Recommend me an Edinburgh restaurant

[thebottomofmypencilcase]

I have been tasked with organising a family birthday meal in Edinburgh but, having only visited a handful of times, am struggling to narrow things down. The meal will be for around 11 people aged between 10 and 80, and I'm hoping to find something that meets the following criteria:

• Meadows/ Bruntsfield type area (these are quite close, right?!? Please put me right if not!) or not too far from that approx area

• ideally some kind of private room for us to eat in (not a deal breaker but would be nice)

• mid priced (ie nice but not super fancy).

Thanks in advance to anyone who can advise 😀

Black ivy might work

There's LOADS of good restaurants in Edinburgh but meadows/Bruntsfield is quite a student area so there are restaurants but not big selection.
Can you not do more city centre?

Great Suggestion. I'd second this

Ooh thanks for the replies! I'll Google black ivy.

Meadows/ Bruntsfield is what was suggested to me by a relative who lives there. He has a history of questionable advice so I don't see why the city centre wouldn't work! So recommendations for that part of town equally welcome:)

Blonde - it’s absolutely lovely and would be ideal for your needs. Great food, reasonable prices. I’m not sure if they have a private room but it certainly doesn’t feel like the kind of place where everyone can overhear everything.

Thank you! I will look this up too.

Vittoria on George IV Bridge has always been good for us for family events, caters for a wide age range and everyone is usually happy. They're a nice cheerful bunch in there as well. And they do have separate seating for big groups downstairs.

Blonde does have a private room, I’ve never had a bad meal there.

I was in The Ivy in St Andrew’s square recently and it was really lovely.

Any of the Howies restaurants. The one on Waterloo place has private dining areas

Three Birds (Bruntsfield)
OR
Apiary (Other end of Meadows)

Cannonball on royal mile has good food and private room

@thebottomofmypencilcase what’s the per-head budget, and how important is the “specialness” of the food? What kind of thing would you/your family usually go for?

Hmm, good question. There's not really a per head budget but I'd say in the region of £20-30 for mains is the kind of level I'm looking for.

Re type of food - anything nice! European, Asian, all fine. Kids are a bit fussy, that said. I'd like to avoid chains.

@thebottomofmypencilcase Bruntsfield/Morningside is actually a good shout for what you're looking for as prices - generally- are a bit lower than city centre.

Another which isn't amazing foodwise but is likely to be in budget and has private dining rooms is Charwood. It's a bit further out of town, but has parking and should be ok for all generations.

Actually Howies is a great shout. Food is amazing quality for the price.

Third the Blonde recommendation.

"The Bon Vivant Thistle Street, Edinburgh - Expertly constructed fine cuisine in Edinburgh city centre served in an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere" bonvivantedinburgh.co.uk IS FAB and great value

I have had good food in Black Ivy and Hendersons (veggie). I would give Montpelliers a miss (too noisy and food poor).

This is brilliant, thanks everyone. You've given me loads of ideas here.

I ate here last week and although I can't deny the food was good, and the service excellent, I found the restaurant too hot, too dark, too loud, and there wasn't room to cross my legs under the table!

My DCs like here harajukukitchen.co.uk even the super fussy one Bruntsfield/Tollcross boundary

McLaren’s at holy corner has a private room mclarensonthecorner.co.uk/private-dining/

Would never go back to Vittoria due to food poisoning a few years back.
Leftfield on Barclay Terrace is lovely, as is Three Birds.
The Rabbit Hole in Marchmont looks nice from the outside.
They're really plugging the new place in the refurbished Bruntsfield Hotel but not tried it.
Wouldn't dare give another penny to Toxic Tom's by going to his new place on Bruntsfield Place, similarly would avoid Temp Perso as it's been disappointing twice. Papilio is a great local Italian close by there.
Plenty of really casual options around Tollcross but maybe not what I'd choose for a family gathering.
Yamato on Lochrin Terrace is delicious for Japanese food.
McLaren's as someone else has suggested could be a good shout.

The Rabbit Hole is fantastic but quite small, worth checking if they can accommodate, though.