The Apiary

Enjoyed a delicious wild boar stew here. Very flavorful with rich spices, meat was super tender. My colleagues had mixed reviews of their dishes, but overall everyone enjoyed them. The atmosphere is nice and cozy, just upscale enough but not stuffy. The server was very helpful in suggesting dishes and accommodating everyone.
We all got ice cream for dessert — they have some interesting experimental flavors (e.g., horseradish and white chocolate, pink grapefruit and pink peppercorn). I never thought I would enjoy a peppercorn flavored ice cream, but surprisingly it was very nice! Nobody was adventurous enough to order the horseradish one, but our server kindly brought us a free sample. Not sure I was totally on board with that one, but the experimental nature of the flavors definitely stimulated some fun dinner conversation!

Love it here, no doubt one of my absolute favourite neighbourhood haunts. Dinners here are so much fun for 2 or a small group, especially if you indulge in one of the large tasting platters of meats or seafood.
Menu is primarily a selection of well-​prepared, fresh comfort food style dishes with just enough creativity to piqué your interest while staying familiar, with some nice surprises from abroad such as laksa curry chicken and crispy pig’s ear starter (they’re really good!) to nibble on.
They have a great value lunch set menu that offers 2 courses for just 10 quid, as well as lovely brunch offerings, but especially if it’s your first time, dinner is the star. It’s cosy and intimate, great for a date, friends or even solo (but then you might have the misfortune of missing out on the platters, and would be a shame because they are THAT amazing!)
Lunch can be hit or miss at times. I had a pretty unfortunate kedgeree once, a bland soup another, but every other time I’ve been has been really wonderful. Especially dinner! Every dinner I’ve enjoyed at Apiary has been so delicious and memorable.
Small but quality wine, beer and cocktail list. They offer a bloody Mary with a rioja float as one of them, which sounds absolutely bonkers, but it works somehow!
Wonderful puddings including a large selection of ice creams served in VERY generous big balls as well as cheese selections from Mellis. Great coffee too!
Service is always gracious, knowledgable and they genuinely care about you having a wonderful overall experience.

Team work night out and at the ready to trial their tasting menu. Loved the friendliness and warm welcome of the staff upon arrival, staff was very knowledgeable of their menu and warned us about the seafood terrine not being quite ready to save us the disappointment had we decided to order it. Wooden chairs with some nice twee cushions, good ambiance and décor. The menu was adventurous and that was totally up my street, I tried their stick rice with blackened salmon and their wild boar buna which was a delight. Their Avocado and chocolate cake was deliciously moist though be warned the marmite ice cream served with it is just weird! The plus was as it was a tasting menu the food was half priced do I ended up eating a 3 course meal with glad of vino for. Wait for it £17 including the tip!

The fam decided to take advantage of Apiary’s pre-​theatre menu (two courses for £15). Headed down around 5:30; we were the only ones in the restaurant for a while, but that was fine! It filled up later. Absolutely LOVE the staff, love the lights, love the bee theme.
Unfortunately, my food fell short. I chose to go with the butternut squash stack as an entrée and the ice cream sandwich for dessert. The «stack» was a limp tomato slice sandwiched between two thin rounds of squash. There was spinach somewhere in there, too. I would’ve loved for the squash to have a crispier exterior; everything ultimately mushed together. Heaping portion of couscous with little flavor except the occasional slice of chile. Big pile of raw, undressed greens — was this supposed to be a garnish? I did enjoy the cold, nutty sauce spooned over some of the couscous. It had a unique flavor and its cool temperature was refreshing. Also appreciated the gorgonzola.
Delicious pb&j ice cream. Blue cheese ice cream was weird as HELL but had outstanding flavor. I don’t understand the choice of nougat-​filled wafer cookies for the sandwich. They’re flavorless and don’t complement ice cream. I would’ve much preferred some sort of soft cookie that soaked up the ice cream as it started to melt.
Other food notes: the special (cheesy crisped polenta) was great. Smoked pigeon starter was also tasty, but figs are out of season.

I have a whole lot of love for the 3 birds in Bruntsfield, so I thought I ought to try Apiary and see how it compared.
I met a group of friends for brunch last Sunday and Apiary did not disappoint. The venue itself is much more spacious that it’s sister restaurant. I really enjoyed the bumblebee/​beekeeping theme throughout, it was super cute with lots of interesting things to admire. The tables were also nicely spread. Despite the cute interiors it had a slightly empty feeling to it, but perhaps that will just improve as it gets busier throughout the day. It suited us as a large group and we had a lovely big table.
The brunch menu was great, really interesting choices. They had your usual options of eggs benedict/​florentine/​royal, but also offered interesting alternatives such as coconut and corriander french toast with spiced honey and avocado pancakes with salsa. I went for the french toast and it was delicious! They also had a great choice of smoothies, I think between us we tried them all they were all super yummy.
I’m sure I’ll be back here soon as the rest of their menu choices looked very inviting, plus I have to bring my camera next time to complete this review (any excuse!)

As the sister restaurant to the well reviewed Three Birds restaurant in Morningside I was eager to try this place out.
We needed somewhere to eat before an event at Summerhall and this place was perfect, situated just around the corner on the main road. The interior is very relaxed with more of a café feel than a restaurant. We were seated in one of the cute little booths.
They offer an excellent pre-​theatre menu of two courses for £15 if you are out by 7.15pm. I chose the squid to start and gnocchi for main. Steven had the Vietnamese beef salad followed by the venison. The staff are very warm, friendly and relaxed. With the atmosphere and a bottle of red we were quickly content with our surroundings.
The food arrived quickly and beautifully presented, Not fussy but fresh and vibrant. Their menu is gluten-​free unless stated otherwise so the food feels wholesome and healthy.
With the starters quick;y devoured our mains arrived. A fantastic helping of homemade gnocchi that had been finished in a pan so it was nice and crispy! It’s the best I’ve ever had! Steven venison looked beautiful and came with a fantastic red wine sauce.
All in all a fantastic dinner for £30 each! They are also open for brunch which I can’t wait to try!
Cheers, Amy

oh my oh my oh my– best fried chicken outside of the south/​select US cities where there is a southern food movement. It comes in the form of a fried chicken burger, and they switch it up so sometimes it’s tangy, sometimes more plain ‘ol normal goodness. But still, this is every kind of tasty you can imagine. It hits all the right spots (oh come on, don’t tell me about fat and where it might hit that’s wrong).
And check out their menu, «duck salad with pickled blueberries» …where will you get anything like this ever in the whole of the UK? And you will like it. I’m serious. You have not tried anything like it before and that’s ok. You probably didn’t spend anytime in the American south and really who would blame you. If you ate like this all the time you would look like you belong in the south, and that isn’t good. And haggis salami– I mean COME ON! It’s fabulous what these guys are going with food.
The place is large and comfortable, and with good lunch deals and the above food you can guess it gets busy, so try and go a little off the normal rush hours.

This is a bloomin’ FANTASTIC place! This cosy, twinkly lights and soft furnished little restaurant is the perfect date night location just 10 mins from Princes Street in a taxi.
I arrived here with my other half on a slumberous Sunday evening and ordered a glass of prosecco as we browsed the short but tasty looking menu. So many different dishes caught my eye, particularly the seafood sharing platter, however my other half is more muscles than mussels so we instead decided to have the famous 3 Birds and Beasts platter (£36). We also chose a starter each to get our gastronomic juices flowing– Duck confit potato hash cake, poached egg, hollandaise (£5.50) for me and Venison & 3bee haggis meatballs with a whisky mustard sauce & potato discs (£6) for my partner. The started portions were perfect! My duck extravaganza was salty, creamy and full of flavour. My partner’s meatballs were rich and saucy. Oh my.
On to the main event– the platter from heaven. And yes, I truly believe God had some kind of hand in this. A huge wooden board crammed with delicious meat and sauces arrived at our table with chips and condiments. We were treated to miso beef rib, wasabi & gouda fried sandwich with French dip, Mamak fried chicken, cherry Coke pulled pork, star anise ox cheek, Thai slaw, fries, chipotle ketchup AND BBQ bacon beans. As you have probably guessed, we could not finish it but it was truly wonderful. I will dream of that platter for about a month! I recommend this brilliant, friendly place– well worth a visit as long as you go with a huge appetite.

Apiary was a pleasant surprise — it wasn’t my original choice but I was so glad to have stumbled upon this place!
The menu is refreshingly different. Or what do you think about pistachio and feta dip as starter, or perhaps some pigs ears? I had neither, but shared some massive green ‘Gordol’ olives and they were delicious.
I had the vietnamese meatball wrap (you can have it either as a salad or as a wrap). It was tasty although not a big portion, but it was just enough. In fact it was a good size as you will then have space for dessert. Interesting flavours on offer — e.g. honey and rose pepper (or something similar). However, I had an affogato which I enjoyed.
I really enjoyed my visit to Apiary and look forward to having dinner there next time. Currently they are doing a great lunch deal of 2 courses for £9.50 which is good value.

This place definitely has a bee-​hive charm. I like the interior with solid wooden furnishings and the blue wallpaper with bees on them. I like the romantic fire place with the bee candles and the electric stove heater. The service is very friendly.
There are lots of reviews raving about the food and yes it’s very different to the norm. The menu choice changes and offers pork, venison and vegetarian dishes. To me the menu sounds very a la carte and the prices are very acceptable. I did not choose anything fancy, just Egg Benedict, whereby the bacon was cooked a bit too hard for my taste. The olives as a starter were amazingly large and tasty. For dessert I ordered scoops of ice cream with very unusual flavours like chocolate stemginger & honey truffle. These are very particular tastes indeed and the texture more on the watery side.
They offer an amzing lunch deal £9.50 for 2 courses.
We will definitely be back for a dinner option. Will you?

I came back to Edinburgh to attend graduation and luckily I stayed about a block away. This wonderful place was a haven for my boyfriend and I. We had brunch here twice and dinner twice.
The brunch is affordable and delicious. I especially loved their version of a bloody mary. I had a delicious omelette and clearly had to come back twice for it!
Their dinners are equally as tasteful as their sister restaurant, Three Birds. I had the seafood platter (twice). I am not one for change if you find something as well-​cooked and made with love as this.
While the food was amazing, I must say the best part of The Apiary is their staff. They are a delight. I cannot wait to come back and enjoy the atmosphere and food. Well done!

I had lunch at the Apiary was stuffed happily from it!
The burgers sing for themselves. I wil be back to try the pulled pork version and the chicken.
The Pistachio and peach cake was like a fairy tale in my mouth = no every mouthful.
I’m assured the Rocky road dessert was delicious too.
Set in Newington, it’s handy to get to by bus and there a couple of spaces for cars.
Yeah «I’ll be Back»

After a second weekend of finding Three Birds fully booked at lunchtime, a first visit to sister restaurant The Apiary made perfect sense.
It’s very similar in vibe to Three Birds; relaxed, cosy and homely but with a bit more space. Staff are great and the food also compares just as favourably. Dishes are brilliantly inventive, cooked with great technique and made up of fresh and tasty ingredients without any of the cliché a lot of other places suffer from.
I ordered the grilled squid. The squid was very, very good. It had a lovely charred tasted, remained juicy and tender and a combination of chilli, ruby grapefruit and a little coriander through the salad was awesome! I also had some of the veggie mezze. A mix of falafel, herby yoghurt balls (I forget their proper name) crispy halloumi, a medium boiled egg, pickled carrots, roast peppers, smoked olives, hummus, tzatziki and piccalilli. All clearly homemade and again, full of flavour. I’ve never even heard of smoked olives before but now want some within arms reach at all times.
Overall another 5 stars for the folks that seem to have the secret formula for running a spectacular restaurant.

The Apiary seem to take the job of feeding me very seriously and I appreciate this greatly.
Brought to us by the same people as The Three Birds, the Apiary is bringing some foodie goodness to Newington. Not an area beset with many great eateries they certainly stand out in the area.
On a coldish winters eve I was pleased to find myself in their warm and comforting surroundings, the wood finish around the place gives a very nice feel to the place.
Having been to the Three Birds I had high expectations for this meal and I wasn’t left disappointed. Having surveyed the menu I concluded having two rounds of starters was completely acceptable.
Starter 1 was crispy pigs ears… yes that’s right pigs ears. the crispy, salty, porky delights were really tasty, served with the house aioli I was happy.
Starter 2 I went for white bait. Fishy, salty… crispy and tasty… Happy JD.
For my main I went for one of the sharing boards with fellow carnivore Dave. M, this beat came with beef ribs, pork ribs and chicken wings, along side slaw, chips and the obligatory side salad. Fair to say we destroyed it… MEAT!
All of it was delicious… it was fairly nutritious and all in all I was a very happy JD!
This place comes Highly Jd Recommended!

After seeing a flurry of reviews pop up soon after The Apiary opened, I knew I had to get along and try it myself. A sister restaurant of Three Birds, which I already am in foodie-​love with, I had high hopes; and it didn’t disappoint.
The space is literally the opposite of Three Birds. Where Three Birds is teeny tiny and involves shuffling and bumping past fellow diners (in an amicable way), The Apiary is in a huge space — tall ceilings and plenty of booths around the outside with tables in the middle. It seems a little like they inherited it as it was from previous owners and did little to refurb or make it their own. And the space isn’t intimate or ‘date like’; I saw a few families dining here, so it seems like a space better suited to larger parties; or an old-​hat date like I was on.
The food is seasonal, the menu will change with the seasons, and had lots of delightful things to choose from like pigs ears, the meat sharing platter, pigeon, squid stuffed with chorizo — far too many for me to choose from!
I went for the porotobello mushrooms with manchego cheese to start, and the thai vegetarian curry for main. Both were lovely. It’s a 4 star review for the food; and 4 stars in a sense that it’s well cooked, local seasonal food at an affordable price, served with a smile. It’s very high quality local, seasonal food; but it’s also not fine dining. And this suits me just right.
The bananana custard eton mess type affair for dessert was delicious too.
It’s a local neighbourdhood restaurant doing what it does very well. Would be nice to see a slight update of the interior; but the staff are all smiles which makes a big difference too.

I had lunch at Apiary two days in a row, even though it’s across town from me, so that should tell you something.
Love the restaurant setting, it’s lovely to sit in a booth by the window with the sun streaming in.
Tried quite a few things on the new spring menu, loved the boudin noir, I’m assured the lamb tostada is also fantastic. The duck confit had a perfectly crunchy skin and beautifully cooked meat underneath, paired well with greens & buckwheat noodles and a star anise sauce. The peanut butter & jam ice cream with the rocky road is a taste sensation and the mess is delicious for those with a sweet tooth.
A few other things still need a bit of tweaking but overall the menu is shaping up to be fantastic. The evening menu looks great as well and I look forward to heading back and trying it out.
Service is very relaxed and friendly, although at times could have been slightly more attentive.

The Apiary is absolutely lovely, and it feels like you are stepping into a world of charm and decadence. I first came two weeks ago with a group of eager Unilocalers and I was, like Cressi, absolutely entranced by the place. The décor is beautiful and the place is charming and elegant but also feels like it is romantic yet unpretentious. When I first came I ordered a vegetarian for my main that was served over couscous. Having traveled in Morocco two years ago, my expectations for an authentic tajine were quite high but I was a bit disappointed by it since it was underwhelming compared to my neighbours’ 3Bees Bird and Beasts sharing platter — it was absolutely massive and astounding! The quality of the meat was also superb (my manly friends were kind enough to share a bourbon glazed rib with me, which says a lot, but then again they were so stuffed with the massive platter that by the end they seemed a bit relieved to share with me although they didn’t want to let on about that!). On to dessert — I had the chocolate brioche bread pudding with chocolate ice cream and it was really tasty! I ordered well that time round.
Tonight I came back with a friend and it was busy and bustling since it was the second day of their new menu and they were offering 50% off food in exchange for feedback — I was more than happy to help! Caz and Claire had been yesterday for lunch and raved about it, and Caz even returned a second day in a row for lunch so they had tried many options and gave me many helpful suggestions. The dinner menu was quite different from the one they had sent me photos of, but I also thought it had much better options. I was torn and had to keep asking the friendly server for her recommendations, which were spot on.
I had the 3bee boudin noir salad with honey roast sweet potato, grapefruit soused tomato and roasted red onion. The richness of the black pudding was complemented perfectly by the sweet and fruity other components of the salad, making it divine. My friend had a vegetarian salad with lovely field mushrooms.
For our mains, my veggie companion had couscous and feta fritters which seemed quite innovative and she said they were delicious. I had the coriander, chili, and lager braised lamb shoulder which was well done but succulent and cooked to perfection. We also shared the fries that came in a little bag — they were tasty skinny fries that were along the lines of McDonalds’ French fries (not a bad thing in this case) but much better. They also came in a rustic paper bag.
For dessert my friend had the banana, honey and custard mess which she felt was much too sweet. I had the rocky road with marshmallows, shortbread, Turkish delight and chocolate over peanut butter and strawberry jam ice cream. I was a bit put off by the idea of PB&J ice cream (thinking that one or the other would be ok but not together in ice cream although they do work in the classic sandwich of my childhood!) but the enthusiastic server convinced me easily to try it. It was amazing! It was really peanut butter ice cream with a few little swirls of jam, and the rocky road and shortbread was fantastic (although if truth be told the pieces could have been a tad smaller and more bite-​sized).
All in all, it was a fabulous evening! The ambiance was perfect and beautiful with the candles on the tables. The staff were all helpful, friendly and enthusiastic. The wine was fantastic. Last but but least, the food was absolutely delicious!

Fab gluten free options and great non-​standard vegetarian options. Being GF can be a challenge and having to do the whole asking thing and then it being clear that staff don’t have a clue what you are talking about then makes the whole thing a bit awkward and full of trepidation in case they got it wrong and you suffer the consequences later.
Not here. Most of the menu is naturally gluten free — no cheap wheat fillers here clearly! Good quality ingredients and lots of choice. I could have crispy stuff (normally off limits), I could have chips without fear of contamination. The Apiary rocks and I’m heading back in a few days with a friend who missed out.
Beware though. The whole menu is so damn tempting — from little bites, the starters, the mains and the desserts. Portions are on the hearty side for mains so I was full to bursting after dinner here. Crispy pigs ears were delish with aioli as were the whitebait starters. I opted for one of the specials — guinea fowl wrapped in pancetta with duck confit and sage and shallot mash — it was lovely but even I was defeated in not being able to clear the plate. Plus I had seen the dessert options and I wanted to test them out.
Dessert was a coconut sponge with lime and Malibu — it was delish. I never did the whole Malibu thing as a teenager but all the flavours worked out so well.
Everyone appeared to love their food and there were lots of head nods and smiles as we chowed down.
So, I still think Newington rocks as an eating area and The Apiary is a great addition. It is cosy without being cramped and there are some lovely touches — little booths with coat hooks on the side, gorgeous prints and décor and just a lovely warm, buzzy feeling. So I’m heading back in a few days and I plan on taking my next lot of visitors here too :-)
Prices — bites around £2.50 (bread is cheaper and GF is available too), starters around £5 with mains around £10−17 and desserts around £6. Wine — starts from £3.50 a glass with carafe options (£8) and a decent price range for bottles.

From the moment I walked through the entrance, I was… Entranced. Punny but true. Larger than I expected, and darker, more romantic, was this beehive around which there had been such buzz. There was beautiful, unusual art on the far wall, and fairy lights twisted around the mantel above the warm electric fire. Behind me, a vast blackboard proclaimed the day’s specials in proud lettering, and the staff bid me a friendly hello as I pranced past, a spring already in my step.
So the setting was a joy. The company, as with all Unilocaly get togethers, equally so. All that remained was to sample the food.
Well, you can see from the rating just how that turned out. For a starter I tried the day’s vegetarian special, the roasted mushrooms with garlic and melted taleggio. I tell you, I would happily come back for that dish alone, but the free range chicken supreme with cream cheese, ham hock, bacon, and mustard and veal jus on smoky potatoes maintained the flavour explosion. The final master stroke — a clementine and butterscotch mess presented like a knickerbocker glory topped with a glacé cherry — was fiendishly good.
When you add to all of this how close it is to the Queen’s Hall, my favourite venue in Edinburgh, and the fact that they have a two-​course deal if you’re early enough to vacate by seven, and you have one place I am very, very likely to return to many times…

The Apiary is tremendously charming, and delivers dishes of real quality. I sampled a delicious soup and hearty venison stew. Their wine list is really smart, too, with everything available by the glass. All fans of Three Birds, which is owned and run by the same people, will love this place. I look forward to our little Unilocal outing there, in February :-)
Overall, we said: «The Apiary was hugely impressive. The assurance with which Three Birds has established itself has transferred across directly, allowing this place to hit the ground running. It feels like an integral part of the fabric of our richly-​woven Edinburgh restaurant tapestry, already. I’d strongly recommend a visit.»