In fact when I tried to try their attention I’m pretty sure they just ignored us. When the second course finally arrived there wasn’t even an apology…
Thankfully the rest of our meal seemed to go more quickly with courses being brought out in appropriate times. My favourite courses were the cheese plate and the last dessert which unfortunately I no longer remember what it is.
This place isn’t cheap and the fact I can’t recall the meal particularly well makes me wonder if it’s worth the cost. And then the service, two couples arrived 30 minutes after us and left 45 minutes before us; one couple only getting 6 courses instead of 7 due to a mistake in the kitchen. The whole experience fell a bit flat for me and the service left me not wanting to go back. However the company for the evening was 5 stars :)

Cosy and gorgeous location, £35 for seven exquisite wee courses (plus two surprise handmade sweeties at the end), friendly staff: essentially perfect. They’re very flexible to diners’ tastes (I dislike black pepper, for example: no problem), and the food is seasonal and local. Tricky combo to pull off but they do it. Take a date for a relaxed and congenial atmosphere. No objections to ecigarettes either.

The Gardener’s Cottage is a small restaurant set in the Royal Terrace Gardens. Illuminated on a cool November evening, the restaurant immediately had a good feeling as we walked up the short path towards the front door. A cosy venue, there were tables on both sides of the entrance, but as we were a party of 11, we had one of the sides to ourselves. The long thin table was perfect for the occasion of two families meeting prior to a wedding the following day. The chairs that had backs in them to presumably house a hymn book, and the lanterns around the edges of the room added to the ambiance. We were there for the seven course evening tasting menu. As we arrived we were shown a menu that suggested wines to compliment each course, a nice idea but it would have really enhanced the price, so I opted for a Barney’s Volcano IPA, a very tasty, quaffable ale, that suited most of the night’s courses. An eclectic mix of music gently played in the background from a record player on the other side of the restaurant, a perfect accompaniment for a sociable meal.
The staff were friendly, highly knowledgeable about each dish and nothing was too much trouble for them. To be honest, with so many courses, I am struggling to remember which order they came in and all the subtle flavours they came with; however, the first course was definitely a carpaccio of beef, with raw onion. A flavoursome start; my wife is not a big fan of raw onion, so with no fuss at all, they prepared an alternative dish for her containing beetroot instead, impressive. The next few courses, were widgeon, cooked pink, which was salty and delicious, one of my favourites on the night; and vegetarian course, which was a wholesome mix of seasonal vegetables, cauliflower stalks are surprisingly tough though. Other courses included a milk pudding with barley, not totally sure of that one, and a selection of cheeses, with crispbreads, savoury biscuits and the most lovely Goat’s Cheese I have ever tasted! I freely admit, I am not the greatest fan of Goat’s Cheese, but this was mellow and creamy, lovely. The stand out course for me personally though, was the hot pumpkin sponge cake with Sea Buckthorn ice cream, absolutely packed with flavour, the wholesomeness of the pumpkin, complemented perfectly with the sharpness of the ice cream. The final course was some Petit fours, which were Apple Crumble in a bite, and interesting mix of beetroot and chocolate. A delicious end to the meal; I’m sure I’ve forgotten a course, and most of the subtle flavours, but it was a most enjoyable evening of great food and wonderful company. Some of the courses didn’t work me personally, but as a package the Gardener’s Cottage offers unique tastes in homely surroundings. The strong Abernook Whisky to finish the meal, was a great Winter warmer too, before the short walk back to the hotel.

I loved everything about my experience at Gardener’s Cottage.
I love the fact that the old cottage I used to bus by on my way to work is now in use. I love walking through a tiny productive garden to get to the front door, I LOVE that they use slates to define the raised beds (stealing that idea), I love that the food is in season, I love that it’s creative and tasty and I can’t be picky or safe and I just have to eat what’s in front of me (as a formerly way picky eater, this is a big deal).
I know that the concept of GC can sound pretty pretentious or, as one friend put it, a hipster’s wet dream. But I found the actual execution to be laid back, friendly, and delicious, with no pretension at all. I think maybe that the big sharing tables force you to leave your BS at the door and just enjoy the experience. I also think that the INCREDIBLE (not listed) starter of warm home made sourdough with bbq’d purple sprouting broccoli and some kind of hollandaise-​ish sauce helped that whole thing too. Of course next time I go it will be something completely different, and that’s cool too.
Be prepared to be wowed, ok’d, and meh’d during the course of your meal. It’s highly likely you won’t like everything they’re serving because you pretty much have no choice in the matter (unless you really hate something that’s on the menu, or have an allergy or moral issue with it). But, that’s ok because most of the experience will be great and will leave you appreciating what Scotland had to offer even more.
Basically, loving it all the way and desperate to go back.

Sunday brunch/​lunch today courtesy of my wife. Outstanding cooking of beautifully fresh produce.
Where to start? The rhubarb Bellini. Yes that’s where we started. We opted for some sharing and a main each.
Tagliatelle with walnuts and black pudding — crunchy and spicy — it disappeared a bit sharpish!
I had the hake with celeriac and amazing crispy kale — I guess it was dehydrated in the oven. Simply
wife had the leg of mutton equally well presented.
Finale was fought over with spoons. Sherry ice-​cream, chocolate and some more rhubarb from the front garden.
Keep it up guys. We’ve been fans since day 2!
We’ll be back.

It was very serendipitous that we ended up eating here. We had failed to make any proper birthday dinner reservations elsewhere and in our searching I remembered having heard this place was good, so I checked their website and was able to book a table on-​line the same morning. Very handy! We arrived at 5:45, which is generally a bit early for us to eat dinner, but with 7 courses we figured it was a good time to start. We were also quite excited to try a meal we didn’t have to choose.
The location and cottage itself are idyllic, it does feel like you have wandered into a lovely English cottage and surrounding garden. The inside is so warm and cozy and it feels like you are dining in at a friends home. They have 3 tables, which seat 10 each and you sit next to the other diners, no separate tables. I quite enjoyed it as it just adds to the homelike feel of this place. I really love the surroundings and the record player spitting out some music from the 50s and you also get to watch the chefs cooking, which adds to the relaxing atmosphere.
The staff was exceptional. We were greeted instantly and seated right away. The staff was very efficient, but casual and so friendly. We were asked if we wanted any explanation of the menu or if we just wanted to jump right in. We opted to just jump in and I received an excellent wine recommendation to suite what was to come.
In order we started with the pig tongue dumpling, which was amazing. Small, but so many flavors and a delicious fresh slaw to go with it. Next we received sourdough bread with a beetroot dip, which was lovely and delicate. Following that we received a kale and bacon soup with blue cheese and toasted walnuts. It was very smooth and such a nice dish, the walnuts and bacon made it so hearty and complimented the line of courses well.
Our main was roast lamb, with gnocchi, wild roasted garlic, crispy purple sprouting broccoli and aioli. The lamb was served pink and was excellent, the gnocchi was light and buttery (so amazing!) and the vegetables were stunning. I especially liked the garlic, which looked like it had just been pulled with the stalks from the garden. I was so full after that, but the food was too good to even think about stopping. After that course we received a light biscuit «ragstone» with a very mild goats cheese and carrot jam. It was such a nice treat, well-​sized and very good to have after such a great main.
Now the dessert, again so full, but luckily both desserts were so light and just wow! The first was a smoked pumpkin mousse, chocolate cream and hazelnut meringue. The pumpkin was surprisingly addicting and the hazelnuts have it a nice texture. The chocolate cream was rich, but not too sweet and it went so well with the pumpkin. The second dessert was toasted brioche, char-​grilled apple, barley ice-​cream and carrot and crowdie mousse. It was also to die for. The crowdie and carrot mouse was absolutely ‘divine’ as Paula Dean would say. It was so lovely.
The entire experience, meal and service was beyond any expectations I had and I was thoroughly impressed. It definitely is a splash and not something I would do often, but it is so worth it for a special occasion or something different. I would recommend this to anyone who is loves food and doesn’t mind being served a meal selected by people who know what they are doing with food.
If you are picky or have any dietary things they do offer to try to accommodate those, but I personally would say don’t bother trying it if you aren’t a wee bit adventurous. This is an experience for diners who appreciate food and can respect that it is cooked and paired exactly how it should be for you to enjoy. Let go for a change and feel pampered by some pros!

On the BBC they often show country houses with fantastic meals served up by old women in wellies who have 10 dogs and can perform culinary magic with just some thyme and a potato.
Well, welcome to The Gardeners Cottage.
We headed here for a bit of a special brunch and were so pleased with the amazing food, the excellent service and the school room feel to the interior.
Arriving a bit down London Road, a small blackboard greets you an invites you up a small garden path with fresh veg growing either side. When you enter you’re greeted by the smiling staff and shown to your shared table (advance booking is essential).
The menu shifts constantly based on what’s seasonally available. I personally went for the dish with the catchy title: black pudding, bacon, mushrooms, apples, walnuts, greens, sourdough bread. It was delicious. I had a pot of tea with it and was sufficiently full for a good few hours after!
It’s a fantastic little gem, I hope to get back for the set evening menu soon!

What a lovely place! The food was beautifully cooked and the atmosphere was great. Personally I quite like the coseyness of the shared tables, but you are very tightly packed next to your neighbors which might not be to everyone’s taste.
Despite having 5 courses I didn’t feel overly full at the end of the meal– some would say just right, but I could have done with a little more (hence four, not 5 stars.) The food was really lovely though, very tasty, and cooked sympathetically to the seasonal ingredients.

We popped in on the off chance that they might have some seats for brunch on Saturday. Luckily they’d just had a cancellation so we snagged a few seats in the corner. There were only a couple of choices for brunch but they both looked good. We opted for the bacon, poached eggs and greens with toasted sourdough. It also came with mushrooms and some Stornoway black pudding. Yum. Good sized portions too.
We were sat on our own at one of tables so didn’t get to partake of the communal dining experience. It was good to see the chef at work in the kitchen from our seats and from the taste it was clear that everything is made to order using fresh produce. Will definitely go back to try their dinner menu.

Had dinner here on Tuesday and was well impressed.
Although the portion sizes were kinda inconsistent amongst our group of 4, then the couple sitting next to us had their dishes served slightly differently to ours and seemingly with more stuff.
Aside from that, the food was fabulous and you could taste the freshness of the ingredients as they base their meals around things which are locally sourced.
The wine & drinks list is fantastic as well. The ricotta & pumpkin cheesecake was a great end to the meal. The communal tables were pretty fun.
£25 for 5 courses is pretty good value for money. Will definitely be back again!