New York Steam Packet

We went looking for this place 22:00 on a Friday night, found it dark and closed. Is it still in business?

when organising a work night out, it can be hard to find a venue that is willing to host a dozen plus women (and one man) from HR that are looking for a decent meal without paying loads of money. fortunately New York Steam Packet fits this criteria quite well, a three course meal for £15.95, BYOB and £1 corkage. so last friday night this is where i headed…
now this place is well hidden, thankfully getting dropped off right at the bottom of the alley way with the driver telling us it’s right up there made it a bit easier to find. however we were confronted with a short cobbled alley that had seen better days and us in 4 inch heels. arm in arm we walked as daintly as possible to the door only to be greeted by a rather ominous like spiral staircase. we walked up to the restaurant with a rather massive fear of how we would ever make it back down those stairs at the end of the meal! the restaurant itself is small and they do two seatings per evening. one at 6pm and the other at 8:15pm. it’s good for large parties though as they can accomodate about three large groups at each seating and don’t seem bothered by loud laughter and chatting.
the menu is fairly simple, three courses for £15.95 with about 6 choices per course. i went with the deep fried potato skins followed by the beef burger. the potato skins were ok, i had expected them to have melted cheese in the middle as this is what potato skins are like in the states. but they were literally just deep friend large wedges of potatoes with a chilli mayo on the side. tasty enough, but not exciting. the beef burger was much better though and i did really enjoy this. however the fries were a bit meh with a lot of them being soggy. my last course was chocolate fudge cake which was lovely but i was too full after only a few bites to try and finish this. the meal in total with tip and corkage fees for 12 of us was £21 each. hard to complain as i brought my own bottle of wine which i drank most of…
overall, i thought New York Steam Packet was ok. i had a decent meal at good value, but i wasn’t overly impressed. Also the cobbled lane and stairs up to the restaurant are pretty much a death trap for any woman that wears heels, so i had to knock a star off for this. i’d return if it was suggested for another night out, but wouldn’t rush back.

Having discovered the NYSP at the Unilocal event and had assurances from Kev that special needs (Gluten Free) wouldn’t be an issue, myself and Jackie G rocked up here early Friday night. Although NYSP is BYOB, both of us were a bit ‘tired’ having indulged the night before so we wanted good food and soft drinks.
Tucked away in Rose St North Lane, its still central. Beware of tackling the winding stairs to the restaurant in heels (or having been drinking) but reaching upstairs you’ll find a really cute American restaurant.
Three courses from a set menu comes in at around £15 and is a total steal! Lots of GF options (loving a restaurant where I have lots of choices!) so potato skins to start with chilli mayo — lovely and crispy potato skins and tangy mayo, then a sirloin steak which was huge! Serious steak overdose here, which covered half of the plate and was cooked to perfection, came with chips (needed after a fragile night before) and salad (little bit of healthy eating). Even a GF option for pud — warm choc brownie and cream — yum! Though I have to admit, I’d want Kev knighted if he could offer the Toffee Crunch Dime Bar Cake as a GF version…
This is a great wee restaurant — fab food and lovely chilled out atmosphere and well worth a visit!

Well stars, stripes and spangled banners. How did this little pocket of Americana to the power of CAPTAIN AMERICA squeeze itself into Edinburgh? Because a wee squeeze it is. In the most adorable and cosy of ways.
Tucked up Rose Street Lane (just off Rose Street), blink-and-you’ll-miss-it is the NYSP (I think a play on NYPD?) There’s no room for more than one and a half people in the entrance, and the winding staircase is tight, steep and has an extra oomf on the last step. Make your way, and a pretty impressive Statute of Liberty sets the backdrop to an adorable, snug restaurant with a view right into the kitchen.
How Chef Kev manages to serve out as much amazing, belly-​bursting food as he does in the kitchen, I’ll never know. And as the name, Statue of Liberty and Americana-​theme dictates, the food is all the best America has to offer. We’re talking burgers, chicken, steaks, and a few other twists like chicken pâté, soups and mussells.
Let me linger for a moment on the desserts. Dime Bar Cake. Cheesecake. Double Chocolate Ridiculousness cake (I made up the name of that last one). The Dime Bar Cake is sinfully good, one bite and you think «ohgodIreallyshouldn’tnononoJenputthespoondownthis­istoogood» and whilst this internal monologue is playing, you suddenly realise there is no more cake in front of you and you’re having a wee sugar rush from all the GOODNESS that you uncontrollably ate. At least that’s what happened to me.
But rewind a bit and try that steak. With that sauce. Oh lord. Ok, so it’s a not a steak house and you shouldn’t go expecting a fine fillet with a Bernaise sauce. But whatever the heck Kevin puts into the sauce, sweet baby J, keep doing it. It was everything that is right and good about red meat and creamy sauces all mixed together.
The burgers and burgers and OOFT they’re good.
Basically. It’s a lot of good, American-​style eating. And pretty sure it’s 3 courses for £15? For the amount of food you get, you really can’t complain. BYOB too which is nifty.
I think they often have whole restaurant-​bookings for stag parties, hen nights and birthday parties. This is nice in a way as it means a hoard of giggly hens can have the restaurant to themselves, and not worry about disturbing other diners, whilst having their own private party.
Whenever I mention NYSP to folk they either have that knowing gleam in their eye of «oh yes I know the one. And I love it» or «what’s that now? Never heard of it.» Definitely one of Edinburgh’s better kept secrets, tucked away but worth seeking out.
I’ll be going back as soon as my half marathon training starts!!!

Blink and you’ll miss it.
Seriously, you could walk past this wee gem a dozen times and not know it’s there!
However, once you creep along the narrow alley, throught the unassuming door, and up that spiral stair case it’s a bit of a treat. A tiny place that looks like it should be a speakeasy, scuffed and worn furniture and old photos hanging on the walls, but don’t let appearances deceive you.
The lads here are super-​friendly and really know how to build a burger. It didn’t look huge, but by the end I was stuffed and it seriously tasty.
Great value for a mighty feed!

I love the idea behind this place, set menu, BYOB, New York themed and the setting of our first ever Unilocal Movie Night!
So when I walked up the twisty/​twindy Iron staircase after walking up a random alley off Rose Street I was pleasantly surprised! And of course welcomed by many a familiar face! The menu had a good selection of choice… I was struggling wtith the Starter, but ended up going for Mussels in white wine, cream and garlic and lots of other things to make this quite simply the best bowl of Mussels I have had! Then it was time to get out burger on. I decided to stick with a simple beef burger. All the burgers here are home made as I have been told from the man himself and it totally pays off! Delicious. Simple.
Then there was pudding… Dime Pie. My hips were screaming at me not to, but I totally did, and I loved every single mouthful of it!
Then came the Movie, some drooling over Ryan Gosling, bucket loads of banter… and the infamous mario kart on the Nintendo 64. This is what made the night for me… the guys here are just such a hoot and that is what makes that extra difference!

Whoa. What a place. I honestly didn’t think Edinburgh was cool enough to have places like this tucked away down back-​alleys. You just keep surprising me, Edinburgh.
I was desperate to try this New York Steam Packet for months, mostly because I pawed my way through the photo album of the elite event hosted here back in 2011 and I was jealous of how good the night looked. Thems burgers! Theys tater skins! That staircase!
I’ve been a few times now. I say again, what a place! The first few times I was just blown away by the food, the price and the atmosphere, but now I know New York Steam Packet’s glorious hidden secret: they have a Mariokart Nintendo 64 hooked up to a projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector. Mariokart. Nintendo 64. Projector.
Yep, this now my FAVOURITE restaurant in the entire United Kingdom. The staff were SO nice they let me win every race in the Mushroom Cup. The food was SO good I didn’t even gloat too hard when I won every race in the Mushroom Cup.

You’d be hard pressed to find a better value venue for your office Christmas dinner than the NYSP. Having known the name for years I’ve only this year taken heed of advice to check it out and my party of 20 were all well fed and watered with 3 courses for £18.95 & corkage of just £1 for wine (one in the eye for all the places that charge 3 times as much in the age of screw tops).
It’s an intimate venue to say the least and the potential for a toilet queue is probably the major negative about the place but the service was swift and cheery and you’re pretty much left to just get on and enjoy yourselves whilst the staff beaver away in the background. Steaks were all cooked as ordered and the main course helpings were generous.

Fantastic food, great atmosphere and would definitely eat here again. The burgers and steak are two of favourites. generally id say to give it a go!

So good I am going to have to review this place twice — once hereas a tribute to the place and once as a tribute to an event held here last night.
On one hand, I’m delighted to announce another notch on the cool club belt of discovering this little place tucked up a side street behind a heavy door… honestly if I had found this place on my own I would have thought it closed. On the other hand, how have they stayed in business so long (the establishment has been running since the 70’s, but the present owners only for the past 3 years) being so hidden and so small? Perhaps you can attribute that to it being a great wee find!
My favourite part of the NYSP is the metal curving staircase into the teeny tiny restaurant. It’s like emerging into a magical old world, with cruiser memorabilia everywhere you look, from the posters on the walls to the brass fixings on the benches around the walls. With an open kitchen, you have full access to watching your food being made. Well, in theory, as the event last night had the walls jumping with Unilocalers eager to try chef Kev’s fare.
And the food is good. For me, the highlight was the mussels that Jurgen D. waxed lyrical about in his review — so succulent and tender, they were an instant win in my book, which is against the norm with me when it comes to mussels. Other highlights that I had the opportunity to try included vegetarian enchiladas and a vegetarian burger — the burger, a little dry, but tasty all the same.
When the dessert platter came around, we got to try all the desserts available — cheesecake, dime bar cake, pecan pie and chocolate cake. For me, the chocolate cake was far too rich and needs something to take away from the heaviness, but eh, who needs chocolate cake when you have Dime Bar? That cake bitch slaps all the other dessert options on the menu.
The boy wasn’t available to test out NYSP last night so it is clear what I must do. Take him to NYSP and lucky for me, he doesn’t like cake…

Love this place have eaten here more than a dozen times in the last year. Its BYOB.
If your an American longing for a taste of home you have to have the burger it is as good as it gets.
Personally my normal order is Mussels (amazingly fresh, im told they delivered for each service fresh from the Shetlands), Steak (great sirloin) with garlic butter, its served with chips and salad and unless I miss lunch i struggle to finish.
For desert theres three sugar rich options of dime bar cake, pecan pie or chococlate fudge. Im a chocolate fan so my decision is easy :)
Try it its worth it :)

The menu at this American style restaurant is my ideal. wholesome, slightly heavy and just a little bit unhealthy!
The Steam Packet (??? I know…) is located on Rose Street, one of Edinburgh’s quirkier streets, and like many other restaurants in town they’ve got a pre-​theatre menu. I’m starting to wonder how many people actually go to the theatre here, or if it’s just become popular to say so. They function around bookings, so whilst there’s an official closing time, it all depends on how many reservations there are.
They’ve got some delicious starters, and I had a little giggle at the gangsta «harlem» dip! The main dishes are heffers though, including steaks, burgers and enchiladas. For dessert you can have a pecan pie, or choc fudge cake: D!!!
I’d definitely work up an appetite before eating there though.

Nice little American restaurant — we had our Xmas work lunch here and everyone was pretty pleased with the food. Service was friendly and I agree with the others here that the place had a great atmosphere.
Only slight downside is that there isn’t much of a selection on the dessert menu — a couple of chocolatey gateaux plus a guest dessert that they do from time to time.
Overall pretty good though

This little gem is a must to book in advance as the intimate layout doesn’t leave a lot of room for many diners. Decorated tastefully with memorabilia of the US, it adds to the ambience of being in a small loft. A small, well balanced menu leaves you feeling satisfied. You can also see the chefs prepare your food, which is always a focal point. Don’t have too much wine though, those steps on the way down are a bit precarious!