Ondine (Old Town)

• You may be lucky enough to have booked ahead to get a good table next to the window with a gorgeous view of Edinburgh
• Service here was really smart
• Oysters is a must try and the different varieties are explained to you with their farming locations and texture
• I had the pre theatre menu with oysters to start it was fantastic to taste the difference between the oysters from Cornwall
• Two could share it since it was stunning and so huge
• I had the whole roasted plaice which was absolutely lovely although more modest of a dish
• Little shortbreads were all lovely and beautifully presented
• The seafood was all superb
• We received a nice amuse buche and prosecco from the chef which was lovely and the server was really nice and attentive at the beginning of the meal
• The restaurant is hidden away in the building of the G&
• V Hotel on George IV bridge with a huge central oyster bar and really stylish decor
• We had the seafood platter which was enormous and I couldn't finish it lobster
• The other dishes we tried included tempura Oysters a great intro to oysters for first timers these are fried in a light batter and served with an Asian style dipping sauce
• Fish soup was the best I have tried out side of France and better than a few in France too
• Grilled Scottish langostines were sublime and really good value as there were at least ten huge langostines on my companions plate
• Having heard that their treacle tart was the best we had to order that and the Pot au Chocolate which for me was the best chocolate dessert I have tried in an age
• The food is more expensive than usual but it is so fantastically simple it shows off the excellent quality of the seafood to a T
• Definitely one of the best restaurants in this fair town
• Ondine restaurant has added a trick with their new bar menu
• The bar menu is specially devised by chef Roy Brett to be lighter
• (Which means that I have to go back because there are dishes on both the main and bar menus with my name on them
• The Crustacean Bar is a nice place to hang out and the new menu aims to entice people in for a snack and a drink
• S a lot of activity in the bar so the atmosphere there is automatically dynamic and buzzy
• The menu tasting was on a Wednesday and the restaurant was quite busy
• Eating heartily and sipping the Pol Roger champagne with cheerful gusto
• The food at the bar is excellent and ranges from the snacky &ndash
• It is wild so it is sustainable too
• The dessert menu looks good too but I was too full for treacle tart
• The wackiest thing on the menu is a side of oyster rarebit
• Oysters are too lovely to be mixed with mustard and cheese and grilled
• The oyster rarebit has bite but it treats the oysters with respect and doesn&rsquo
• There was cheese but there was also a good mouthful of that lovely sea flavour that oysters provide
• It is good to know that there are some decent options out there
• S a really good restaurant with an interesting and welcoming bar
• Easily one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh
• They never fail to deliver amazing food along with excellent service
• Ondine is situated on George IV Bridge but could easily be missed as it is a first floor restaurant and only has a small doorway at ground level
• Followed by the grilled lemon sole and finished with the apple and toffee crumble tart
• The portion was a decent size
• I think I would have liked my egg a little larger but that is personal preference
• There was plenty of zing inside the tartare and it was seasoned perfectly
• Looked greasy on first inspection but was actually surprisingly crisp
• On the other side of the table she was not only saying this was the best fish soup she had ever had but the best soup she had tasted full stop
• There were decent sized croutons served separately with cheese and rouille
• The fish itself was big and meaty
• It has a good crust from grilling and was packed with flavour
• So much so that the dish became too salty for me to cope with and I couldn&rsquo
• The battered haddock was a large size but was spoilt a bit by being placed directly onto the pea puree
• The tart was nice and the apple had not turned into mush and was still identifiable
• It came with a small jug of custard which I thought was a bit too thin for such a robust pudding but was nice nevertheless
• The posset was tasty and tangy with little meringues dotted on top
• The lemon curd was sharp and tangy
• Even the fluffy butter with warm bread
• So let's start with my favourite bits
• My cousin had the steak tartare (we think it was way too heavy handed with the capers
• They were actually hosting a Duck and Waffle brunch with Dan Doherty the following day
• Roast hake with an amazing wild garlic mash &
• Squid starters nice and crispy with chilli for both of us
• Mains were hake and sole with brown shrimps

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