Harden's survey result
Summary
“The menu is fixed and you sit at one of three large tables with others” at this quirky venture, which occupies a stone cottage in Royal Terrace Gardens. You get what you’re given from a mystery tasting menu on which sustainability is to the fore, with many of the ingredients grown by Charlie the gardener. On practically all reports the food is well-rated, and they must be doing something right having last year now opened The Lookout (see also).
Summary
“The menu is fixed and you sit at one of three large tables with others” at this quirky venture, which occupies a stone cottage in Royal Terrace Gardens. You get what you’re given from a mystery tasting menu on which sustainability is to the fore, with many of the ingredients grown by Charlie the gardener. On practically all reports the food is well-rated, and they must be doing something right having this year now opened The Lookout (see also).
Summary
“Quirky, but absolutely superb”, is the generally agreed verdict on Dale Mailley and Edward Murray’s sustainability-minded venture: “a lovely concept” where guests eat a top-class, set menu with good wine at long friendly, communal tables in an old stone building in Royal Terrace Gardens – an experience “more casual and laid-back” than most restaurants serving food of this quality.
Summary
“Completely original, full of life, soul and glorious seasonal food” – “You have to share tables (which is not for everyone)” at Dale Mailley and Edward Murray’s “intimate” and “friendly” sustainably-minded venture (“enhanced by the turntable playing vinyls plucked from the stack”), in a small, stone building in the middle of Royal Terrace Gardens. In mid 2017, they opened a new spin-off, Quay Commons – a Leith bakery.
For 30 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Gardener’s Cottage?
Owner's description
The Gardener’s Cottage is a restaurant in Royal Terrace Gardens at the foot of Calton Hill. Built in 1836 the cottage, which was originally home to the gardener, has been transformed into Edinburgh’s home for seasonal cooking and social dining. Seated at long communal tables our guests can enjoy weekend brunch, an a’la carte lunch menu, or an inventive, set seven course dinner menu, using only the best seasonal, local produce.
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
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| Lunch | £18.00 | £22.00 |  |
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| Dinner | £45.00 | |
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| Drinks |
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| Wine per bottle | £22.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £2.50 |
| Extras |
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| Service | 10.00% |
Restaurant details
1 Royal Terrace Gardens, London Road, Edinburgh, EH7 5DX
| Number of Diners: | |
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Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am‑9:30 pm |
