Paul C.
Yelp
This was our first restaurant experience in Scotland (not counting the airport), and let me say, the bar has been raised very high, thanks to the Tolbooth Tavern. Let's break it down, shall we?
Ambiance. The location and exterior of the tavern looks fantastic...very historic and very cool looking, especially with Old Tolbooth Wynd right next to the tavern. The tavern is right on the Royal Mile, so the location is great; not too close to the city to be bothersome, but not too far a way to require a train and a taxi to get there. The inside of the tavern looks great. A lot of history here and to me, it walks that fine line of being forced historic (too well kept) and unkept. The place is clean, mind you, but the floors creak, the windows are a little foggy, old books and dinnerware are throughout the tavern...all of which add to the fantastic ambiance.
Food. This is what put the Tolbooth Tavern firmly into the 4-star range. I ordered the Haggis Burger (Tolbooth Burger), which our waiter/bartender said was a good way to break into haggis, if you've never had it before. My wife ordered the steak and ale pie, and my two boys had the fish and chips and chicken burger. The Tolbooth Burger was over the top. The bun was slightly greasy and fluffy (akin to an old '50s diner), the burger itself was perfectly cooked (medium rare), and the haggis was...well, haggis (not as bad as you think). The steak and ale pie was great, though I only had a small bite, as my wife destroyed the plate before I could get my hands on it. The fish and chips is amazingly big; the fish was about the size of my 4-year old's head and perfectly breaded and cooked.
Beer. Won't spend too much time on this, but I had the Edinburgh Ale and the IPA. Both excellent beers, and the IPA was probably the finest IPA I've had in forever. I begrudgingly got used to the San Diego IPA movement where the goal is to destroy your tastebuds for at least 12 hours. The IPA in the Tolbooth Tavern (the name is escaping me), was very much an IPA, but not overwhelming like I was chewing on raw hops (I'm looking at you Stone Brewery). I could easily have 2-3 pints of the IPA in the Tolbooth if I wanted to.
Service. We came a little early (5:30pm), thanks to having kids, so service wasn't an issue. Our waiter/bartender was spot on, attentive (but not overly TGI Fridays in your face attentive), nice, and great with the kids. After reading some of the other reviews about the service, we were initially hesitant about coming here, but rest assured, we had none of the issues in previous reviews. To me, the service here is what put the Tolbooth Tavern in the 5-star category.
Edinburgh, I have a few more days here to sample your food and drink. The Tolbooth Tavern has set the bar very high for my expectations of food, drink, and ambiance in a Scottish Tavern. Best of luck!