Otro Restaurant Edinburgh - Review

The great British Sunday Lunch, it’s a constitution. I know in my house every Sunday we had a large roasted piece of meat with potatoes and veg, it’s just how we did it. I love a roast dinner but rarely make one at home for my own family so when we were invited along to Otro restaurant in Edinburgh for Sunday lunch and to try the new children’s “make your own” menu we didn’t hesitate.

Otro is a stylish restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh’s West End, serving their own contemporary take on classic brasserie-style food using local produce and the best ingredients.

Offering an elegant dining experience with sumptuous food, sophisticated surroundings and warm, welcoming service, Otro is somewhere you’ll want to visit again and again.

Just like their sister restaurant New Chapter, they also have private dining rooms available for a whole range of parties, events and private dinners.

We arrive early (classic me) and were seated by one of the windows giving me a good view of Haymarket, the small restaurant was starting to fill up but we were the only family with young children and my husband and I started to get the fear, you know the one. The fear parents get, that their children are going to ruin everyone’s meal in the room with their moaning, crying and general loudness. This place seems fancy, maybe not the first choice when dining with children but the staff soon put us at ease. They were great with the children and provided colouring books and crayons that kept the children busy.

The children’s menu is simple but they have picked a small range (everything is cooked fresh to order) that will cater to even the pickiest of eater’s - fish fingers, chicken, or tomato pasta. The children all get their own menu and with the help of the staff, they circle what they would like to eat. My daughter who is 5 felt very grown up chosen her own meal.

The children ordered first so that they would have plenty of time to eat and so they didn’t have long to wait. Their food arrived with our starters.

Now for the adults – the Sunday lunch menu was very exciting looking and we were so surprised at the great course deals they had available.

I went for the soup for starter and Rory had the poached salmon.

The soup, courgette and basil was creamy and filling. It was delicious with the perfect balance of basil and courgette, the bowl was massive served with a big chuck of fresh bread and butter. I couldn’t finish it all but I gave it a good try. Rory also said his salmon was good but as I don’t eat fish I couldn’t comment.

For mains I went for the classic roast beef with roast potatoes and seasonal veg and WOW- when the plate arrived I was very impressed with the presentation and size of the portion. I swear the Yorkshire pudding was the size of my child’s head! (slight exaggeration but only slight) I tucked in and was so happy to find it tasted as good as it looked. The meat was cooked how I like it slightly pink and sliced like butter. The potatoes crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and the veg had the right amount of crunch, all finished with a sticky glaze like gravy which completely the dish beautifully. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t finish it but my husband gladly did and he agreed that the beef was cooked to perfection.

Rory went with the lamb shank with curried chickpeas and as his eyes are bigger than his belly ordered the hand cut chips that he had eyed up on the children’s plate. I was secretly glad those as they looking amazing and I wanted to try them.

The lamb slide of the bone and the chickpeas were the perfect partner for the dish, the chips were incredible. So fluffy yet crispy defiantly worth a side order if you’re a chip fan.

We were bursting at the seams and even though we wanted to try the desserts we wouldn’t have been able to squeeze any more in but if they are anything like the food we did try I bet they are gorgeous!

During our visit the room slowly got busy and soon the room was buzzing so I relaxed that if they children did become a little noisy it would go unnoticed. As I said before this is not a place I would have thought of taking my children for a nice Sunday lunch but I was pleasantly surprised at how child friendly it was and the children’s menu certainly helps.

I would say that its more suited for children over 4 but children younger than that won’t be a problem, basically I’m saying we would have liked to enjoy the meal without trying to entertain the 2-year-old monster but what parent doesn’t want that? HA!

Overall I would defiantly recommend Otro for a lovely Sunday meal, maybe for granny’s birthday or a special occasion. We expected the worst bring the children there but not only did they surprise us (they behaved so well, I do think this had something to do with the perfectly timed food) but Otro surprised us by catering effortlessly for the whole family. Though my husband and I agreed that on our next visit, we would be leaving the kids at home.

I would like to say thank you to Otro for inviting us along to enjoy the food in exchange for a review.

Find them Here -

Otro Restaurant, 22 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7AF

Call us: 0131 556 0004

Email us: info@otrorestaurant.co.uk

We are based just a few minutes’ walk from Princes Street in the heart of Edinburgh’s West End.

Situated at one of Edinburgh’s main transport hubs, there not tricky to find. There’s on-street parking (metered during the day) and major bus and tram routes nearby on Shandwick Place & Princes Street.

Bookings isnt always necessary but I'd advise to give them a call.