The Outsider

I have to echo the sentiments of other reviewers; The Outsider is marvellous.
We didn’t plan to go for a fancy lunch, rather just something casual and quick. But The Outsider looked too good to resist with its super cool, artsy interior and packed out restaurant. It also has such a reasonably priced lunch menu. We were welcomed warmly by the manager, which seems to be procedure as, whilst there were other waiters free, the manager made it his point to come and greet us. — A nice touch! Service was great from start to finish.
I had the venison with garlicky fries which made for such a satisfying combination. Those garlicky fries are a dream, they really are; so full of flavour and a mighty generous portion. The quality of meat was high and the venison dressing was a tangy, delicious one. The meat came on a thick crispy baguette and also with a side salad. — This was a really impressive and cheap lunch that had me excited to see just what else The Outsider has up its sleeve!
I think that my next visit will be for a special occasion and I’ve no doubts that they’ll impress.

It’s hard finding tasty and good value for money in Edinburgh when it comes to the food scene cause there’s so many great restaurants in this city, but I have to admit this is one of them. In what ever city I live in, I always have at least one go to restaurant that I know won’t fail me… in terms of flavour, cost, service, ambience, and most importantly filling me up.
This trendy restaurant with one of the best views of Edinburgh castle fit that bill and have yet to disappoint me (hopefully it will never, fingers cross). I tried the majority of their main meat dishes in my past visit so I decided to explore their fish mains. I’ve always wanted to try their fish stew which was filled with hake, clams, mussels, shrimp, and salmon. On a cold windy night, this dish certainly was the perfect choice so I selected it as my main. I skipped the first course cause I wanted to save room for dessert.
The dish came out on a wooden cutting board with salad and bread on the side. This bowl of fish stew was massive! The smell of the broth had remnants of the sea and the vision of the dish in a darkly lit room by the candlelight deserved an applause. The stew was piping hot and the flavours was a well blended symphony of the fish and shellfish. There was a healthy serving of fish (hake and salmon) as well as the clams. Two slight negatives about this dish though:
#1. It only had 1 shrimp
#2. While the flavour of the broth was amazing, I thought it needed a dash of salt to really round out the flavour of the dish. If it wasn’t for those two things, I would say this was a home run kind of dish! Almost forgot to mention, but this dish was around £16!
For the dessert, I ordered chocolate and espresso pave with molasses ice cream. This was pure orgasm in my mouth. The ganache made from the chocolate and espresso was a perfect match and the espresso elevated the flavour of the chocolate. The ice cream complimented the richness and slight bitterness of the chocolate and espresso pave while the crunchy bits and shavings of chocolate introduced texture. Absolutely perfect dessert if you’re a chocoholic and definitely worth the £5.40!
The servers were great and attentive. They knew the dishes since I asked what some were and they came by our table just at the right moments to make sure we were doing ok. These servers motivate me to give them tip, no need to ask me twice!
The ambience in this place is awesome. I like the trendiness of the décor, the big windows, and candlelit tables.
The one thing I like about this place is I can depend on it and I know it’ll deliver, just like a good friend. The only thing I would want them to do is change their menu maybe at least every 6 months, because while what they are making is great… I’m sure they would be an even more of an amazing restaurant if they took risks and introduced new dishes on a regular basis.

The outside is a great place to grab a delicious meal and an amazing view of the castle. The service is great and very friendly staff. We got the CHL (or whatever they are called) for an app which was delicious! My boyfriend got the steak, which he said was just OK. I got the muscles that where in this creamy bacon sauce which was very very good! We enjoyed ourselves!

A very busy place. Reservations a must on a Friday or Saturday evening. Dinner was OK. Arbroath smokie crumble. Good smoky fish in a cheesy sauce but the crumble was more large chunks of toasted oats. The roasted lamb rump was good, but served on a couple of lumps of something that we couldn’t quite figure out, and had to send back.
Great potential.

The Outsider has a great view of the castle as well as the rest of Edinburgh if you can manage to grab a seat near the windows. I came for lunch with a friend and ordered the rabbit pie and burger, respectively. Everything was new to me as it’s my first time in Scotland, but the rabbit pie was very good and made me glad I tried it! My friends burger was also delicious, as was the bread we ordered on the side. The bread was accompanied by a green sauce that I really loved, but they didn’t spill on the ingredients haha. Everything else on the menu and the other plates that fellow diners were having seemed great!

We loved it so much we had lunch here twice in our 3-​day stay!
Try the Rosemary gnocchi, it’s awesome. Their specials are delicious too. They also have great big windows with a view of the castle.
Very good service and overall experience.

What a delightful restaurant in Edinburgh. The food was very inventive. I had the Seafood Stew and my husband had the Sea Bass. Both entrees while having familiar names had inventive flavored we loved it. The high ceilings and Windows, creative lighting all served to enhance our experience. The drinks menu was varied and complete. The clientele ran the gamut of what you might expect in any metropolitan city. All in all a wonderful experience for a visitor. Well worth the price paid.

Love this spot. It is my go-​to when out of town guests are visiting. Dinner will run you about £25−30/pp, but if you are looking for a bargain go for lunch. Lunch tends to be under £10, and always under £15. Really good quality food, attentively prepared, thoughtfully presented, great Castle views, simple-​classic dining atmosphere.

A little loud, but super friendly staff and yummy food, not to mention the great view of the castle. Check it out at sundown.

The Outsider has a really cool, laid back atmosphere that verges on quirky … in a good way.
Great service — the waitress ran through the menu, water was brought automatically to the table and they were flexible when ordering vegan versions of menu offerings and swapping out elements of a main with a side.
The food was delicious (I had the rabbit and tarragon pie from the lunch menu) and almost unbelievably well priced.
A great place for lunch or dinner.

This place was so good, we already want to go back. The restaurant itself has a great vibe and wonderful views. The lunch prices are so reasonable and the quality of food superb. I enjoyed the seared venison salad. The meat was seasoned and prepared perfectly rare. It was served on a bed of greens with roast potato, apples and beets. They left off the blood pudding as it contains gluten.
The wine list is described in a way that makes you want to order a glass of each. Non-​alcoholic fresh presses and cordials are also available. We didn’t have room to indulge in dessert, but the selection sounded amazing.

We were looking for something different from the standard pub fare and the wife looked at the menu from outside and suggested this place. The place is very modern, but with a classy warm look to it. We were sat in a corner window seat which was fine because it drowned out the noise from the rest of the restaurant. Our server was a young lady and she was helpfully in picking our food and making suggestions. The food was very good, the wife ordered the lamb which was almost as amazing as our recent Indian restaurant and I ordered the steak, which also was very good.
Overall the dining experience was very good until the end. We had arrived there about 1.5 hour from them closing. Our waitress had completely disappeared and I had finished all of my water and my drink. Since I noticed we had another 20 minutes I had wanted another glass of wine, but no one wanted to come over. I grab the attention of another waiter cleaning the place up and he came over to assist. Let me tell you there were still about 6 people in the place with no signs of them leaving at all. Being that it was 5 minutes before the closed (I waited 15 minutes to get someone’s attention) I just asked for the check and inquired on our waitress. The waiter said she went home, but told him to take care of us; then why did no one come and check on us.
Overall the food was very good, the prices were good, and the serve right up to the end was above average. I would have rated them 4 stars with no problem had someone been around to assist us at the end of the meal.

We went for lunch, got a cheese platter and entrees and good lord, some of the best food I’ve ever had! The lunch menu is so affordable, maybe more so than a lot of pubs. I had mint&pea gnocchi and it was just to die for. There is a view of the castle, but the whole place looks akin to an art gallery. I’m so in love with the place. And the waiter and manager were both great, charming but cool. It was great for lunch with my family but would also be a great date night spot too.
I’ll probably come here for lunch every time I’m in Edinburgh if I can help it :)

I loved everything about this place — from the thoughtful serving dishes (including the water pitcher), to the interior design, to the view from the windows. All of this helped elevate the food, which would have stood on its own anyway. And, you do not get gouged on the price!
TIP: free wifi if you ask for the password.

If The Outsider was a person, he would be the friend that knows how to dress well, can put on khakis and a blazer and fix their hair all nice, and do a proper night out. That said, you know he’s still too cool to take any of this too seriously, and you love him for it. He’s secretly laughing at the two serious-​looking people in suits sitting over there, even though they just ordered the exact same cheese board that you did, because you guys are going to enjoy it so much more.
PROTIP: There is one perfect, lovely table on the second floor that faces a window which overlooks the castle. Try to reserve this table for the perfect experience. We had the one next to it which was still lovely.
[ vibe ]
Proper enough to justify the menu prices without feeling overbearingly fancy. A suit wouldn’t be out of place, but definitely not required. Romantic. Perfect for a date /​night out, if you don’t want to scare the girl with £40 entrees but want to show that you’re still taking this seriously. Cozy, dark, chic, modern, while still feeling the rustic charm of Edinburgh.
[ food ]
We started with the cheese board and wine. Good mix and serving sizes — brie, comté, and blue, with ample compote, grapes, and crackers. Can’t remember what mains we ordered (there was some kind of sweet potato gnocchi in there). Not striking, but sufficiently delicious. You will walk out full.
[ value ]
Two pound signs, but definitely a three pound sign vibe. Prices are more than reasonable for the service and quality of food that you get.
[ cherry on the cake ]
I accidentally left my phone (with a Mondrian-​themed case) in the bathroom — by the time I realized and called the restaurant it was already late and we had settled into bed, so the cheery gentleman on the phone said to just come back the next morning. «Just say that Paul put it in the small safe, and name the artist who did the painting on the back». Grabbed it the next day and had a nice chat. Lovely people.
[ conclusion ]
A solid choice for a good night out, run by good human beings. Definitely give it a go the next time you feel like wining and dining.

Ate here the day we arrived in Edinburgh and it was a very good meal. Not the best food I’ve ever had but still good. The best part was their crusty artisan bread that came with herb oil for dipping.
Otherwise my friend had the bass with sea spaghetti and I had the pigeon breast.
The atmosphere of this place is the best part. We sat in a cozy couch corner booth and they had melt candles at every table. Wait staff was very attentive.
Great meal.

Wow. Found this in old NY times article about Edinburgh. Chic in old Georgian building. Wine list very thorough with the most interesting wine list description ever. The meal was scrumptious. Maybe try for reservation and get lucky for table overlooking the castle. Ambience perfect.

I can’t believe I had never been to the Outsider after all these years in the Burgh! Anyway, went for dinner with some friends in January. Were given a table with view on the castle (can’t beat that!). The food was excellent (got the venison haunch which was melt-​in-​the-​mouth and a delicious frangipane-​based pudding), the wine was good too. They didn’t rush us when we lingered after dinner to finish our second bottle of wine, but then it was January and the middle of the week so the place wasn’t exactly packed!
The only reason I’m giving 4 stars is because I’ve only had one meal there, and I was with a regular. But a very happy surprise I have to admit! Highly recommended.

One very late dinner ago, we stumbled upon this locale.
My anxiety of not having a proper dine that night, soon enough fluttered away.
The menu while not an extensive one, touched upon a good range of dishes.
We wined and dined on steak & lobsters that night, with a birds eye view of the castle’s luminance. There were just two other tables that Friday night for dinner at 11. Perfectly intimate.
That was our first night out in Edinburgh, a day after moving here. I remembered my lobster was just right, the steak was beautifully under, the wine mingled with every sensory jive. But not the name.
A night out for drinks and a spontaneous call for dinner this past Saturday, had us landing at a place called The Outsider. Good ratings, food pics-​check, okay we’ll give it a go. Soon as we arrived at the entrance, I was ecstatic when I realised where we were. Dinner at 9:30 meant the place was bustling and we had to wait a good deal for our food to arrive. But service was efficient and friendly. Baked sea bream spiced with greens & truffle oil was delicate yet distinctly robust in flavour. The ribeye was just gone too fast, the wine was good enough for another round, and still the same beautiful view remained. ²⁄₂ was a hit. I would happily return for a lovely dinner in candlelit ambiance.
Given the view, quality of food, wine list, service, I give it a solid 4 stars.

Basic interior (on purpose), super atmosphere (a little loud), great food for a very reasonable price.
With a rather large group we got to sit at the attic which is open on one side so we were separate from the rest of the restaurant but did not feel too much apart.
The Scottish beef and lamb are great and the hot plum dessert was excellent.
Great whiskeys ;-)

A l’image de beaucoup de restaurants écossais, The Outsider est un lieu très chaleureux et la cuisine est surprenante et très originale.

Me encantan los restaurantes en los que no sabes muy bien qué vas a comer, porque la carta depende mucho de la temporada y cambia cada día. Al final, de lo que te entran ganas es de ir sin parar, sobre todo si la comida es tan buena como en el Outsider.
Yo comí unos deliciosos gnocchi con parmesano que casi se me saltan las lágrimas, y la verdad es que nos pusieron un vino blanco que estaba espectacular. Me quedé con ganas de probar el postre, pero nos dieron una mesa con una vista preciosa del castillo de Edimburgo que alimentaba cuerpo y mente.
Muy recomendable, y muy popular, así que se recomienda fervientemente reservar. Incluso para las noches de diario.

The Outsider is the perfect place to spend the afternoon «lunching» without the pretention that «lunching» generally entails. You can spend hours picking at delicious, well-​presented, snacky bits or go for a main and let one of the freindly waiting staff offer their knowledge of the perefect beverage to go with your meal. The staff themselves are worth a mention, all of them the epitome of casual gorgeousness– upon walking away from a delightful afternoon doing nothing but nibbling and looking at rooftops and the castle, I couldnt decide which was more delectable– the chocolate brownie i had for desert or the universally yummy waiting staff…