One Square

Ok, so I feel a bit of an impostor with this review because the one time I went there it was for a press event so all the food and drink was free. Normally a scumbag like me would be nowhere near this place.
Anyways, the press night I attended was a great experience. The food not only looked great but tasted fantastic. The interior is very chic too and with it being essentially a hotel bar, I felt like I was on holiday. Kind of. I was also lucky to try endless gin cocktails using their unique One Square Gin (made by local micro distillery Pickerings at Summerhall)
I was told that each of these gins would normally cost £10 so I think I drank enough to fund a cheap package holiday to Magaluf.
The food was very, very good though.

Edinburgh is not short of a cocktail bar, so to get me through the doors a place really has to do cocktails right. When we decided on One Square for our next book club location I was looking forward to a wee alcoholic treat while chatting about the finer points of our latest read.
One Square is chic and well polished. It’s in a five star hotel lobby so I’d expect nothing less. The seating arrangements are good with loads of chairs and small tables around the bar area. We missed out on the big cosy green chairs as the bar was crowded with conference goers, but our seat on the benches was good as well. It’s also worth nothing that this place has a really nice terrace bit for those infrequent sunny days.
Now a five star hotel bar had a classy cocktail menu with sadly classy prices to match. Two cocktails set me back £18.50 but they were well worth it. I wish I remembered the names of both but my second was called Avaition which was packed with booze while being very drinkable at the same time. I also enjoyed the maraschino cherry on the bottom.
With drinks with you get a small dish of nibbles, mostly crisps and nuts but it’s a nice touch for a pricey drink location. Service is what you’d expect from a five star hotel being there when you need and not overly hovering when you don’t. I’ll happy be popping along here again although the prices will make this more of a treat for me than a regular haunt.

Been here twice for dinner and its been good!
Food decent, able to cater for gluten free which also includes providing bread which is always a nice touch.
Both times I’ve been here I’ve had terrines as starter and a couple of weeks ago, my fish main course was perfectly cooked salmon which I devoured.
Its worth checking online for deals. We came previously for a friends birthday– three courses and 3 matched gins for £23. Incredibly good value!
It is a hotel restaurant so if you are looking for atmosphere then you may have to bring you own but you will be guaranteed a lovely meal with great service!

What a lovely spot for lunch or an evening meal. The bar is gaining a reputation for its extensive selection of gins, and rightly so — there are 52 to choose from. They also do a brilliant gin tasting deal as well where you can try different ones with matching tonics for £18.
Once seated in the dining room which has a wide-​screen view of Edinburgh castle and great for people watching in Festival Square, we set about making selections from the extensive all-​day menu. There are some exciting Scottish inspired modern dishes so making a decision is that bit trickier. I opted for the pan fried crab cake with avocado purée, spicy pepper dressing & cashew nuts which was really tasty. It’s a huge crab cake stuffed full with crabmeat. My friend had the breakfast style dish of Macsween haggis (£9), with woodland mushrooms & a runny sunshine-​yolked duck egg. Others around the table went for the Salmon fish cakes, spinach, soft poached egg & grain mustard sauce (14) and the seriously huge Burger which caused some severe food envy!
With slick but equally friendly service, flexible dining and such carefully presented food, One Square really is worth a visit. We are going to head back on an evening soon to try the wonderful sounding dishes including Lamb Wellington, with spiced carrot purée and burnt leeks (£19) and Highland venison with kale, parsnip, cocoa nibs and damsons (£23) and the Scottish langoustines, grilled with garlic butter (22) Yum!

I wonder if poor service goes with «hotel guest» and/​or «American». I have been waiting close to 30 minutes now for a soup to go and my check. The beginning of my meal was perfectly average– mediocre food and service. It’s the after meal wait I am stunned by. With 4 other tables, it is far from busy.
Side note– as I’m reviewing my soup came– in a bowl for here as they «don’t do to go». Well worth the wait

I went here last week on a voucher deal which I had purchased last year. The deal was for a 3 course meal for 2 people including apéritif and canapes on arrival. And a bottle of wine as well plus coffee /​tea to finish.
Before dinner, we had drinks in the bar and I was very impressed with the service. It is table service and peanuts and almonds were provded as nibbles, which was a nice touch.
On to dinner. The 3 course meal was from a ‘daily specials’ menu so some of these items might not be on the regular menu. I had a leek tart to start with and it was absolutely delicious, topped with lambs lettuce. My main course was salmon fillet, served with crushed potatoes and green beans. The fish was cooked perfectly — crispy skin and flaky fish with a delicious sauce (hollandaise?) to go with it. Needless to say I cleared my plate with gusto.
At this point, I was quite full and would have passed the dessert but since it was included I chose the ice cream sundae which was prestented with some sort of a crispy cookie which was delicious. Coffee and frangelico to finish with.
I will definitely return. They have a very nice a la carte menu with lots of options to choose from and the bar is fab.

We visited One Square armed with a voucher from Amazon Local for a daily 3 course menu meal with wine, apéritif, canapes and coffee after.
Hotel bars and restaurants are not often visited by non hotel residents. This bar is no exception. Which is a pity for the people in Edinburgh that appreciate good location, excellent service and fine dining. I think One Square definitely deserves a place amongst the poshest of cocktail bars that this city has to offer. So what it is part of the Sheraton Hotel? It is still an establishment that caters for paying customers — and more. The prices are no more expensive than many of the bars you’ll find in this category.
On arriving I was courteously greeted at the bar and advised that the it is table service, I took residence in one of the green designer chairs in the window, overlooking the Festival Square, Usher hall and the Edinburgh Castle. They brought me my beer (Innis & Gunn from the draft — £4.90) and served with it a very generous selection of almonds and jumbo peanuts, yum. Taking in the surroundings you cannot help but think, understated opulence. Dark red velour resting sofas with loads of scatter pillows to prop up against. The window seats are the aforementioned green designer chairs with high curvy backs, which act as sound barriers to keep the conversation to the table you are seated at.
Drinks menu looks like a gin blogger’s nirvana — 51 gins from 7 different countries — wow.
When seated in the restaurant we got a gin (No3) and tonic as an apéritif. with some beetroot and salmon mousse canapes. They were shaped like mini ice cream cones. According to Anita A. they were yummy! (I don’t eat fish)
We were supplied with 3 different kinds of bread & butter to wet our appetite a little further
For our 3 courses day menu (choice of 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts) — I started with a crab soup — never had it before. Will not repeat that. It was nice, but not to my taste. For main I had chicken breast, creamy potatoes and a squared breaded meaty thing. bit of a mixed bag, but well prepared.
All this we washed down with a bottle of Chilean Merlot 2013.
The dessert is where they shone the most. I had a warm banana cake and cinnamon ice cream with some honey mango coulis — sharp & sweet. I just wished there was more. The size was decent: I wanted more.
We exited the meal with a cappuccino and a frangelico liquor side.
A very pleasant meal in well presented surroundings. The staff was impeccable. Well done to One Square.
Would I go back — yes — but I will choose my own main next time instead of the limited choice of the daily menu

I was discussing, the other day, that some people seem to have a slight mental block about dining in hotel restaurants. I suppose the perception is that they’re a touch pricey, but while that may be true, the quality is often extremely impressive.
In Edinburgh, we have some outstanding hotel restaurants. The Bonham is tremendous, as is Hadrian’s and Brasserie de Luxe, and the George Street Bar & Grill and Bisque Brasserie are both rather good, too. Added to that number is One Square, the restaurant in the Sheraton, on Lothian Road.
Their menu blends locally sourced dishes, with items of a more broad, international appeal. I had a really lovely flatiron steak, and the cheeseboard, a blue cheese «flight», was probably the best I’ve had outside the Michelin places.
Service is as you would expect, and their dining room is very swish, so I’d recommend a visit to this somewhat overlooked delight.
Overall, we said «I enjoyed my visit to One Square. There’s a lot to like about the menu, and I was impressed with my dishes. I’d recommend One Square as a place to visit, as there is undoubted quality on offer, in very stylish surroundings.»