Amber Restaurant at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, City of

Went as part of a work-event at Christmas. The hall was stunning, big fireplaces and stunning chandeliers. The food was very very good and a fair portion. Service was prompt and polite and extra considerate for our colleague who can't have peanuts, reassuring him that they checked his meal each time. Food was served at a lovely temperature. I'd love to visit this place as a typical patron. Also, it's a treat to be so far up the Royal Mile as late as we were. Even though it was Christmas time, the street was fairly quiet and Edinburgh old-town looks lovely (ignoring the road works!)

We had high expectations for this place, but we were absolutely not satisfied. We got the set menu which had an okay starter and dessert. The main however was dry, bland and randomly put together. Service was alright, but when we were done the server asked for tips, which we found strange given the bad meal and average service. Do not recommend if you want to have a nice experience.

Aspirational but missed. The food was pretty but flavourless. The scallop starter had one tiny lonely scallop presented with black pudding, and I like black pudding, but it overwhelmed the scallop. The steelhead trout had been cooked with a heavy hand, and was presented on al dente parsnips in a broth. Didn't work. Left to have dessert elsewhere. The room was half empty on a Saturday evening, and I guess I know why. Service was attentive.

Can't rate this restaurant less than 5 stars! Friendly and quick service. Exceptional local dishes perfectly blended with wiskey. Either hake or deer are highly recommended.

Very wide range of whisky drams at reasonable prices! Good write-ups in the very clear whisky menu so you can construct your own tasting flight. Some (few) were out of stock but service staff did recommend alternatives. Food is quite decent, and pricing is totally fair. It’s actually quite a surprise how good this restaurant and tasting bar is, considering its location in the very center of the tourist area. Strongly recommend if you’re visiting Edinburgh!

Friendly staff and nice food! Very good ambience, too.

Very attentive, knowledgeable staff. Food was amazing. Partner enjoyed the whisky

Loved the food, atmosphere and service

Tasting menu with whisky. Nothing was wrong, I am not a whisky drinker but the food was good enough. They made haggis tasty (deep fried). Salmon was good. Desert was good, can infuse with whisky!

One of the highlights to our visit to Edinburgh, bringing our whisky experience to a very happy end. We truly enjoyed the Scottish Tapas, along with the opportunity to try haggis for the first time, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding was simply out of this world. In addition, the Whisky Tea was very interesting, and of course we had get a taste of Irn Bru! Attentive, friendly service, and a nice, cozy atmosphere, with the weight of history all around. Cheers!

Very good whiskey tasting tour.

If you like whiskey, definitely recommend doing and tasting it

After our Platinum/ Taste Scotland Tour we went to Amber Restaurant, and this is worth your time, delicious dishes and great service. We especially liked the stuffed chicken and vegetarian haggis!

Went as a group of 4 for a special occasion. Delicious food - loved the selection of pots to try a variety of traditional dishes. Generous portions. Lovely decor with candles & whiskey wall & nice music. Service from Phil & Billy was great. Would recommend!

Extremely tasty food, everything is very well seasoned, fresh and delicious. I recommend the beef duckling and the soup of the day. For main I ordered the stake with potato and mushroom puree, extremely well served (I shared the dish with my husband). For dessert we had chocolate pie with whiskey sauce, excellent and balanced. Wide selection of Whiskey. Price ok for the UK.

Good experience of scottish cuisine. Staff was very cool, food very good, and the whisky for ending the meal was perfect.

Excellent food, above and beyound service and amazing whisky tasting experience. We came back everyday we visited Edinburgh.

We didn't realize this was as fancy an establishment as it is. And that is a good thing! We felt comfortable asking questions and receiving suggestions from the amazing staff. The food was spectacular and the guidance on pairing the Scotch with each dish was amazing. The Haggis stuffed Chicken was a dish I never thought of combining, it was perfect!!! Anyone wanting to get the best of Scotch Whisky and Scotch cuisine at the same location should book a time here. It does not disappoint!

Amber Restaurant is truly exceptional! From the moment you step inside, you’re greeted by a stunning decor that perfectly blends elegance with a welcoming vibe. The menu is a culinary masterpiece, showcasing innovative dishes made from the freshest ingredients. Each plate is a work of art, bursting with flavor and creativity. The service is impeccable—knowledgeable staff are always on hand to offer recommendations and ensure your dining experience is top-notch. I was particularly impressed by the signature cocktails and the dessert selection, which is simply out of this world. Amber Restaurant is a must-visit for anyone looking to indulge in a remarkable dining experience!

We had dinner at Amber as the final part of the whiskey tour experience (very nice). Pleasant environment with discreet and friendly staff. The menu in our case included fixed choices but all very good, tasty and carefully presented. The menu varies in different periods so you may find things different from what we had. The price of the complete whiskey tour experience plus dinner is not exactly cheap, around 110 euros per person but overall I recommend you do it.

The muscles were amazing and at a very fair price! Definitely recommend!

There are a huge variety of whiskeys, and you can try them by listening to the bartender's explanation or getting a recommendation.

The food was excellent and service was phenomenal! As someone who is brand new to whisky, I just wanted to try a few different types. The flight was perfect and the gentleman who helped explain the differences between each one was just fantastic! Our lunch was a wonderful experience.

taste of scotland menu was fabulous - and tasty haggis !

Loved this place, cheers to our waiter for his patience

Nice place to have a simple but tasty lunch and then treat yourself to a whiskey flight for tasting. There are different combinations of whiskey tastings, always 4 glasses. Starts at around 21 pounds, you can vary. There are various cards: a whiskey card with many varieties (certainly not all), a "flight" card with various combinations of 4 samples each and of course the menu, which also offers great snacks, snacks and tapas if you only drink whiskey would like to taste. You can buy everything you've tried in the neighboring shop, but it's a little more expensive there than if you buy online from specialized retailers, so it's worth comparing. All in all a great experience right at Edinburgh Castle. The staff is super friendly and competent.

Great food and incredible whiskey selection. Nice staff. Great experience - again at any time.

Had the Taste of Scotland as part of the whisky experience. Staff and atmosphere very friendly. HUGE whisky menu. The food was OK.

I went to this place for a simple whiskey tour experience, but it was very useful because it provided explanations using graphics and allowed me to taste a variety of whiskeys.

Outstanding service - we thought this might be too touristy but there were endless whiskey options with also non-whiskey beverages if members of the group do not prefer whiskey. Highly recommend for the large menu and extremely helpful staff.

At first glance it appears to be a fairly simple restaurant, but the food and service are really great. Recommended

Amber restaurant was a great way to end our whisky experience. We did the tasting menu and the dishes were overall solid, with a few options I didn't love. The restaurant is in a great location as well.

We had the most amazing lunch. I had one of the best salads that I've ever had. Certainly the best salad in Scotland. The pinot grigio was first class. The waiter did a great job of explaining the flight of whiskey. Very good staff and great atmosphere. Highly recommend going to the Amber Restaurant.

An absolute must when you are at the castle

Amazing place - i was in heaven wirh almost 500 whisky s to pick from . Very knowledgeable staff aswell .

Delicious food, service was too slow, portions were a wee bit small but it was worth the money.

Top draw place and know there stuff. Staff 100%

Typical Scottish place, where you can taste local dishes and beers.

You can taste traditional Scottish cuisine & whiskies if you are a beginner or enjoy an upscale dinner with a wide range of choices. Worth going even just for the whisky menu.

Good food, excellent service, I will definitely come back here again

We were recommended to visit Amber by a local, and he was 100% right. I would have thought a restaurant this close to Edinburgh's main tourist attraction would be a tourist trap, but it is absolutely not. We did have to wait since it's not a large space, but we also didn't make a reservation so that's on us. The staff was patient and very helpful. Service was excellent. The food was fantastic and incredibly well priced. Add the whisky flights and it was a great lunch. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Edinburgh. The whisky bar alone is worth a visit, but get the food. Please.

We did not have time for the experience/tour so we just went down to Amber and did a tasting. We chose the Regional Collection and added a glass of Drambuie... for dessert. The server was very informative, explaining each Scotch in turn. He also recommended how we do the tasting (smell, swirl, taste, add a drop of water and taste again, etc). We had tasting sheets with pencils to fill out and compare. We added a very nice cheese platter to cleanse our palate. The restaurant is very relaxed and not loud so conversation was easy. This is a simply marvelous place and amazing location.

Really good food, nice atmosphere and the most friendly staff in town. Thank you guys for the birthday present - we had a really nice evening!

We tried to book a table here due to a friend’s recommendation, but it was fully booked. As its pretty centrally located, we decided to give it a chance anyway and stop by to check. Surprisingly there were several free tables (I guess they limit the numbers for online reservations?) Anyway, I’m so happy we took the chance. The chicken breast with bacon and haddis is AMAZING, especially with the whiskey sauce. It was my first try of haddis, and while I was very skeptical, it didn’t taste weird at all 😂 And this comes from someone who’s very picky with her food. I would definitely recommend this dish and this restaurant.

A little discovery of the manufacturing and origin of different whiskeys. Despite our average level of English, we understood and had a great time. Perhaps a little too expensive for our taste, but the tasting was superb.

Pleasant atmosphere, great service from the staff, good food options, there is a whiskey bar with a wide variety of labels.

One of the best restaurants in Edinburgh. Amazing food and superb service. Also try the whisky tasting experience and explore the store if you have the time. Totally worth it. They don’t have toothpicks though, just like most restaurants in Edinburgh.

Marvelous. A magnificent experience!!

Some of the best food I've had in Europe!

We ate here as part of the Scotch whiskey experience tour, together with the tour and food it was £96 per person, which I think was not a bad price for both experiences. We absolutely loved it. It was a very fun experience, even though I don't like whiskey. I'm very happy we did it. It was interesting and informative. It was cool to look at the collection, and the food was absolutely delicious!

I went to a private event, the children's fruits were so full of lemons that you couldn't eat them, super good steak, bitter taste when we announced that only the first glass of wine is free, the rest has to be paid for. that at 19:50 a surprise would follow, he would take us to see the whiskey collection and tell us to leave everything in the room, and when we returned, all our things were gathered in a corner without a trace of the remaining drinks... effectively thrown out and unannounced ! Lack of professionalism

The hostess guided us to a table. We sat down and waited about 20 minutes. No server... So we Left.

My favorite restaurant in this entire city. Sticky toffee pudding makes me cry

Surprisingly good food!! Very fine and especially great with both fish and vegetarian options

A really fun idea, ruined by lack of staff. Attended whilst a large group party was going on; there were kids running around, drunk chants, and management were only encouraging this. Getting served took a long time, but Jethro was great and very knowledgeable, giving a great flight and walking us through. Trying to attract someone to pay was arduous, as all staff were having to sort out the drunk party

Great place to try many different whiskeys!

I only drank whiskey Because we had a group reservation, we could only drink whiskey at the bar table. The whiskey comes in a rather small amount (25ml), but they have a good lineup.

I have been to Amber multiple times, with my husband and with friends - we have never been disappointed. We love it there and recommend it to anyone who asks about places to eat in Edinburgh! We went recently and booked the Taste of Scotland menu. I informed the staff that I was pregnant so, unfortunately, could not eat haggis. The service we received was fantastic. All staff that we came into contact with (Jethro when booking, Ben, Holly, Rachel and Phoebe on the evening) made sure that I was happy with how my meat was cooked, adapted a dish that would have usually had haggis in it, and swapped the whisky that would come with the dessert to a mocktail. Food was delicious, as always. If you have never been, you must go!

Went to try the massive choice of Whisky x one of the best experiences we have had , all thanks to Ross. What a knowledgeable guy , thank you so much for opening our eyes to other tastes, you appear to have a proper passion for Whisky, this did not feel touristy. We really had a fab time .

Fantastic atmosphere, food was amazing, the perfect end to the whiskey tour. 100% reccomend the platinum tour. Happy catered to my friend who is vegan and his food was also exceptional

Food was fabulous! A big party came in shortly after we were seated, which affected our service. The servers were quite attentive to them, which was expected. Nevertheless, our experience was terrific, and we highly recommend.

I will start off by saying the staff was really attentive and kind. Food was delicious. Their food menu is not that big but I guess that is alright. Loooots of whiskeys to try from and traditional Scottish food. Small remark though - service was a bit slow. The place looks clean. It’s better to have a reservation in advance. Try out their platters!

Great Scottish tapas sampling menu!

Food was delicious, we got the tapas style food after the whisky tasting.

We were just looking to get some light lunch before the trip to Edinburg Castle. We don’t drink but the reviews were good enough for us to try this restaurant. It is located conveniently at the basement of the Scotch whisky experience building, on the Royal Mile. We had the salmon from the Starters and Scottish tapas, both were delicious. The best thing about the tapas was that you got to taste a few types of Scottish tapas and whisky, even though we don’t drink, we could at least taste the wine. We really appreciate the waiter Oliver who patiently explained to us about the menu, and when we asked for water, he would include tap water which is uncommon in a high end restaurant, let alone those in a tourist area. Another thing is that they don’t automatically include tips. Just not a typical restaurant in popular tourist spots that wants to ripoff tourists, they also gave us very good impressions of Scots. Highly recommended!

Fascinating pairing of food and scotch whiskey.

We loved the haggis, vegetarian haggis, honey glazed carrots, tomato basil soup, and sticky toffee pudding for food! We also loved our whisky flight!

WE wanted to take family members from Canada for a Scottish food experience and this was brilliant. The place was packed so booking is essential. We will be back when next in Edinburgh

What else can I write. Most people have already described the lovely ambience, the good service, the large selection of whisky varieties and the wonderful food. It's all true. So we say thank you for a wonderful evening.

Simply gorgeous a must if you are in Edinburgh. Everything is wonderful.

Quiet and with a beautiful view close to Edinburgh Castle. The selected whiskeys are very good.

Please try de Lamb Stovie, great food, great prices.

Do you like Whisky? Then it's heaven.

Tied in the restaurant with tour. Excellent. Waiter (Billy?) very happy to talk about whisky, which rounded of the evening nicely. Would recommend both tour and taste of Scotland menu.

I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional quality and taste of the food here—it exceeded all my expectations. Plus, the location is incredibly convenient, just a stone's throw away from Edinburgh Castle. I indulged in some delicious Haggis and sampled a variety of whiskies 🥃. The waiter was incredibly knowledgeable and recommended a peated regional selection once he learned that my favorite is Talisker 10-year. A delightful experience all around! The only downside was that the whiskey in the gift shop seemed a bit pricey. £50 for Talisker 10y😼

Very knowledgeable staff. A very extensive selection of Scotch. I had the haggis which was scrumptious. I felt right at home I purchased two bottles of the single malt scotch I tried because I throughly enjoyed it great addition to my collection.

After an excellent experience in the whisky museum tour we were conduced to the Amber Restaurant counter to try some whisky before to buy in the shop. Ben did a spectacular job sharing his knowledge to find out our taste of whisky and offered a really unique and great experience. That was so good that we did again before come back to London. This time Jethor guided us in another really special experience.

We booked a table and chose the taste of Scotland menu. When Making the booking we thought it was a nice little limited menu, however we were presently surprised to find it was more of a tasting menu. 3 mini starters, 3 mini mains and a dessert with a matched whiskey. Perfect. I would recommend booking as they can get busy. The atmosphere was good and not too noisy either which means you can hear the staff. The staff are very knowledgeable when it comes to whisky. There recommendations were very good. The whole experience was excellent can't wait to come back. Hopefully it will not be as long next time.

It was a good experience for whiskey

First night in Edinburgh and we treated ourselves to the Amber restaurant. The meal was overall excellent, the cheese plate was slightly disappointing, the servers were attentive and knowledgeable, overall a good night out.

Excellent food at a reasonable price served by welcoming staff. I hope to visit here again before too long.

Went for husband's birthday. Great food expertly paired with whisky. Conor was very knowledgeable and helped us choose whisky that complemented the food. Staff were all friendly and welcoming. Not pretentious in any way. Would definitely recommend.

This place is a must visit when visiting Edinburgh...

Staff was friendly and love the ambience, not so pricey food and the mussels soup is my favorite☺️

Sul corso principale, molto bello, ci siamo fermati per pranzo e non c’era nessuno. Io ho preso la casserole di beef, era un po’ asciutta e insipida. Invece il salmone era buonissimo; delizioso anche l’agnello. La zuppa di carote un po’ piccante, l’avevamo presa per i bimbi ma non è adatta. Servizio cordiale e veloce. Inutile dire che hanno una grandissima selezione di whisky.

Excellent evening with great food and service. 3 diners enjoyed the taste of Scotland menu. One diner scallops and steak. All amazing and in a great setting of the whiskey bar with its 450+ bottles. Nice low lighting and expert attention from the staff.

Bon accueil dans un cadre sympa. Large choix de whisky. Les plats sont excellents. Très bon rapport qualité / prix. A faire sans hésiter

What a fantastic restaurant. Food was beautiful and staff were lovely. Staff very knowledgeable on the food. The black pudding and scallop starter was fabulous.

I don't know about the cuisine, but for the whiskey bar, the place is worth the detour. The staff is super competent and friendly. The advice was perfect. I recommend.

What a wonderful experience. My wife and I were looking at going on a whisky tour but decided to have lunch and try out some of the whisky in the bar. We were novices in understanding all the unique tastes. We explained that to Phil and he brought over four different bottles so that we could get a smell of them. He ran the corks from the bottle on the inside of a glass. Phil answered all our questions. Since it was the first time that I had drank whisky (I'm a beer guy) my wife took my picture. Phil saw what was going on and brought the bottle over to include it in the photo. What a great first time. Now for the food. Both of us had the grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and cheese. It was fantastic. I would highly recommend the Amber Restaurant and Whisky Bar. Everyone was so friendly and made you feel at home. Just a note - it's just before you go into the castle.

Good taste and good service! Will definitely come again when visiting Edinburgh

We ordered the steak, the venison and the pear and lemon sorbet tart. Hiiiighly recommend! 🍋

Great food! First meal we had in Edinburgh and it was delicious! Scottish tapas and creamy mussels for starters, along with lamb and beef casseroles and finally shortbread! Amazing!

Really excellent friendly staff that were able to seat myself and my daughter for drinks without a reservation. Server was funny and prompt and made a rubbish day a lot better, will be back to try the food soon!

My daughter and I had been having a pretty rubbish day and while waiting to go into the camera obscura over the road we came here for a couple of drinks. Our server was friendly and so welcoming, making us smile after some awful hospitality earlier in the day. The place is warm and inviting, will be back soon to try the food menu.

Lovely meal and great service, highly recommend it.

Excellent meal in pleasant surroundings -with great service.

What can I say, after having a whisky experience, it felt the right place to go after the tasting, and what a brilliant decision. The restaurant is very nicely laid out, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal on what was an extremely cold night. We chose the Taste of Scotland menu and were not disappointed. My husband has a cream allergy and they even changed his dishes - well done to the chef. The three starters (haggis, salmon and pate) and three mains (chicken, venison and trout) were excellent and each one very different. I did think I was going to be hungry as they were not huge meals, however I was pleasantly surprised after sticky toffee pudding and the Edradour whisky. Ben our waiter was very knowledgeable about the meal and whisky - thank you to the team.

Belle découverte. Cuisine savoureuse ( entrée, plat et dessert). Personnel professionnel. Les prix sont corrects. Rien à redire.

Great food, atmosphere and layout is amazing. Staff very helpful and friendly.