Outboard by Scotts in Edinburgh, City of

Food not great and you wait ages to be served.

I head down here every week or two for a spot of breakfast with my two kids. Lovely decor, and amazing views of The Forth Estuary. The staff are really friendly, and super-attentive. The food is reasonably priced, with a bacon/sausage roll for £2.95 (if you ask for a sausage roll the default is square sausage, which my daughter didn’t like. But if you ask, they’ll give you their chipolata sausages instead), and their Breakfast Box, which is basically a fry-up for a little under £9. Soft drinks are a bit on the steep side, with a can of Coke coming in at £3. There are heaters above each table, with timed switches on posts that control groups of three or four tables. Pricey drinks aside, it really is a lovely spot to for good food and a lovely view. Update September 2024 We popped along with family recently, having not visited for a while. It was good to see that breakfasts are now being served on proper plates, though I didn’t really mind the paper bowls. The food was delicious, and everyone was chuffed with theirs. The coffees were, on the other hand, atrocious. The milk had clearly been boiled, and they were all too hot to drink and it took ten minutes for them to cool to a drinkable temperature. I’d ordered a flat white with an extra shot, and I was served something milky and weak. This is basic barista stuff. Five star food and vibes, zero star coffee.

Realy great food, really great prices and with a really great view of the bridges. Would 100% come back to visit. Can recommend the chilli and lime calamari fries - I can’t believe how big the portion is for the price!

Extremely disappointed to see that there was little choice for kids on the All-Day menu. We asked for 'Bubble Fish and Chips' and informed the staff that it was for our grand-daughter, so could we have a smaller portion, please! Well we got that, but we're still charged the full price of an adult portion!!! Don't they realise that little kids eat less, and therefore should be charged less?? And when we were there there were quite a number of children in attendance. I would agree with other reviews that are suggesting that the prices are certainly too high, and we certainly won't be back with children.. Our party comprised 3 adults(one only had soup) and 2 kids....spent £60!!

Found this place yesterday and had a bacon roll with potatoe hashes. Took my daughter back today and we both had pancakes. Thoroughly enjoyed the food and place. Service was excellent

Been meaning to go here for sometime. Went as an impromptu late lunch midweek. Was quiet and was served quite quickly. Orders the Outboard deli bowl, had the hummus and pickled carrots missing, the main reason I ordered. My friend had a dressing missing off her plate too. The server, give her due was very apologetic and brought missing items over. Its a shame as the place was quiet and no reason to feel pushed to miss main ingredients. I felt the meals had quality and fresh ingredients but over priced for what we had, and felt hungry even though friend ordered side of chips. Not sure I'll be back soon which is sad as we are regulars at Linlithgow Bridge Inn also Buzzworks.

The food was tasty but everything was covered in chillies. It took over 30 mins for 3 small plates of food and the place wasn’t even a third full. Shame as the place has potential. Ended up having to take our food to go.

I ordered the plant burger and salt and vinegar chips . The burger was tasty though not very hot and the chips didn’t taste like they had either salt or vinegar on them but as there was salt on the table I was able to add that myself which was fine and similarly these were also just warm . Can’t really critique the service as we ordered via the app and only seen the waitress twice when she brought the food and drinks over so not much interaction tbh . Unsure if the toilets are solely used or owned by Outboard but they are very unclean.

Stick with the main restaurant! The setting and views are lovely, however the food is way overpriced and the quality was terrible. There is no kids menu, they told me to go and order at the till to get a smaller fish & chips for my daughter but they still charge you the same price as a normal size, then when it arrived there was basically no fish inside, it was all batter, the chicken caesar salad came and the chicken was cold as if out a packet and no Parmesan, the burger which was £12.95 also doesn’t come with chips that’s an additional £2.95 and the chips all arrived overcooked Not what you would expect from Scott’s tbh, £65 later, disappointing!

Didn't stay as the service is shocking! Stood there waiting for someone to say hello (basic hospitality) and noone approached us or even tried to look after us so we left. Now at down the hatch and the service is brilliant! Maybe the staff at outboard should come here to learn the basic hospitality skills needed when running a business. Disappointed as this was for my birthday.

Only drawback on food was the coffee was small, but the Almond slice was great

First time we've been very impressed food was very good but could do with a bigger menu for the size of the place, one irk is I think their soft drinks are a bit expensive. What's good is there's an outside place for eating as well and if you have a dog you can bring it as well and they can get sausages great idea.

Had breakfast here this morning with my wife and daughter. It was a lovely day we were able to sit outside great food , fast service from friendly helpful staff will certainly be back .

Visit here regularly with my family and always enjoy it. This visit it was just myself and my 2 year old. Really great service, very impressed 👍

This place is ok but could be SO much better. Seriously overpriced. Ordered cheeseburger & naively thought it would come with chips, but no, they were extra. £12.95 for a basic cheeseburger is daylight robbery. And no kids menu which is a big oversight. Will be going to Down the Hatch in future, much better value for money.

Place seemed great. Went with the someone my family. Ordered a caeser salad and the lango tails. Got given a couple leaves and bread for the "salad". And the lango tails were low quality scampi. Prices were shocking for the quality of the food. Don't go here unless they get there act together.

This is a hidden gem! It’s only recently just opened for the summer season and my oh my we were not disappointed! The staff were great with the dog and the seating area was amazing! Food was lovely tooo! They even have a dog menu which our Marley loved and took full advantage of

Good food in a fantastic spot, highly recommended.

I was so excited to try Outboard but have been sorely disappointed by our first visit. The atmosphere here is lovey with beautiful decor but sadly the quality of the food was not up to scratch. The service was SO slow (25min queue plus 30mins for wait for food) & they had ran out of many items on the menu. I ordered a salad which looked very sad with a serious lack of dressing/sauce. My husband ordered fish & chips which was just as bad. Really hoping it’s teething issues and they can make improvements on the quality of food & service because there is so much potential for Outboard to be a really nice place.

Not just poor service but no service… Drove through from Kinross with the dog and took a nice walk across the bridge with the plan to come in for some lunch. Arrive and grab a table outside decide what we’re having to eat then pop in to order at around 1150. Stood in the queue for around 10 minutes and then it was our turn to order and we’re told it’s 1 minute past 12 now so breakfast ordered are done as they finish at 12 which is fair enough. Attempt to order from the all day menu to be told that you are not taking any more orders because you have too many breakfast orders to get through still. No option of telling us food will be half an hour if your ok to order now and wait or anything like that just that we couldn’t order food but we could order juice if we wanted. Several tables still empty inside and a few still left outside with people already eating, what do you do when it’s busy? Wasted and hungry journey, cracking day for the walk though.

Stopped in here for a a bite to eat and a quick refreshing beer and what I good stop, outstanding service from the staff here and the food was amazing not just great tasting but the presentation of the food served was outstanding

Excellent place with free parking and beautiful views of the river and bridges at the back. Unlike the daft place across the car park called down the hatch where they ask you of you booked when you want a bacon sandwich, stupid! This place is great. Full of busy but helpful staff the ordering system is really fast then they give you a little order beacon and you go sit and relax, when it's ready the beacon flashes. Simple and stress free. Food was red hot and fresh and ok prices. I really liked it and I will come back. I'm glad they put the other place to shame. This is how you do it right cheers 🥂

A lovely place for lunch, the atmosphere was great and thankfully we had good weather. The food was excellent, we all really enjoyed our meals. Loved the view of all three bridges too

The family and I went for breakfast today after seeing their tempting menu online. Ordered the breakfast box, maple bacon pancakes and the Nutella pancakes. First issue was there was no black pudding for the breakfast box. Not a big deal as we switched for extra sausage. Collected our food and discovered they had got the order wrong. No breakfast box and they had given us a sausage roll instead. Wife had to wait for her breakfast to be made again whilst my daughter and I ate our pancakes. This is where the real issue is. Pancakes were inedible! Struggled to cut through them with a knife! Took them back and was advised they no longer make pancakes fresh, and they are bought in pre made. Ended up getting a refund and went to Down the Hatch instead. Expected a lot more from a cafe which has Scotts name on it. Won't be going back.

Visited 29th July 2023 for breakfast with wife and daughter. Great location, great decor, all very beach tiki themed and thoroughly pleasant place to sit and enjoy the views. We ordered two maple and bacon pancake breakfasts and a bacon roll, coffees, milkshake and water. Came out at around £42 all in. Not cheap, so had reasonable expectations of some sort of quality. How wrong we were! the entire breakfast was a masterclass in how not to serve breakfast. The bacon and maple pancake breakfast plates were just awful! Here are the lowlights:- * Stone cold. I don't mean lukewarm, I mean stone cold. * Tiny pancakes, not light and fluffy homemade ones, but more like the stodgy kind you'd get from a shop bought pack. * Two and a bit thin bacon strips. They were really fatty and not at all crispy or caramelised. Yuk. * No butter (A pancake breakfast with no butter?). * The most miserable portion of maple syrup I have EVER seen. It's supplied in a small clear plastic tub, is at best 1/3rd filled and is nowhere near enough to cover the small pancakes. * One serviette provided for three people. Could not see any self service to get any more and by the time I sat down and realised there was only one a queue had built up and the food was already cold. The bacon roll was also stone cold and not enough to constitute a 'breakfast'. Zero value here. A Greggs bacon roll has twice the bacon for a fraction of the price. The coffees, tasted ok, but again... were only lukewarm, absolutely tiny (asked for large lattes, but these were extra-small) and served in paper cups. The milkshake (£7.50!) was small, 1/3rd of it was squirty cream and the remainder was a nasty strawberry syrup with some sort of cheap ice cream. No fresh strawberry in it at all - daughter did not want to finish it as it tasted "artificial'. I'm sorry, we really did want to love this place, but the quality of the food, set against the prices, is completely unacceptable. If management read this, know that you have a wonderful setting and ambience, but your barely mediocre food quality, miserable portions and stone cold serving temperature is letting you down badly. If we do come back I'll bring you a couple of bottles of Maple syrup as you clearly need it more than we do!

Update- 3rd or 4th visit, won't be going back. Service gets slower each visit, even with much fewer customers. Food quality has gone with burnt buns and over cooked chicken burgers. The freshly cooked sausages for the dog have been replaced with low quality stone cold cocktail sausages. Last straw was the loud dance music playing which made it hard to talk and caused some customers to walk away. Original- Bring your own drinks! Food was really nice, very tasty, but we were waiting 45 mins after ordering to get it, so a little slow. Atmosphere was nice, lovely spot, great views, dog friendly so bring a friendly dog. Only bad part was a limited selection of drinks and single can of coke and a plastic cup was £3.15!

Great place to spend time outdoors..love the vibe 😁✨️

Excellent location, service and food. Well worth the wait..

Pretty cool place to have food on a sunny day! The breakfast was so tasty & the brioche buns are delicious! Wee bit pricey with the breakfast box being £8.50 but it was delicious so made up for it. I rated the service low because you order at a window, get a buzzer & then collect your food when it’s ready. Not much there in terms of service. The staff were fine at the window!

Service was slow, lengthy queue, but worth the wait. Remember to record your car at the computer at the door or you could end up with a parking fine ( which could arrive some months later!).

Visited Outboard on a Thursday morning for breakfast, arriving about 1030’ish. There were 4 others in the restaurant. It is a nice looking place, with beach vibe decor and good views across the Firth of Forth, and the bridges. It is dog friendly. That’s about where the good stuff ends ……….. we both ordered breakfast box’s, coffee and orange juice. We were told that there was no black pudding, so extra bacon would be provided. We were still waiting half an hour later before our table buzzer activated, the place was virtually empty. Up we went to collect our food, two very small orange juice (concentrate) £5.90, two tiny coffee’s, £6.15, and two breakfast plates consisting of a scattering of ‘potato balls’, a slice of Lorne sausage, two rashers of bacon (this apparently included the compensation for the missing black pudding), a fried egg, and half a tomato. £17.90. It was cold, not warm, but stone cold, and possibly one of the most unappetising plates I have seen. The bacon was virtually all fat and the egg looked like it had been cooked on a dirty hot plate. We returned our plates, and the staff member was apologetic and helpful. She offered to replace the food, however we opted for a refund and left. Even if the food had been hot, it wouldn’t have been worth the £30.00. Wouldn’t recommend, won’t be back.

For day time the music is up far to loud. Can't talk properly

Lovely welcoming & friendly staff, good varied menu whether you just want coffee, cake, light bite or a meal. Beautiful location & decor and extremely dog friendly too, highly recommend

I am highly disappointed by the food offered at this place. I ordered calamari and they came with half killo of fries to compensate for the lack of calamari themselves. The portion was floating in oil and this came at the price of 10 pounds. I WOULD NEVER RETURN.

Wasn’t very impressed with food or service sorry! Not the usual Scott’s standard.

Nice place. It was a little bit expensive food..

Two firsts today... I returned a Bacon Roll... I returned at a Scott's establishment... So sorry I never took a photo of returned roll, two curled up fatty bits of small bacon, unable to cover a 1/3 of the roll. After waiting 20 mins for two rolls and two lattes, I returned to counter, asking if the bacon was acceptable. I was rudely told, "Well, that's what we serve here" Hopefully our trip to Scott's will be better tomorrow.

I'll give it a three star as my partner and I had a different experience. I'd give it a 4 star, and my parter would give it a 2, I'm gave it 4 as I had a roll and bacon and a roll and Egg, washed down with a lovely coffee...Can't go wrong with that right???? My Partner had Maple syrup and bacon pancakes washed down with a very expensive can of coke. The maple syrup wasn't maple Syrup, the bacon was not crispy and full of fat, and her pancakes were borderline raw. The place itself is so beautiful, with scenic views across the forth estuary, with the 3 Bridges in sight. Parking was a problem as its so busy. I had to park in town and walk to the place. There was a car show on so that didn't help.

After a 15 minute wait in the queue it took a further 40 minutes for food to arrive. One panini chicken and bacon - no bacon. After mentioning this it arrived - 1 slice of cooked Parma ham - a few minutes later. First visit but won’t be back.

Fab place to visit beautiful surroundings relaxed vibe great to be able to sit outside in Scotland the heated lamps make such a diffrence and to be able to take dogs in makes it extra special

Beautiful location, good food for fast food, lots of parking available even on Sundays

First, it is covered but in the open air - expect a draught! Had a burger with coffee and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not open every day - check before you go.

Positives: nice area, chilled atmosphere….. but food isn’t quality. I think I’d cook better in the house. Ciabatta was stale and horrible, I left the whole thing. Other items weren’t any better. Tried once, never again. Far better options close by cheaper or similar cost.

The best of outdoor eating, nice view of the bridges and with a heat lamp over the table 😀 Nice freshly prepared light bites with a few things that veggies can have, to sit in or take away. Korean Cauliflower bites and chilli parmesan fries for me. Coffee was good too. Will certainly be back.

Took a picture of the Forth Road Bridge on Wednesday 23rd November 2022. The picture is provided.

Such a picturesque place! Really nice food, friendly people.

Great new concept and fantastic location. The only problem is that the way it has been set up, the view of the rail bridge is hidden from view whilst seated.

Very average burger and they don't sell alcohol. But the view of the bay is beautiful!

Lovely vibe, good food, decent prices, wonderful views. Felt like a Mediterranean taverna.

Beautiful place with lovely friendly staff. We stumbled upon this restaurant after a visit to the area at the weekend. Unfortunately we had eaten at the hotel so only had drinks and cakes but the food we saw coming out looked amazing. We will definitely be back.

Lovely outdoor venue beside the three bridges over the Forth. Self service which is a bit of a shame - but great food and lovely surroundings.

The fish and ships are delicious. Very nice atmosphere, all wooden place, with a beautiful view of the three bridges, Very pleasant staff

Very nice and relaxing place! Beautiful view on Queensferry marina and on Forth railway/road bridges and Queensferry Crossing

Great place to go just walk in no booking required food was great and the staff were friendly lovely views outdoors holiday atmosphere