The Witchery

Food	Service	Atmosphere	Value
1.67	3	5.67	1.67

This restaurant is an enchanting place was originally built in 1595 for an Edinburgh merchant. Started by James Thomson, this restaurant offers atmosphere and great food. Celebrities such as Ewan MacGregor, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Jack Nicholson and others have been known to dine at Thomson’s restaurant. Examples of food include Chargrilled Aberdeen Angus fillet with celeriac, tomato and seared foie gras, Baked Atlantic Cod and more. It’s sure to be a memorable dining experience.

March 2005

We were very disappointed. The tables were so close together we couldn't move. Service was very mediocre and extremely slow. The food was very poor and unappetising.
A big let down as we were led to believe it was one of the best restuarants in Edinburgh.

Friday, June 25, 2010

What an awful disapointment. Do not assume that the reason you must book in advance reflects the demand for the quality of the experience. The more likely reason is because the restaurant is quite small seating wise and was full of poor unsuspecting tourists, I am fairly local and was on my first visit to the Witchery, it will also be my last!
As it would appear as lot of their customers comes from tourism the chef clearly doesn't need to survive on repeat custom, and it shows in the food.
I had the 2 course Table'd'Ore menu with a starter of Eggs Florentine, the hollandaise sauce in my opinion was too vinegary and the muffin was hard and heavy, you really couldn't taste anything but vinegar. My main was the sausages and corn fritter, this time I was struggling to taste anything flavorsome at all!
My friend had just a main of three little pigs, it looked very unattractive and tasted as it looked I'm afraid.
I have eaten in a few upmarket restaurants in my time but generally eat average fair, well this didn't even meet the average chain standard for us. Fortunately our spend wasn't too serious but still a waste of money. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone.
The only redeeming features were nicely laid tables and reasonably attentive waiters (but even they were let down by an aloof, sarcastic floor Manager)

A - Saturday, May 01, 2010

awful food and very overpriced! place is lovely but food is tasteless and very overpriced! service also as bad as the food. when i complained the deputy manager told us that we should of eaten at the balmoral!!!! never again!

claire - Sunday, January 24, 2010

I never go to the witchery on my own but I am invited about once a year. I went just last month and the service was appauling! The waiters seem like someone that would be working at an american chain, the sort that come to your table and say "hello, my name is stephanie and I will be your server tonight". I had not noticed this in the past, must be cutting costs during the hard times. I was sitting close to the loo which is RIGHT in the dining area with the word "TOILETS" written on the door in plain sight of all the diners. Very classy. But apparently I was in very close to the stairs and in the way of the waiters who CONSTANTLY bumped into my chair and kept apologizing all night. Very unprofessional. When the waiter asked me how my dish was the only thing that come to mind was that the side dish, the veggies, were very nice with a nice butter and some seasoning and they were not over cooked which is typical of british veg. The waiter then asked how my fish was. I had not even thought about the fish when he first asked how my food was because it was so average and nothing special at all, my veg was more memorable. He seemed annoyed which just confirms my initial suspicion that the wait staff is very unprofessional and belong in TGI fridays more than a "fine dining" establishment. I saw that the witchery just won some award, cant remember the name, and its shocking! Yes, it is a beautiful place but what does that matter if the food is unmemorable and the wait staff just a joke? Says a lot about what people expect in this country when it comes to going out for a nice meal......

chelfita - Saturday, July 11, 2009

My partner and I attended the Witchery on Friday the 26th June, Quite simply fantastic !!!! the food was superb as were all the staff, a complete joy. The wine list was fantastic. Highly recommend frequenting this establishment if you are planning to eat out in Edinburgh. Just fantastic !!!

Andrew Gold - Monday, June 29, 2009

I wish I had read the reviews here to know how horrid the Witchery can be. It was our worst experience in 20 years of fine dining: stale bread, 1 hr wait for starters, cold starter, very small portions (and we like small, just not very small), very thin steak, frites undercooked, sides came 15 minutes after main and without seasoning or butter, waited 25 minutes for cheese before deciding to leave. Amazingly poor and disappointing.But it was a beautiful room and setting!

Will - Friday, November 28, 2008

The witchery appears to be living on its reputation, not by making any current effort. After a magical meal there some years ago, I was appalled by my recent visit (July 2008). The food was ok, but at the prices charged represented very poor value for money. The waiters additionally could not answer basic questipns about the provenance of the food. The tables were so close together I was practically hitting elbows with the diner on the next table. Worst of all, however, they brought a bottle of wine that was 3 times the price of the one we ordered, and when we declined to pay the difference in price, they threatened to call the police!

JBCheese - Wednesday, October 08, 2008

It is interesting to read the many reviews of disappointed customers to this once high rated establishment. I recently had the experience of taking a corporate party to dine at the Witchery on the opening night of the tattoo. I made the reservation for the table of 8 back in December and was hugely disappointed by the service and experience that was provided by the Witchery. On arrival we were seated in the Secret Garden...the bit added to the side of the original restaurant which has none of the ambience of the supposedly acclaimed Witchery. The service received on the evening was arrogant, complacent and above all atrocious considering the table booking error someone had made but would not take responsibility for. The food arrived and was placed without a smile, we had to ask waiters for more drinks to be served and one cup of coffee came out stone cold. The biggest shock was upon complaining to the owner of the Witchery I waited 6 weeks for a response to which the overall concensus was he was glad I had brought the matter to his attention. Needless to say I won't be dining within this or any other of his so called acclaimed establishments.

Miss Allan - Tuesday, September 23, 2008

After reading very mixed reviews on this restaurant, we decided to put it to the test ourselves, even though we had booked The Witchery restaurant instead of the Sercet Garden the staff said they would try to re-arrange the booking and true to their word we were allocated a lovely table in the Secret Garden area.
Top marks to all staff, the service was first class.
Complimentary bread was not as fresh as it should be, but still palatable, starters very good, scallops fresh although a small portion, prefer my scallops whole not sliced and at £14.95 definately overpriced, crab starter again overpriced but very delicious. We ordered pan roasted cod & Border Lamb as our mains, both beautifully cooked, with sides of new potatoes, sugar snap peas & portobello mushrooms.
Can't comment on the puddings as we were too full to try any.
Fantastic setting, which probably reflects the prices, good food and excellent service. We would recommend this restaurant and look forward to returning

B Russell - Sunday, September 07, 2008

I totally agree. Me and my husband went there for our wedding anniversary and were sorely disappointed. The girl who took our coats was rude and disinterested.
My kir had barely a drop of cassis in it and was horrid. The maitre d' looked as though he was far too important to bother with his customers.
The food was unimaginative and did not correspond with what was on the menu.
I ordered cannelloni and got tomato sauce and aubergines, not a piece of pasta in sight. Stupidly we didn't complain. I think we were too stunned to say anything. We didn't leave a tip and we certainly won't be going back

Mina Cambridge - Sunday, September 07, 2008