My friend introduced me to Howies,Waterloo Place,Edinburgh 2 weeks ago and I enjoyed it so much I took my husband along to sample it’s culinary delights.The food is simply delicious with something to suit everybody’s taste and the presentation is perfect.Staff very knowledgable about the food and very attentive without being too obtrusive.Finally the lunchtime deal on price is GREAT.
Popped in for dinner. Place is smart casual with the cusine Scottish influenced. Had the mussels which were lovely & the cullen skink which was very tasty. Throughly enjoyable meal, reasonably priced, staff attentive worth checking out if you're in town.
Alexandra Gushurst-Moore
+4
A rare sunny day in Edinburgh. What to do but flounce around in the outdoors before stopping for a bite to eat at the glorious regency building that now houses Howies Waterloo?
Stepping into the cavernous hall, with light streaming through the magnificent period windows, s.o. and I agreed that there are few dining rooms nicer than this in our fair city. The charming waitress was over in a jiffy and gladly told us about the early dining offer, which we then felt obliged to take advantage of.
We accompanied our meal with a nice bottle of pink to mark the start of summer, which came out with some lovely bread with oil. Indeed, the more that I eat out, the more that I appreciate the little touches that bread at the start of the meal can offer. It certainly contributed to the lazy day feeling the warm weather brings.
Our starters soon followed, pigeon breast with parsnips for s.o. and chicken liver parfait for moi. S.O. loved the pigeon and now never passes up an opportunity to order. My parfait was offally good, totally smooth and delicious - it had me feeling that I was sitting in the south of France languishing in the heady midday heat - and then I opened my eyes and glimpsed the grey, tourist laden streets of Edinburgh. But hey - the food got me.
Mains weren't nearly so divine. S.O. plumped for the salmon dish (unusual for him to choose the fish option) and I went for the chicken. Neither dish was totally satisfying, and managed to land the uninspiring accolade of 'filled the spot'. Underseasoned, underconceived, underwhelming.
But, our meal was going so swimmingly that we thought we would prolong the lovely late lunch by testing their pudding menu. In the Provencal spirit, we split with spoons a rhubarb pannacotta. That weekend, I dug up the rhubarbs in my garden in an attempt to recreate the delicious and dainty desert. Texture and taste combined to make a really fantastic pud, perfectly complimented with the pinky wine we flushed down.
Overall, it was a rollercoaster ride of excellent dishes and mediocre mains. However, the stunning interiors and excellent service were of such high quality that s.o. and I reached uncommon agreement in our assessment that this is one of Edinburgh's best dining spots.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Relaxed elegance, wonderful food. As Canadian visitors to Edinburgh, we were looking at the last minute this evening for an inexpensive restaurant in the New Town serving Scottish cuisine. Howies appeared quite a ways down Urban Spoon's list, but it should be at the very top. The room on Waterloo Place is beautiful, the service was friendly and gracious, and the food was superb. We had the haggis, neeps and tatties starter, followed by the venison (Mr.) and the salmon (me). Sticky toffee (him) and a summer strawberry pudding (me) for dessert. Everything was lovely, and though our stay in town will be short, we fully intend to dine at Howies one more time before we leave.
A final postscript: the Howies website promised that casual attire would be okay, and we took them at their word showing up in our tourist jeans and fleece. This felt a little awkward at first, as the place is really very beautiful. However as the restaurant filled up, many people were indeed casually attired (including a big table of students in jeans and wearing backpacks). Casual dress is okay, but you may feel better upgrading your fleece to a nicer sweater.
Good lunch. Just went to Howie's for lunch and was pleasantly surprised. The menu was varied and had something for everyone, the food was well cooked and the service was excellent. The set priced lunch is really good value at £8.95. Will go back again anytime.
Fantastic!. I went at Christmas with girlfriends and loved it. Excellence food and service. Relaxed ambience. Wonderful evening. Would recommend.
Value for money is an understatement!. I review restaurants part time in my hometown of Chester, I've eaten in some good value restaurants but this takes the biscuit at lunchtimes. £6.99 for two courses, most of the main courses for lunch are this price or above usually! We had a beautiful Cullen Skink (local fish soup) and a Haggis Neeps and Tatties starter, (a twist on a classic), then fishcakes with a poached egg and spinach, and a beef and venison burger. The food was delightful, authentic Scottish food with a modern twist in lovely surroundings. Everyone raves about the Grassmarket branch but this was equally good on this occasion. Can't recommend enough!
Really enjoyed a relaxing lunch. Great food and good value for money.
Lovely place! Very trendy and staff friendly and welcoming. The restaurant was very warm and well structured. My family and I stayed in a big table under a look-a-like cave section (where, actually, our tall waiter had to squat down to see us eye to eye). Very charming Scottish food with a touch of refinement. We had steaks and salmon and they were delicious. And to finish off our Scottish experience, we had a coconut pudding and ricotta and raspberry pudding.
Excellent food, highly recommended. The beef stew was especially good, the beef was tender and just melted in your mouth! However the service was a bit patchy. Ended up having 3 different servers, and while we were approached several times in quick succession at the start to take our order, later we were basically ignored, so it took a while to order dessert, and get the bill. Bar staff were also slow with our drinks, and one drink we ordered never arrived (but wasn't charged, so we think the server forgot to pass the order on).
Marco Maria Bruno (Merk)
+5
We picked this place to try some local scottish cuisine and we definitely couldn't choose better. Food was delicious, atmosphere very nice as well as the service. Special mention for the cod and the toffee. Truly recommended.
This is such a nice place. The ambiance is very nice, beautiful classic interior. The staff is very friendly with a great sense of humour. Do make reservations. Food is very very tasty, soup is wonderful, very nice local beer, reasonably prices 3 course lunch at 21£ but the most delicious was the sticky toffee pudding. Highly recommended.
Fantastic lunch had here to close off my Fringe 2023 visit. Had a number of the recommended dishes (Cullen Skink, Shepherds Pie etc) and all were delicious. Great lunchtime 3 course deal meant that it was incredibly great value also. Highly recommended.
This was the best meal of my entire trip to the UK and may very well be the best meal I've had this decade!
I enjoyed the Cullen skink with perfect focaccia, the Belhaven Smokehouse smoked salmon, a slice banoffee pie with coffee for dessert, and a delicious Elderflower Freetz mocktail. My eyes were rolling back in my head and I cannot remember the table conversation, as I was focusing on tasting every morsel of food.
The food came out quickly and the service was excellent. I adored the beautiful, high-ceilinged space which felt bustling yet cozy at the same time. I appreciate that smaller plates were available for me to enjoy, as I don't normally eat huge meals and want to sample different dishes. I cannot wait to return to Edinburgh and will definitely be returning to Howies!
Impeccable dishes. Can’t fault the food at this restaurant. Everything I ordered was delicious and made using fresh ingredients. The specials of the day were great.
Was lucky to book on the same day for the second seating at 2:30pm however we were 10min late due to traffic from old town. The staff was able to accommodate us despite the kitchen closing close to 3pm. Make sure to be on time or call when you’ll be late for the booking.
The food was great! Very tasty! We ordered the rib eye with frites with the bleu cheese sauce, the cod fish with mashed potatoes, calamari, banoffee pie, and the strawberries with vanilla ice cream. The fries was incredibly crispy, the steak was perfectly cooked. Our server, Sue, was very gracious. She provided all the details of the food choices, and was very attentive to our needs. Will go back to Howie’s on my next trip to Edinburgh.
Absolutely fantastic! Been there for lunch best option to take the 2 or 3 courses. Food was really tasty. Service was fantastic, Lisa our hostes was top notch! Beyond friendly, and always ahead of our needs, checking constantly if everything was alright. The rest of the staff also were very very friendly and happy! The overall was a fine dinning type of experience for a portion of the price! It was a highlight of my trip.
First time in Edinburgh... so many restaurants in the area. Walked by this place and decided to try it... and it was very good. Tried Haggis for the first time and it was delicious... also had the chowder and finished up the meal with a cheese plate.
We had more people than we had booked for in our party and were very quickly accommodated. Beautiful food. Not the hottest, but we were a large group. Very busy and, therefore, noisy, had to shout to be heard across the table. Perfect fast service, however, and very reasonably priced, taking the current climate into consideration. Would definitely go here again.
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in Edinburgh
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes