Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

[Edinburgh] The Witchery


Recommended Posts

In researching the finer restaurants in Edinburgh, one name was mentioned more than others; The Witchery. Looking at their website, one sees a celebrity list to rival an BAFTA runway. It took a bit of work to get reservations and before my arrival, I asked local cab drivers and hotel staff what they thought. All were enthusiastic with exclamations of, "Oh! That is where my husband brought me for my anniversary last year!" or "It is the most elegant restaurant in town -- a place to go for special occasions!" Upon arrival, I could see the décor as reminiscent of an old world men's club with its dark wood and elegance. I was greeted warmly and seated near the outdoor garden. Perusing the menu, I had mostly decided to order a variety of starters as they did not offer a tasting menu (despite asking beforehand).

At a table nearby, I spied another solo diner, a young woman asking the waiter what venison tasted like. It was obvious he couldn't supply even the modicum of a reasonable answer and I intervened to offer an explanation. Realizing that she was not waiting for anyone, I invited her to join me at my table as we were both obviously dining alone. Melody and bonded quickly; both traveling alone, both looking for the best restaurant in town, and (charmingly enough), both members of a known cabal of knitters via Ravelry.com. Chatting about food and travel and yarn, a friendship was born over what would ultimately prove to be incredibly mediocre food.

Wanting to experience the ultimate in a haggis experience, I started my meal with their "Finlay's of Portobellow award winning haggis" served with "neeps and tatties" (potatoes and rutabagas). Going completely traditional, I also ordered a serving of Scotch, a 20-year Oban. The potato was whipped and formed into a quennelle, then fried while the neeps was puréed and served alongside a golfball-sized haggis. Despite an insipidly thin sauce, this was the most intriguing dish of the evening so that doesn't say much. Melody ordered a starter of scallop which was served in a half-shell with Iberico pancetta. These scallops were obviously sliced in half, swimming in over-seasoned, over-cooked and over-salted melted butter. Mel enjoyed them, but I found them inedibly salty.

Our main courses arrived. Melody definitely enjoyed her first-time venison, but I found it flabby and poorly prepared. Under the fanned slices of over-cooked meat was some of the same neeps purée that I had with my haggis and a slice of potato gratin all surrounded with a puddle of thin, clumsy sauce. The plating and all the components seemed rather bourgeois after the perfection and artistry I had experienced the night before at The Kitchin. The true catastrophe of the meal lied in my seafood platter. A cold selection of local seafood, the platter included oysters, clams, mussels, lobster, and prawns. There was also a half-shell offering of smoked salmon, tartare, and some mayonnaise-based fish salad. While not blatantly bad, it was obvious that it was simply not the best quality fish available, nor had it been recently prepared. The clams and mussels were puny and chewy. The lobster was mealy. The oysters were not well-shucked with bits of shell and no liquor left with the mollusk meat. Had Melody not helped me out, more than half of the offering would have sat un-eaten.

I wasn't ready to give up on the food and my new compatriot and I were having such a great time chatting that we decided to give the desserts a try. In my usual fashion, I opted for a cheese plate with a glass of Sauterne. Between The Kitchin and the café at Modern Art Museum, I had experienced several excellent offerings of Scottish-made cheeses and I was anxious to taste some more. God bless Mel for picking the dessert sampler which included a chocolate torte and sorbet, mango parfait, bread and butter pudding, pistachio macaroon, and puff candy ice cream. My cheese plate was offered in a rather perfunctory fashion with no descriptives and I called the waiter over to ask for an explanation of what types of cheeses I was being served. He started to tell me so that I could make notes when I realized he was speaking French. Well, they were all French cheeses -- no local Scottish or even English cheeses. I didn't bother to write them down. And Mel's dessert sampler? I think we liked the chocolate torte but they were all unremarkable and went unfinished.

So, is The Witchery all it is cracked up to be by those locals who had raved about it? I believe it is but only because it is mired in a 1970s sentimentality of what a fancy, special occasion restaurant should be. It is all bells and whistles and no substance. And for those in search of truly excellent cuisine, it should be avoided at all costs. But for me, it will be the place where I at least met a great new friend.

Pics on the blog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm - perhaps there's a lesson here in who you take recomendations from?

I'm sure lots of taxi drivers will take their wives to the Witchery for an anniversary and enjoy it, you'll probably find that the majority of people who dine out regularly avoid it like the plague.

The rooms are indeed impressive (the other room, "The Secret Garden" is truly stunning) but the Witchery lost all semblance of quality and consistancy when it's owner, James Thompson, opened The Tower atop the National Museum of Scotland (my theory was a combination of experienced staff moving to the new venture and his eye coming off the details ball); since then James has also bought Prestonfield House Hotel and opened the Rhubard restaurant.

The Tower is elegant, good and consistant, though certainly not the highest gastronomic experience in town and Rhubarb is sumptious and over the top (with better food) but also not exactly a temple to haute cuisine. Interestingly Prestonfield is the best banqueting venue in Edinburgh by some margin, the food and staff are brilliant.

The Witchery however, as you found the food is at best mediocre with soups served cold and seasoning all over the place and the service was worse; at my last visit several years ago (a family party of 8 hosted by a semi-regular who was known for being generous with the wine list and tips) saw us shoe-horned into a table in an overbooked restaurant and waiters constantly bumping the chairs of at least three guests on their way to and from the kitchen. I might understand (but still not forgive) this if they squeezed us in at the last minute because we were known, but as the table was booked 2 months in advance it was unforgivable. If I remember correctly the bill for that night was just under £1500 (as I said, father-in-law can be generous with the wine list) for what turned out to be an unpleasant experience which has been echoed by several other people I know.

Wild horses wouldn't drag me back, which is a shame because it was one of my favourites in my youth.

Next time you're in towm, feel free to PM me and I'll try to give you a better steer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to The Witchery some years ago and had a pleasant if unremarkable meal, we stayed in one of the suites there which was amazing and was our main reason for visiting. On the same trip we also stayed at Prestonfields, again in an excellent room and had a better meal than at The Witchery, but one thing I'll always remember about Prestonfields was the very poor service, the staff were pleasant enough, but for the most part, young inexperienced and not suited to the grandeur of the place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm - perhaps there's a lesson here in who you take recomendations from?

I always research my meals before I even leave for a country. The recommendations came from the Robert Parker wine board and I thought I could trust fellow wine lovers... W.R.O.N.G.

I'll be posting my Glasgow meals over the next few days.

BTW, the museum cafes in Edinburgh were really good. For lunches, I had a great soup in the cafe of the St. Giles cathedral and an amazing cheese plate at the Modern Art Museum which included Clava, Smoked Dunlop, McClelland mature cheddar, and Dunsyre Blue. Between that cheese plate the one at The Kitchin, the Witchery cheese plate was a joke.

Edited by Carolyn Tillie (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking at their website, one sees a celebrity list to rival an BAFTA runway.

I am afraid to say that a celebrity list does not mean you will necessarily receive either good food or service. In fact, I would suggest it's normally the reverse.

I went to the Witchery about a year ago after many years of attempting to secure a table when in Edinburgh. It was pleasant enough although the most memorable thing for me by far wasn't the place, it was the great company I was with.

My suspicion is that often celebs are wheeled in as paid publicity in much the same way as you'd wheel one in to open a supermarket. In fact, scrub the suspicion bit, thinking about it I know that to be the case in at least two restaurants.

Another poster's comment about a cabbie's anniversary reflect my thoughts entirely!

Cheers, Howard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am afraid to say that a celebrity list does not mean you will necessarily receive either good food or service. In fact, I would suggest it's normally the reverse.

Too true, though for a while the Witchery was one of the places to be seen - Clarissa Dickson Wright and Angelina Jolie had tables next to me there on successive visits.

Not dining together of course, that would have just been a weird blurring of fantasies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I visited Edinburgh (where I was a student, 1983-1986) in August. In advance I searched eG and read what seemed to be the two main threads on Edinburgh eating. I concluded that the Witchery was somewhere to avoid, in spite of its having been the city's premier dining venue when it was first established.

QUIET!  People are trying to pontificate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Everything about the Witchery, sans the decor, has always been a terrible disappointment. Food, wine and service are all dreadful. Then the bill comes and you feel really very sick indeed.

It's a shame, because The Witchery is a name that does get bandied about so much, and working in hospitality I get asked about it a lot. I always divert the conversation to the myriad of better, and often cheaper restaurants that still care about what they're doing.

At least you didn't go to Rhubarb, then you'd really be spitting feathers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...