The Grain Store

Aside from the Goats cheese salad which Im told was delicious by both of its tasters.
Oysters were out, so I instead got the gazpacho.
It came in a mini jar looking more like a pretty sauce. With it, a few lumps of sun dried tomatoes, a kick of raw tomato purée and strong tang. Reminiscent of the vinegary kick in hot sauce, it was not so remarkable.
My second appetiser was the smoked salmon with fennel. Beautiful for both the eyes and palate, it was conjured up flawlessly. Its every part was delicate & worked.
Three of us got the Duck confit and I have to say it was incredibly disappointing. It was as if the chef forgot he already seasoned the meat and gave it another dose. maybe a triple. It really ruined the dish which resulted in my nit picking at the beans on the side. The consensus at our table was that we should have gone for something else. The server approached us too late and we couldn’t mention the state of our dish for it to be worth the wait. After a break into our first few bites, we pecked here and there and left it to be. We were ready to leave.
I was told risotto was very good, but then risotto is usually pretty good and hard to really mess up. I have to be honest and say I’m very disappointed with what we experienced. At 5quid for half a pint of your average beer, you’d expect the food to be something worth it. But the mains went so wrong its hard to be forgiving. Three for the good first dish, charm and friendly owner. Hope I can muster enough courage to give it another go.

A MUST stop when in Edinburgh.
My Favorite Restaurant, wish I could bring it back to the States.
We ate there twice, on the way to Orkney and the way back. Amazing Food, Fabulous Service and a wonderful-​old world location. We ate in the Clock room. It was going back in time… no pun intended. Stone walls with artwork. As it turns out the Manager, Paul, has a few of his photographs in the restaurant. We were seated quickly, offered wine, water and fresh bread. Best bread! One was Rosemary, the other was herbs/​seeds. My first trip to the Grain Store was for dinner with a party of four. On the return my father and I had lunch. Then walked over to the Castle to be tourists. My starter was the fresh oysters. Chilled and tasty. My father had the Gazpacho with basil oil. He almost licked the glass jar it was served in. For lunch I had a Wild mushroom Risotto and Dad enjoyed the Coley fish dish. YUM! Dessert too. I was not in the mood for sweet as I was having a crisp white wine. Paul asked the Chef to prepare a cheese plate. Perfect! Dad had the Panna Cotta and again I had to stop him from licking the plate. LOL. Can’t wait for my next trip to Edinburgh. Love the Grain Store.

We ate here for lunch on our first day in Edinburgh & what a way to kick things off! It is intimate, cozy & oddly arranged (you must climb stairs & enter through a door that puts you right into the dining room!) The staff was lovely, the food was beautifully presented, inventive & delicious! Pricing was on point for the quality. Highly recommend this little jewel! My fish was out of this world delicious!

Simply wonderful ambiance and delicious food with very attentive servers! Would highly recommend it to anyone!!!

Really impressive place — not that my sights were not set high but I was thinking it would be a very good meal and not something wherein I would walk away saying things like «that was the best venison I’ve ever eaten» (side note — I’ve eaten a lot of venison).
They were creative with the meals but not out of control or going too far off the reservation. I had the lobster tagliatelle to start which was a deal and a half given that the pasta was home made and the quality of the lobster and caviar was so high. My wife had a starter I can’t remember followed by the pork and I the venison. All of it just crushed expectations.
Further the servers were quite on top of things and we found them quite stellar given that it seemed as though only two people were doing all the order taking, plates clearing and serving. They outdid themselves.
The one semi-​non-​highlight was the apple tart tatin. It was good but just not super ‘knock your socks off’ good and we waited 15 mins for it which kind of killed the thunder. But still a 5 star place.
Can’t highly recommend enough.

We ate at this fantastic little restaurant for lunch– 3 courses for 15 pounds. Everything was very well done. –1 only because the service was subpar; the waitress was excellent but they were understaffed.

Excellent food, attentive staff, quality all around. Highly recommended.

The Grain Store has to be one of my all time favourite Edinburgh restaurants. Sometimes I wish I could pick it up and move it to Glasgow so I could go more often!
I discovered this little gem nestled on Victoria Street a few years ago when I went for dinner with my family. At this point I was still a bit of a fussy eater, so I ordered the chicken dish and instantly regretted it when I saw the beautiful plates being placed around me. I tried venison for the first time that night, and it is now one of my favourite meats because of the beautiful plate of venison my mum ordered. She had to fight to keep her plate most of the evening!
From then on, it became a regular go-​to restaurant when I was through in Edinburgh visiting friends or family, especially given their extremely good value lunch menu. In the evening, most main courses are priced between £18 and £25, which is a lot, so the fact that they offer a lunch menu where you can get three courses for £15 is, to me, insane value for money.
On my most recent visit, I went with my mum and my gran for Mothers Day lunch, where we each had a starter and a main course for £12.50 each. For starter I ordered Stornaway Black Pudding with Apple Purée, which I have had their before, and it was stunning. The black pudding was crumbly, perfectly complimented with the apple. For main I chose the Duck Confit with Haricot Bean Cassoulet. Again, this was fab and really filling. The duck skin was crisp, the meat tender and flavoursome, and the cassoulet really rich and warming. We were also given some lovely freshly baked bread which had a perfectly crunchy crust, with a soft, yummy dough.
The manager of the restaurant is incredibly friendly and loves to check in making sure you have everything you need and that you are enjoying your meal, so the service is always impeccable.
On this occasion, for three people, our bill came to £66 — two courses each and a bottle of red wine. The food is such a high quality and the staff are so friendly and attentive that The Grain Store is always a big hit with me, and I’ll continue raving about it to anyone visiting Edinburgh!

One of our favorite meals during the trip.
Excellent value at lunch… 15 pounds for 3 courses. All 3 courses (particularly the starter and main) were excellent.
I ordered the Black pudding started, and Pork Belly main, and both were delicious. Service was really good as well.
The place was very busy at lunch (mainly with senior citizens that day). However, it did seem like most of the people were locals.
The setting of the restaurant was quite nice as well.
I’d definitely recommend this place to others.

This place is a hidden gem. The most beautiful and magical evening atmosphere with a very Scottish menu and had a fantastic Malbec. Loved every minute and felt like we were dining in a private castle. You do not realize that the place is so beautiful until fully inside.

Cute place in an authentic setting. The restaurant has Scottish charm. The food was clean and hearty. Had a halibut carpaccio which was amazing. The staff was friendly. Met the owner who was just great. Highly recommend.

This was a great spot for lunch! Last time I was in Edinburgh my waitress at another restaurant had recommended this place as one of her favorite places to go as a local for a nice meal. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was just a block away from my hotel.
We did the 2 courses for 12.50 and it was an amazing offer. We had baked oysters to start that were okay. You could still taste the freshness of the oyster, which was nice. I started out with the gazpacho, which was very garlicky but still quite tasty. It was a bit more acidic than I like it, but super fresh and light. I went with the risotto dish while my colleagues went with the trout and the pork belly. Everyone was quite happy! And seriously, for the price it can’t get any better. You could taste the quality and freshness in everything on the plate.
Secondly, you really can’t beat the atmosphere. It was quaint and charming and a great view of the city from the windows.

I have been here three times, and loved it each time.
The best part is, of course, the setting, on my favourite street in Edinburgh,. The interior of the restaurant is stunniing, and extremely romantic. I felt like I was dining in a castle or a manor house.
We ordered a red wine from the Languedoc region in France and it was very good value for money.
My venison was tender, and mild in flavour with a delicious sauce that I wish I could duplicate at home. I am not usually a big fan of puddings but ours were quite tasty and not overly sweet.
My only suggestion is that I wish they offered Sides on the menu so that we could take more advantage of their wonderful produce. Perhaps next time I will ask, why didnt I think of that last eveninig? :-)

Liked the ambience of being in an old building. Restaurant was upstairs overlooking the street below.
Now for the food review… let me start by saying I’m from the US so my preferences and palate are different. The presentation of the food was very nice. The lobster bisque appetizer was good with large pieces of lobster. However when ordering lobster bisque I expected soup not a drizzling of sauce. The entrée was ox tail with monkfish on top. The ox tail was so salty… again perhaps due to a different palate and preferences. Therefore, the rating of three stars. It was expensive. sorry won’t be back.

It has taken me a while to visit The Grain Store but it was well worth the wait. Boasting the best of Scottish produce, they offer a two course lunch for a generous £12.50 (or £15 for three courses).
To start I had oysters which came with shallot vinegar. Not a lot you can say cooking wise but they were plump and fresh as a daisy and the vinegar was a classic partner to them.
Sarah went for Stornaway black pudding with apple, which came well presented and was a good sized starter portion. The variations of apple complimented the wonderful black pudding and we were really enjoying the open brick surroundings.
For main i had duck confit with celeriac and spinach. The skin was nice and crisp while the meat was still moist. It was well seasoned and the celeriac purée was silky and velvety and brought an earthyness to the plate. The spinach was superbly executed and the rich sauce tied this wonderful dish all together perfectly.
I was tempted by the pork belly with chestnuts and kale and was glad Sarah ordered it so i could steal a taste! The pork was expertly cooked and seasoned and kale was soft but still had a slight bite to it. I’d have been equally as happy to devour that as I was with my duck dish.
I really love the interior of the restaurant and the service was excellent throughout.
At £12.50, this is superb value for money and certainly should not be missed.

NOM NOM NOM.
The food was bloody awesome. Venue great.
Just stop reading this and book a table now.

D splashed out for a fancy dinner here for our last celebratory occasion and the food did not disappoint. However the service wasn’t QUITE up to par for the price point. I attribute this to the fact that we were sat in the room furthest away from the kitchen, but still… we were sat at a small table in a somewhat awkward corner under the GIANT grandfather clock (which I LOVE!), tho I was next to the radiator, so not too many complaints there! It was right next to the door which led to the loos, so we got quite a lot of foot traffic during our meal which I didn’t really like.
I was rather gutted they were out of scallops as the scallops with pork belly and apple sauce sounds divine! I settled for a lobster cocktail instead which was delightfully paired with a tomato confit and delectable, although the gem lettuce left a slightly bitter aftertaste. D had foie, duck & figs which was delicious.
We both had the venison and there were two very very clean plates at the end. My chocolate fondant pudding was rich and decadent and mmmmmmmmm… I probably would have licked the plate if there hadn’t been anyone else in the room! D’s bakewell tart wasn’t half bad either. ;)
If it wasn’t for the slightly lacking service (which really wasn’t THAT lacking compared to anywhere else), I’m just being finnicky because when I pay a certain price point for my dinner, I expect a certain level of service and I felt The Grain Store fell down a bit on it. Would I let it stop me visiting again? Certainly not! Especially with a 3 course lunch menu at £15.95 or the likes… Will def have to stop in for lunch one of these days!
Splash out for the food, it’s worth it!

This restaurant we visited several times — we have had good meals here.
very romantic and service is impeccable. Dimly lit is certainly a great feature when going for a romantic meal. The place is quiet, several ‘snuggle corners’ where you feel you are the only ones there. However some unfortunate places spot lights also create uncomfortable glare, as i had sometimes — but they can be adjusted.
The food is seasonal (ish) and you can get proper meals for your money.
The place is beautifully kept /​restored and you certainly not feel like you are dining in the heart of Edinburgh. Recommended!

French food and I have something of a love affair going on. It’s pretty much my perfect style of dining: meat-​a-​plenty, but smaller demure portions of good quality meat like steak mignon, a duck leg confit, or some foie gras. Small but perfectly portioned.
I had been wanting to try The Grain Store for a long while, so when Blythe R of LunchQuest suggested lunch here, who was I to refuse? The lunch menu is really quite good value — £12.50 for two courses, when on the A La Carte a standard main is around £23. Very good value.
My salmon starter was quite divine, and whilst very small it really is a tasting to whet your appetite for the main. And the main of risotto was a very, very generous portion. I could barely finish it, but I did. The risotto was so flavourful, I could smell the white wine coming up through the steam as it was laid in front of me. The wild mushrooms were delightful, and the cheese throughout it wasn’t noticeable by texture but only by taste. I’m assured by Blythe, who is very well versed in the world of risotto, it was indeed an excellent one.
The atmosphere during the day was nice, although the music choice a little odd (Paolo Nutini I think). The service was friendly in a polite mannered way, and not intrusive. I imagine this would be a great place to come for a date in the evening. And it is still my food mission to make it back here at night to try their full menu — I just need to have a reason first.
The Grain Store, j’adore. Mais, oui.

Three stars from me due to value for money, among other things…
A few weeks ago eleven of us went for a three course meal with several bottles of wine, for about £500 at The Shore. A few days later five of us came to the grain store and two courses with one bottle of wine was somewhere in the £300 range.
The restaurant itself is great. It’s a bit funky and has a really great old feel to it. The staff were lovely, though for the quality of the restaurant I felt they should have been trained to a higher level. Our waitress became confused about how and when we wanted our wine, and forgot some of our coffee orders at the end of the meal.
The food itself was gorgeous, though admittedly not as hot as I would have liked it. Serving sizes were small, but every bite was so rich that we were satisfied.
I think that the desserts were really the highlight of the meal, they were rich and luscious (though the ice cream that mine came with had something inedible in it… I think it may have actually been vanilla pod?). I was fortunate enough to try everyone’s desserts which were all of the same quality (minus the pod).
The coffees were fine, though again for the quality of the restaurant they need to learn how to froth milk correctly… my dad’s cappuccino was really just a milky coffee topped with dry foam.
So… looking back I actually had a pretty «meh» experience here. If it had been more reasonably priced I would have overlooked the coffee, food temperature and vanilla pod but when you pay that much you expect to not just get fine food, you expect to have a complete fine dining experience.
I wouldn’t come back. Not due to being put off by the inconsistencies but simply because I feel there are other restaurants in Edinburgh which offer food of similar quality (minus service inconsistencies) for a much more reasonable price.

Also das Restaurant liegt im ersten Stock. Schaut aus wie ein alter Keller. Sehr nett. Man sollte darauf vorbereitet sein, dass die Preise deutlich über den normalen Preisen liegt. Also der billigste Weißwein war 28 Pfund. UNsere Hühnerbrust mit wenig Beilagen 26. Also sind happig.
Essen:
Das Essen ist wirklich absolut TOP. Wir waren 16 Leute und alle waren absolut begeistert vom Essen. Den Preis fast Wert.
Service:
Absolut Top. Immer freundlich (nicht leicht bei 16 Personen) immer hilfsbereit.
Fazit: Man sollte auf jedenfall nicht mit dem riesen Hunger dort ankommen. Aber sonst auf jedenfall Besuch Wert, wenn man für gutes Essen etwas mehr zahlen will.