The Kitchen at Restoration Yard in Midlothian

What is with the new 'MUST DO' of bringing your pet dog along with you into a restaurant or cafe for tea and cake? My friend and I found it REALLY disturbing today having some dog yap-yap-yapping within the Restoration Cafe whilst we - and the rest of those within the cafe - were attempting to relax and enjoy their 'coffee and cake' and conversation . DOGS INSIDE A RESTAURANT OR CAFE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED - unless, of course, it is an Assistant Dog. Quite apart from the natural hygiene reasons, the dogs themselves which had been brought inside such an environment looked most uncomfortable, and I'm sure would MUCH rather have been back in the familiar surrounds of their own homes. What has happened to Britain all of a sudden?... that everyone has to have their pet dog dangling on a lead from their wrists like some fashion item when they go out to tea??

Sorry but we never actually managed to enter The Kitchen. We reached the car parking area to discover it cost £3.00 to park so left immediately. We were on a long journey form Scotland to England and saw this recommended in " The Extra MIle" . It would have been just a lunch break so to add £3.00 to an already expensive menu is not satisfactory.

Menu is mostly breakfast It’s expensive - £17 soup, £14 Avocado on toast, £5 tiny bottle of beer Beef Borguingnon £22 , dry, lacked flavour and way too many tiny onions. Asked for extra gravy that took 8 minutes to arrive. Gave up on pudding g as staff never returned after serving plates .

Booked lunch for my Mum. Food was okay: we had ceaser salads which are not vfm. Generally pricy. Waitress was excellent but very slow service. Overbooked with insufficient staff. Also note noisy with acoustics not appropriate for a large number of very noisy children. Left feeling disappointed.took nearly 2 hours for lunch.

Such a beautiful location to eat and a really uniquely decorated restaurant. The food was really great quality and delicious. The waiting staff are really friendly and helpful

Not the best. Booked for 1. Food didn’t come till 1.45. It wasn’t that busy so no excuse really. Our lamb kebabs were tasty but accompanied by a smudge of humus , dry pitta , tasteless coleslaw. It was so dry I couldn’t eat it . And £19 . Felt a bit let down so won’t be back .

The service was really good and the food was excellent - very well presented and great quality. The prices were good too. We had a great experience and would definitely come back.

My partner, myself and my two young sons came here for lunch on Sunday 14th July 2024 having spent the morning at the Fort Douglas Adventure Park. My oldest son has complex medical needs and is non verbal. Non verbal doesn't mean he doesn't make a noise though - he was screaming from the moment we arrived for lunch. I asked the staff if they could bring his food out first in order to calm him down (as he gets very irate very quickly when hungry). They cooked his pasta bolognese as quick as possible and my boy absolutely loved it. There was plenty of sauce, meat and vegetables within it and it smelled lovely. They also got my other, younger, son's food out at the same time. This was a pizza and it looked the best pizza my boy had eaten. As I was feeding my oldest son his pasta I was slightly anxious that my food might arrive too soon but whether it's because my sons food arrived so early or whether the staff had worked out that it would be better for my partner and I to wait - I don't know but I was grateful to be able to get him fed to the point he was happy again before my food arrived. Having a son with complex needs makes you more aware of "looks" from people when my son is having a hard time. The staff didn't bat an eyelid - which is commendable and not an approach a lot of places take. They just got on with the job and produced great food for him (and us) and quick as possible. Coming on to my food - I am coeliac so can't eat gluten. I had a burger, made to ensure it was gluten free ( with a gluten free bun, chips not fried in the same fryers as gluten products, non-gluten containing ingredients etc). I'm not a massive fan of burgers usually as I find they are often dry. This was quite possibly the best burger i've had in my life. The burger itself was cooked to perfection, the bacon was fantastic, even the tomatoes were great. Wait though, that's not all - the thick cut chips were definitely the best chips i've had. I think it's safe to say we will be back.

My son booked this last minute to celebrate a family birthday.We have been there a few times over the years as a family to celebrate special occasions & it is great for young kids ,along with nice food. Food was OK, although poached eggs served with fritters were dried out & rather spongy! Kids had scrambled eggs with salmon which was served as a good portion & they enjoyed.The burgers were average and had to ask for sauces ,which came when food was nearly finished. My main issue was with the service ,which was awful.There was a wedding on and I am assuming the staff were under a bit of pressure ! Once we managed to attract the waitresses attention they were all very pleasant & helpful but when there was a member of staff around ,they walked past the table to attend to other things and by this time we were the only ones there !! No one asking if we wanted coffee etc until we managed to eventually grab someones attention . I have to be honest, I would think twice about going back.

Today was my first time eating here and it was absolutely delicious. The veggie breakfast catered for my gluten and dairy free needs. The coffee was also superb. Beautiful location, friendly staff. I will definitely visit again.

Following a positive experience on our first visit, we returned, but were disappointed. First visit, we had a team of cheery, positive serving staff who were all smiles and banter. This time, it was (almost) all dour faces and no apparent teamwork or even communication between any of them. Had the feeling of having walked in just after there had been a big row between them all.... Last time, I ordered a fresh orange juice which came in a large, tall glass, and which was way too large for a breakfast juice. This time, I asked for a small glass of it. But still got charged the same amount as for a large .... Hot breakfasts were tasty enough, but they arrived on cold plates, and were already lukewarm by the time they reached us, stone cold by the time we finished. Honestly, it's not difficult - put the hot food on hot plates so that it stays hot. At £33+ for two hot breakfast plates, two coffees and an orange juice, plus £3 for parking, could do better.

Lovely food and friendly service in a wonderful spot. Downside is the Duke of Buccleuch’s tax on entry which adds quite a bit to your meal if you all travel separately

Expensive for what you get I think. Mediocre might be unfair as a description of the food, but ordinary and not in any way exceptional is fair. On the positive side the premises itself is nice, so there is obviously a premium for that. But still, who likes being overcharged for ordinary food.

Should have believed the reviews! I’ve been here before so had thought the current reviews were exaggerated. Sadly not. It doesn’t make sense the location is excellent, the retail offering (a bit overpriced) offers a super selection of high end stock that is beautifully styled/presented. The food is ‘so’ disappointing, boring, bland and pricey. It could and should be so much better. The retail team were lovely, very warm and friendly.

Having eaten here before, I had no problem recommending to my friends, however, this visit was markedly different, 2 quinoa & avocado salads arrived with no avocado! We were told that the avocados were not ripe enough! Surely an option to change order should be offered? It was busy but the service was very slow. Will think twice now before going back.

This was a return visit although I’d not been for 2 years. Sadly I won’t be hurrying back. My first issue was the treacherous walk from the overspill car park up in a field wearing my new suede boots! I feel if you’ve booked at table at The Kitchen and you’re not participating in outdoor activities (therefore dressed for an occasion) there should be some reserved parking in the vicinity with better terrain. Parking attendant directed me to overspill area up in field saying they were busy (not in The Kitchen where I was booked as I found when I arrived) The pathway down was on a slope,muddy & guttery along the railing side, exactly where I needed to be for support. I wasn’t there for outdoor activities so my footwear unsuitable and a muddy mess by the time I got to The Kitchen. The Kitchen wasn’t busy at our time of arrival and we placed our order with a pleasant waitress. Our coffees were delivered but without sugar so we had to go ask for some. My eggs Benedict was disappointing, poached eggs weren’t soft and there was very little hollandaise sauce. It was hard work eating the first half and it felt like too much of a mouthful of bacon as it was lacking the loveliness of the soft yolk & enough hollandaise. I mentioned to a waitress and she said she would get me more sauce. By the time that arrived my other half muffin etc was cold so another mouthful of cold bacon. Unfortunately this visit has put me off.

Average. The coffee was lovely, as good as you can get. The burger was tasty and well cooked though priced highly at 18.50 (1.50 of that was a thin slice of seemingly pre sliced cheese charged extra). The shakshuka was below average, lumps of watery tinned tomatoes and peppers, very watery and under seasoned, and not rich and stewed down as it should have been. Tiny drizzle of yogurt and when serving an egg dish i feel two eggs is normal not one. Foil wrapped butter portions, heinz sachets and unnecessary pea shoots don’t allude to quality. Nothing bad enough to mention to our server who was lovely, didn’t tip extra. It was alright in all but wont rush back

We had a really lovely meal at the Restoration Yard and the menu had a great choice, the fish stew was delicious with huge chunks of fish and the kedgeree was filling and very tasty, we could not fault anything and the young lady who looked after us was pleasant, polite and knowledgeable. My only small niggle was the fact that although we told the lady at the car park booth that we were going for lunch, we still had to pay a parking charge. Having spent quite a considerable amount of money in the shop and the restaurant, this seemed a little petty. A better way perhaps would be to charge on the way out to anyone who cannot produce a receipt from the restaurant.

we had our Christmas night out here for the first time - we won,t be back the venue was cold to start with but the real shocker was the food - the main course from a table of 16 none of us could eat the turkey main course it was incredibly tough. We did complain and ask to see the chef and he did come and apologise to the table and said he could try again - but we were at a Christmas party ! preparing fresh meals would have left us eating perhaps an hour after the dancing had started i did reach out to their food manager but was given a short - shift t reply of " we offered to recook your meal " so you have nothing to complain about ! the dj also welcomed every single dinner to the night - was that really necessary ? I would add this was our second time here for a meal - the first being even more of a disappointment - our German guests - after we had left the restaurant - and we pressed them for a comment - described their experience as " the worst meal they had ever had in the uk " try it for yourselves but you have been warned

I took my friend for a birthday brunch, wish I hadn’t. I ordered poached eggs and toast, I cut open the first egg which had uncooked white, so the waitress took it away and said she’d get another cooked, she returned about 3/4 minutes later, I cut into the egg and it was less cooked than the first one - disgusting! Was offered something else. It I chose sourdough toast as my friend had finished her food. Even the toast was on the well done side. Very disappointed. They obviously didn’t charge for my uncooked eggs or toast. There was little communication with the staff and no apology. Will definitely not return especially as we discovered they charge £3 to park your car 🤬, even though we were only going to the restaurant, shocking. AVOID

After our family dog walk we decided to go for a coffee at the kitchen, all thought the coffee was lovely…. Management was appalling! In the space of the 5 minutes we were in for our coffee, we heard and saw the staff being shouted at and disrespected completely by what seemed to be the manager of the establishment. Was shocking to see this and definitely changes our minds about going there again. Staff were amazing just feel bad they are treated so badly

Amazing food all around, we were a family of 5 and everyone had something different to eat. All well presented and delicious. The lamb tagine was amazingly good. Will definitely be recommending

My daughter booked a table for five of us as a special family outing as I was visiting however we were there for two hours, they forgot our starter of a shared charcuterie board and in that time we only had one course …the desert did arrive and they charged us twice for our drinks! The restaurant was not that busy. Not good enough, we will not be back.

My family hired this venue for the day, for a memorial. The location in the Country Park was very attractive, the venue itself had its own outside space, reserved for us, which was large and meant the kids could run around outside, safely. Indoors was well decorated and comfortable for our large group. The main meal and the canapes brought round all tasted great and the service was efficient and the staff friendly. It made for a very enjoyable day, where we could appreciate the joy and sadness of the occasion.

So disappointing. This lovely venue deserves better and I hope recent similar reviews will achieve that. Serving a single slice of dry bread with a scraping of greenish, grey slop does not constitute the avocado on sourdough I have eaten elsewhere. The outrageous £9 charge was deducted albeit by a frosty manager who couldn’t muster an apology. There didn't appear to be staffing issues and our waiting staff were pleasant but if there are shortages in the kitchen, it would be better to serve a limited range and do it well. In the meantime buy an ice cream from next door - the vanilla is sublime.