The Living Room

Average food. A place to go to if you’re bored on a weekday and want to eat out with a group of friends. There’s loads of other places more worth it Edinburgh though.

The fantastic waiter couldn’t mask the very bland food.
I should’ve seen the warning signs when it had only four covers on Thursday lunch… I won’t be returning.

The waiting room is very nice and fancy
The food is really nice and filling although it is very pricey.

Firstly, if I could give this place zero stars I would. The reason for the single star is that I have to leave one in order to review. The place was packed out-​with tables and about 3 other people, my husband and I. We were hungry so he ordered a Thai Green Curry, and I ordered gnocchi with a blue cheese sauce. His curry came out piping hot (deserving of the one star!) and had several pieces of chicken-​and about 50 pieces of thumb sized chunks of aubergine. I have pics! I spoke to the maître’d and said that there seems to be an awful lot aubergine in this and she responded with, «there’s also some peppers, no?» Er?
My gnocchi faired a wee bit better-​it was edible with its sauce and if you avoided the MASSIVE chunks of blue cheese plonked atop the dish.
Shocking! Avoid. At. All. Costs. Seriously it’s not the cheapest place either!

Cocktails £3.50 on Tue and Fridays all day!
They might not be the best cocktails, but at least they are cheap and if you want a good night out, you can start there. We tried the Apple Mojito, Tom Collins, Cosmopolitan and Amaretto Apple and Honey sour (my favourite). There are lots more choices.
The interior is very trendy and classy. There are high tables with couches and you can also sit at the bar. Good to mention that the bar staff is quite fast when preparing cocktails on a busy night. There is plenty of space to even dare a boogy. In a corner, tucked away, but still visible to the human eye you will see a lovely piano and I am sure it is used on a frequent basis.
At one point during the night the music switched from live to a DJ and you could order your «favourite» songs (Beware: limited selection).
The clientele seems sophisticated and you would think so considering the financial area nearby (this on a FRI night). I would assume that on a Saturday night the place is filled by passing by tourists or any kind of «party», starting the night in style.
In the back there is a restaurant, but as I have not eaten there yet I cannot really give any points for the food nor the restaurant.

The food was good, but the service was very much lacking– Very impersonal.
With higher (ish) prices, I’d expect more from The Living Room. We started with bread nibbles which were dry, followed by the scallop sampler which was ok, with the gnocchi and chicken for dinner which were both good– however with small serving sizes, even after dessert by hubs left feeling hungry.
While this is likely a safe bet for a decent meal, there are many better options in the area and we likely won’t be back.

The service, while slow at some moments (not their fault, I was there with a very large birthday dinner party), was overall excellent. Personality, helpful, etc. The food however was… eh. My favorite part was stealing some chips from my friends steak side. my starter (the scallop taster) and my main (seafood linguine) was fine, but not really enthralling. I don’t mean to offend, but I’ve had more exciting ready meals from Waitrose. And at easily less than a third of the price. The physical space was great, the service was great, but the food left me longing.

Ive enjoyed the Living Room a number of times with friends. Its a very easy restaurant. Ive given it a 5 out of 5 as of recently due to the amazing offers the restaurant has been giving out. The last 2 – 3 times we’ve dined here we’ve had 50% off for amazing food and spectacular service! Thanks Living Room Team!

Came here for pre-​dinner drinks on Friday and noticed they had chocolate cocktails on their menu for Easter. Yum. Will definitely be back to try them again.

I used to be a regular visitor to The Living Room, when I used to work in the neighbourhood, but it had been a while since my last visit. I found it much as I’d left it, with the dining room smart, and the service rather good. However, the food was a little underwhelming, with the soup none too impressive. The pork and chorizo burger was good though, so it’s the kind of place where careful ordering may result in a decent experience.
Overall, we said: «it was a bit of a mixed bag from The Living Room. The service was really good, the place is smart and airy, and the dishes were presented in a range of quite stylish ways, but the food didn’t scintillate. My burger aside, what thee dishes had in common was that they were light on flavour. This was a shame, as with a little greater attention to seasoning and spicing, The Living Room could be a solidly pleasing place, with a broad appeal.»

This is the second time I have been to the living room and the first time for dinner. The last time was 5star + this time the pudding dragged it up to a three star rating. I wish this place was consistent and not hit or miss!
I am a privilege card holder so got the email advising of the January offer of 50% off food so I booked on line. We had a booth which was nice. The décor is starting to feel a little worn at the edges with studs missing from the upholstery and the plastic flowers seeing better days. there was no music on so little atmosphere. The ladies bathroom had 3 out of 5 sinks out of order and again feeling a little unloved.
The waiter was friendly and helpful. I opted for the tofu & coconut laska, which is something I have never had. it was ok but I wouldn’t order it again. too spicy and hardly any tofu.
My husband had the club sandwich which was nice but said that the chips were like they had been sitting for a while then reheated in the fryer.
Thankfully the sharing platter pudding saved the day, delicious!!! Eton mess, apple tart, crème brullee, chocolate torte and a scoop of ice cream. The pudding saved the night for me after a ho hum main. brilliant pudding.
We had a cute little half pint of Moretti beer & it was in the proper Moretti goblets which was a nice touch.
Our bill was wrong but the waiter quickly sorted it for us. Glad I tried here for food, pity it wasn’t as good as the last time here making cocktails. unsure if I would be back for food.

Wow what a night!!!
Myself and three friends (One being Lindsay O — fellow Unilocaler) attended The ‘Taste
Of Chrismas Event’ last night held at The Living Room on George Street.
It was simply fantastic. We arrived early before the event commenced and were given a
an envelope of christmas vouchers, and 2 free raffle tickets that were to be drawn later
that evening. On entering the event which was on the opposite side of the bar, we were
given a glass Prosecco, whist we mulled around looking at the cupcakes, which we got
some free tasters of ! After enjoying our Prosecco, we then enjoyed a cocktail masterclass
behnd the bar and we made our own cocktails, and drank them after. They were tasty!
We then enjoyed glasses of wine and our partners had Cobra.
They then opened a yummy yummy buffet with a selection of the food they will have forr
christmas lunch/​dinner. Cute Canapes and scrumptious deserts & their was penty!!! Their certainly
was not a fight for food! We went at 6pm and stayed till just after 9pm — (the event finished at 8pm but it was so good we forgot the time!
The whole evening & event was great and it was all absolutley free !!!
It was a Unilocalers dream!

Love going to the living room. Different atmosphere between lunch and dinner. At lunchtime you can hear yourself speak!
Wide range of food and often 2 for 1 main course offers.
It doesn’t matter what kind of food you are looking for there is a good chance you will find it there. Great sharing platters, very tasty fish and chips and steak pie. Yummy puddings — if you have space. We sometimes do a sharing platter then move on to pudding because if we each have a main we are defeated before dessert.

Fantastic service as you walk through the door! Staff were genuine and friendly.
They are quick to get you comfy at your table with an array of drinks to offer. There’s good deals on all the time and the food! Oh the food, it was fantastic!
I had The beer batter tiger prawns to start, couldn’t get enough of them, and for main I had The trio of pork. Pancetta Wraped pork fillet, crispy pork fillet and black pudding with a sage and garlic mash and apple sauce.
Would recommend to anyone, especially if you like the sound of a live piano playing!

I admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect when a friend suggested meeting here for lunch. Having read previous Unilocal reviews it appeared to be hit or miss. And by its location alone I was apprehensive that ‘substance’ may be overlooked for ‘style’ (don’t judge, we all make pre-​informed decisions like these.)
Upon entering I was quite pleased with what a chilled out but stylish place it was. I’ve been here before for drinks in the evening, and the place makes the transition from lunch time spot to evening drinks quite well. There’s also a whole restaurant section out the back which keeps the majority of dining away from the drinking.
The menu is quite extensive and creative for a stylish bar. I opted for the scallop and chorizo starter, with a side of balsamic vegetables and my friend the beef and ginger salad. Despite that it was a starter, three of the largest, juiciest scallops I’ve seen emerged, with proper big chunks of chorizo. Again, I was slightly sceptically expecting some lifeless, generic uninspired dish but I was impressed!
And it was delicious. The veg especially (although a little oily). And one of my scallops was slightly, slightly less cooked inside. But it was ok. The salad looked great too.
The staff were attentive and friendly. The food was delicious, although not cheap for a mid-​week lunch. It’s perhaps a perfect spot for ladies who lunch mid-​week or a nice lazy weekend brunch, lunch and booze spot.
Patchy reviews and experience are a shame, as it was quite a delightful wee lunch that I had here.

Reading the other reviews I think there is a common theme.
this place tries to be top end but just kind of well isn’t, some of the dishes are very good, and the wine selection is not bad but its not in the same league as some of the places its trying to match up to.
the best example of this i think was when dining there with my ex I ordered the seared tuna with aioli and make no mistake it was a good dish, served with young asparagus I was a happy Jd but when ordering the waitress turned and said to me «ye kaen its raw in the middle like» now being from Kirkcaldy im quite used to this sort of answer. however for George st, for the price and for what they try to be i just think they dont quite hit the mark.
I think the menu could also use a revamp and might benefit from a more seasonal approach if they want to match their prices.

I’ll give this place a solid «A-​OK» despite the fact that it really isn’t the kind of place which I normally choose to frequent.
It has a crisp yet comfortable interior and makes some very tasty drinks. Of the George Street drink related offerings, The Living Room is up near the top for me.
That being said, I cannot forget the time I had a bottle of white wine with friends and the waiter whisked it away without checking if there was wine left in the bottle. We were so wrapped up in a conversation and he was so quick that we didn’t manage to catch him but flagged him up and informed him that we had about ¼ of a bottle left. He actually argued with us, saying that he up-​ended the bottle and there was certainly nothing left in it. It was the oddest experience, We finally argued our way into getting some replacement wine, but nowhere along the line did anyone apologise to us.
The whole thing was quite bizarre and though I wouldn’t colour the whole bar on that one experience, I would say that if you are drinking wine in a group keep an eye out that they don’t snag your bottle!

I ended up back in The Living Room for a night of debauchery which should never be spoken of again.
I have to say, me and my friends got rowdy. Like, Lanarkshire rowdy, which doesn’t really fit in with the posh exterior in here. You can take the girl out of Motherwell…
Safe to say we were literally stared out of the place, although like I said in my last review, the old men were super excited to see such drunk girls although my friend doesn’t mince her words so they took the hint pretty sharpish.
We had a really fun night though, so I am upping this place one star, whether it wants us back or not!

Maybe I’m just a little bit miserly recently, and not really in sync with inflation and the cost of life and such like, but I do find a meal plus a few glasses of wine in here fairly pricey. However, if you come to George Street to drink or dine, you have to encompass and in some ways embrace the fact that you’ll be paying more than you would in other areas of the city, and if the well-​to-​do sophistication (mostly) of George Street is what you’re looking for, then you probably won’t mind spending a wee bit more money to have an upmarket culinary experience.
On the plus side, the food here is very decent, and the portions are generous too, so you aren’t paying over the odds for tiny food, and you will feel like you’ve actually eaten. The roasted shoulder of lamb and the sea bass dish have both been enjoyed by me in the past, and the menu is quite extensive, with a range of classic, fairly traditional options. The bar section next to the restaurant is popular all week, and a pretty pleasant choice of place to drink in, and there’s sometimes a live piano accompaniment to all the drinking merriment.

Are you trying to pull a rugby player? This place is packed full of them.
I’ve been here a few times because I got a discount card in a goodie bag once which entitled me to 20% off the already over-​priced food. However, if you’re going to create a card to bring in custom don’t let you staff look down their noses as those who use it. It can’t be both a fancy place for the elite, and a place that that does a loyalty card. It just works out at everyone being annoyed.
It’s reputation of catering for old, rich men and young gold-​diggers really makes it a bit of a meat market. You’ll notice an astonishing amount of people who have packed their noses full of expensive powder, (why bother going out to DINNER?!)
The Living Room is an unoriginal, unimaginative choice.