It’s been a good few years since we last visited Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, so it’s nice to be back. We’re staying at the very central and slightly plush Balmoral hotel, which is right beside the main railway station bang in the centre and a short walk to Edinburgh Castle, which is handy. Interesting to note though, during our visit, the biggest rail strike in about 30 years is happening in the UK and this may jeopardise our plans……
Unfortunately our flight out of Dublin was delayed by an hour and a half but nonetheless we arrived into a busy Edinburgh airport just after 3:00pm. We grabbed the tram which goes right into the city centre and has a stop just a short walk to our hotel. We found it strange that there were no lunch options available at our hotel when we checked in. That aside, we made our way to our room, which was smaller than expected but it was clean and tidy despite been a tad dated looking.
At this point we really just wanted a light snack as we had a dinner booking at the hotel for 8:00pm and it was now getting on towards 4:00pm. We ventured out and spotted a cafe of sorts called Noon which was busy and pretty much right across from our hotel. We popped in, ordered 2 coffees and two scones. Just like at home, inflation has taken its grip on the UK and our two scones (worst scones ever) along with desperate coffee came to a whopping £15 about €18 – crazy.
Once done, we wandered around the shops for a bit and popped into the National Gallery for a look, there were some nice pieces of Scottish artworks on display. After we headed back to the hotel to relax a little before dinner.
Normally we’d venture out for a bite to eat but the hotel seemed to have a good rep for its food including a Michelin star restaurant on site (which was closed during our stay) so we had booked dinner in its main restaurant. We grabbed a pre-dinner drink at the bar before making our way to our table. The menu read well and our waiter was very friendly. To start I went with the pork belly and scallops which came with caramelised cauliflower and C went all traditional and ordered the haggis, neeps and tatties which came with a whiskey sauce. My dish was tasty but nothing special but C’s was very nice and nicely presented for what is essentially meat and two veg.
For our mains, we both ordered steaks, fillet for C and ribeye for myself. Despite both steaks being under seasoned and not having that nice char you get from a well cooked steak, they were not too bad. My fries were really nice and our sides of tenderstem broccoli with garlic butter and the mac ‘n’ cheese were decent. We left full and called it a night.
The next day, the plan was to venture out, grab breakfast and hit the famous Edinburgh castle. We went to a place called The Pantry for breakfast which was about a 15 min walk from our hotel. The place is quite trendy and has a good selection of offerings on the menu with brunch being the main offering. C ordered the whipped feta with mushrooms and I opted for the full Scottish which was like a full Irish but came with haggis. C’s dish was nice but very cheesy, mine was perfectly fine, nothing special but designed to fill you up – which it did. We washed it down with a tea, coffee and some orange juice.
After our brekkie we headed towards the castle – which was really busy. We had not pre-booked tickets but had the option to wait in line to get in which could take up to an hour or more. We quickly went online and booked two tickets for a 2:00pm entrance slot. We had about three hours to kill so we wandered around the shops and walked most of the royal mile. We grabbed a coffee here and there and had a look around a modern art museum. At our allocated time we headed back towards the castle smiling as we walked passed literally 100 plus people waiting in line to get in.
The castle is the number one must see attraction in not just Edinburgh but pretty much the entire country. It’s an imposing stronghold build atop a large rocky mound bang in the centre of the city. There’s plenty to see while visiting, the Scottish Crown Jewels, the great hall, the prison and memorials to the fallen. There’s also plenty of history dating back several hundred years. Add to that, it offers fantastic views out over the entire city.
After our visit, we set about grabbing a late lunch. We went with a place called Makars Gourmet Mash-bar which was only a five minute walk from the castle. As the name suggests – it’s all about the mash. We rarely go for a hot meal for lunch but given how late it was and with heading to the concert later it made sense. Here’s the thing though, it’s very difficult to keep mashed potatoes warm so we were interested to see how they tasted. The menu looked good with several options available plus the star of the show mashed potatoes, came with a variety of fillings plus the young staff were very friendly and enthusiastic. C went with the gammon and black pudding mash I went with the lamb shank with bacon and spring onion mash (colcannon at home and rumble-de-thumps in Scotland). Mine also came with a rosemary and red wine gravy. My lamb shank was fall off the bone and reasonably tasty the gammon had a nice sweet glaze which was tasty. The mash however, while not the best, it was not too bad, the fillings brought nothing to the over-all flavour and they lacked seasoning add to that what ever they are using to, a, er ‘mash’ the mash – it’s not butter. That aside though if needs must, it’s a safe bet and it suited us at the time.
Once full, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the gig. We hopped on the tram which stops at Murrayfield stadium where the gig was on. We made our way to our seats as the support act were playing and at about 8:15pm, the band took to the stage for a fantastic performance.
Afterwards, we hopped back on the tram to bring us back to the centre and I have to say it was really well organised getting everyone onto the trams in an orderly manner. Once back at the hotel we had a drink at the bar before calling it a night. The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel which was nice – they had a nice buffet section as well as table service. Eggs benny for me and C went with the corned beef hash.
After we went back to our room, packed up and checked out. However this is just the first leg of this trip, the next part takes place in London and thankfully our train is going ahead. As a backup, we actually had booked flights that would have us flying back home and then back to London. You can read all about the London part by jumping in here.
We enjoyed being back in Edinburgh, it has plenty to see and do for a few days and we look forward to a return visit as we are planning a Scottish road trip at a later date. The Balmoral hotel was perfectly fine, but we felt it did not really hit the mark for a five star hotel, given the price, we’ll stay elsewhere next time.
Until next time,
Bye for now,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 