Burns Night in Edinburgh

cherylwales

We are off to Edinburgh on our first ever visit to Scotland - cant wait!! We'll be there from Sunday 24th to Wed 27th Jan and I understand that Monday 24th is Burns night. Can anyone give any advice on where to go / what we can expect? Is it a dinner time thing? If so, any suggestions for good places to go for food (not too expensive!) Any other Edinburgh related advice would be great also, though I've been scouring the other related threads so have some ideas. Also (sorry to be so demanding!) any offers or vouchers you might know of to be able to go visit things would be great.

Thanks very much for any help you can give xx:j

johnfarquhar74

Don't expect everywhere to be serving haggis, most Burns' suppers will be private/pre-booked affairs but you will find some restaurants serving it. I would google Stac Polly, Room in the town, Room in the west end or Howies. Check out the menu's, a wide variety of modern fayre and reasonably priced.

Alternatively, we have more than a few pubs in Edinburgh, and for 1st timers, there are some tourist friendly ones on the High Street, between the Tron and the Cannongate. Generally they sell good, honest, pub grub but with a Scottish flair. I guarantee you'll pick up a haggis dish there (look out for Balmoral chicken, chicken breast stuffed with haggis, served with whisky cream sauce) and there will certainly be live music in the likes of the Worlds End, the Tass or the Mitre.

I'm trying to find a link for you, but we have a restauranteur up here called James Thomson, he has a series of ventures in the city that I can only class as fine dining. Maybe a bit cliche, but all the stars(allegedly) dine at places like The Witchery, or The Tower, 2 of his restaurants. Anyway, last year he was doing a promo of 3 for 30, basically 3 courses for £30(normal menu prices, this could be as much as £60 or more!).
The food is without a doubt some of the best I've ever tasted and thankfully they are doing it again this year as I heard a promo on the local radio station, however, I can't find anything online about it. Hopefully I'll find something before you arrive, if you're interested at all?

cherylwales

Hiya, thanks so much for all the information - I am about to go and google all those places now! Information on meal deals would be fantastic if you hear any more - we had heard of the Witchery before but thought it would be out of our price range so £30 offer would be fab! Thanks again for going to so much trouble.
Cheryl

johnfarquhar74

Hi Cheryl,
found THIS after a wee bit googling. There is no date but it gives you an idea what the menu's (they change daily) are like. Before you go, call them and confirm, but I definitely heard the advert on the radio this week.
Regardless, enjoy your short stay up here. If you enjoy Edinburgh in January, I guarantee you'll love it in the summer. Can be a bit busy during the festival but there's more outdoor stuff to see and do that just isn't suitable at this time of year.