The Salisbury Arms

The Salisbury Arms is a nice pub and restaurant near Pollock Halls on Dalkeith Road. I’ve not eaten here yet, so my review cannot include the food element, but I have heard good things from friends.
The ambience of the place is very nice. There’s usually a nice mix of people– students, families, work colleagues– and the staff are friendly and welcoming in my experience.
Prices are higher than I normally like to pay on my student budget. Not only this, but when I went to buy a pint of Peroni (advertised as £3.80 on the menu), I was charged £4.40. Quite annoying!
I will likely be back in future, given its location close to where I live, and hopefully I will try the food then.

With Christmas tunes playing and a blazing fire, the restaurant has a lovely holiday feel. Our waitress was exceptionally personable and very knowledgable about the specials; I wish I’d learned her name (she had cool eyeliner and a lip piercing).
I ordered the roasted vegetable tart. Generously portioned, the tart holds layers of vegetables (sauteed red onions, olives, roasted squash, beets, and parsnips) in a deep, herb-​infused crust. Any empty spaces are filled with a warm cheese sauce. The dish has a wonderful range of flavors and textures; it’s garnished with croutons, pumpkin seeds, and a large (somewhat unnecessary) strip of roasted red pepper. I thought the olives would be weird but they worked. Could be improved by thickening the sauce/​upping its Stilton flavor and cutting the vegetables into an evener dice (instead of little bits of squash and whole halves of beet).
Took a few bites of the fish and chips — tender fish and very minty peas, but where was the malt vinegar? :) Array of desserts looked like a cool combination of traditional and modern (rum raisin crème brûlée!).
Overall: great décor, good food, and charming service.

I met a couple of American friends in here for lunch and was immediately impressed with the ambience and décor. Although it’s essentially a pub/​restaurant now, the building has clearly enjoyed a more salubrious past and the present appearance exhibits some echoes of that.
There’s a modest but select choice of real ales on hand pumps and plenty in the whisky and spirits range to keep you occupied for an evening.
It wasn’t too busy as we arrived at the end of lunch hour, so we easily found a table. After some minutes when no waiting staff had appeared to offer menus, I picked some up myself and we quickly flagged down a passing waitress to order lunch. None of us were particularly hungry as it turned out, so in the end I opted for breaded cod bites on a focaccia sandwich with a wee dish of skinny fries, which was pretty basic but tasty enough for a lunch bite. A bit of salad to go with it wouldn’t have gone amiss though. My companions chose crisps and dips (olive and red pepper), which would have been a nice snack to go with your beer, but a bit sparse for anything else I thought.
Overall I like the ambience of this place and would happily return for a more substantial meal if I’m in the area. The fact that they have a (small) car park is certainly a bonus in this part of town.

Despite being opposite Edinburgh University’s main halls of residence, the Salisbury Arms, with its subtle, rustic elegance and light, spacious dining area, is a far cry from the Bar’s previous incarnation, popular student hang-​out The Crags.
The menu has an extensive range of starters, manins and desserts, the highlight of these is the house sharing platter is a fresh and zesty homemade salsa verde which accompanies roasted fig and prosciutto. The Fish tasting platter is also good but the tortilla crisp feel a bit greasy making you not enjoy it as much. It needs a fresher element. Also they have recently added a crab pie whisch actually is just down right odd!
The usual a la carte menu has a huge range of choices on it plus, there are various weekly specials on offer such as the Sunday-​Thursday ‘School-​night Supper’ or the fish and champagne themed ‘Fin and Fizz Fridays’. However, coming under the umbrella of the Village Pub and Kitchen Group, the Salisbury Arms does seem a bit uniform, which detracts from the ‘local pub’ image they try to promote. Also I do have to note that the quality of the food does need a bit of work on the whole as it is just missing being a great place.
Pub quiz on a Tuesday is a must and really good fun though the competition is very fierce!
So great pub, cozy warm atmosphere but sort out the average food please!

Mmmm… To be fair, I had a light breakfast and was deprived of lunch today. Dinner here was a bit late, too. That being said…
The chips were the absolute best I’ve had in the UK, so far. The fish was also the best. The cheese duo to start with was really good, especially the onion cheese, which ever it was. The beer was good («bitter and twisted»). Dessert was good too («The Sampler»). Above all, the waitresses were. Cheerful and helpful.
Given I’ve been a week in Scotland with no scotch, I asked for two very different, but good, single malts. The bartender came out to ask what I was looking for. Ultimately, she decided that Laphroaig and the Edinburgh malt (Glenkinchie) would be the selections. But that is beside the point. The point is that she took the time to come out and talk to me about my request, even if briefly. Excellent customer service!
The bill was better than expected, given the feast we ordered.
5 stars

I’ve been to The Salisbury Arms five or six times and thought it was time for a review.
This is the kind of place you really, really want to like. It’s off the beaten track of Clerk Street, tucked away off Dalkeith Road opposite the Commonwealth Pool. The venue has the feel of an old country house (from the outside) and the inside is pleasant high end gastropub décor. This makes for a great tasteful atmosphere, if a little corporate (it is a chain after all).
Service and food is completely hit or miss unfortunately. An unsuspecting customer might get enthusiastic, attentive service or similarly might spend the night dolefully trying to catch the eye of staff and finally give up, taking bank card dutifully to the bar to pay off the bill.
I’ve never had the fish and chips there but my friends have and always complain that the batter is very greasy. I’ve had the soup there too. The waitress said it was carrot & coriander but I was brought a plate of something that could only have been tomato or minestrone. It was so acidic I could barely eat it. Recently I’ve been there and had sausages and mash with onions. It was good tasty comfort food and given previous experiences I was satisfied. However, a couple of weeks ago my friend and I tried the House Tasting Platter (chicken & duck liver pâté, fishcake, soup (almost inedible again!) ciabatta, goat’s cheese, pork belly and brie). When it came I regretted ordering it because the food seemed like a strange combination and was pretty fatty. We left a good half of the platter, not because we were full up but because some of it was not appetising.
Apart from the food, the venue is great for large drinking groups. There’s plenty of room and a variety of beverages/​spirits to choose from. Cocktails are a little overpriced. The whole menu/​pricing system is a little overpriced for what you get. Kids are welcome (some might say too welcome!). If you go there through the day for a quiet drink with a friend you might be met with a wall of noise (of the baby variety).
You might ask why I keep going back? Well, it’s the only place in the area that has disabled access/​toilet. I just wish they would get a handle on the food and service.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Wheelchair access: There’s a large car park with one or two disabled bays and flat access into the venue with a disabled toilet. For some reason part of the dining section is up some stairs but the main part is downstairs and flat out onto the decking and outdoor tables.

When I walked in here I loved it immediately — the stylish décor made it so inviting, cosy and relaxing and I instantly envisioned many more happy visits here. There is a dining area and separate seating area of sofas, tables and chairs to enjoy a drink/​nap on; cosy fire, lovely mood lighting and various paintings of Scottish nature and artefacts hanging from the wall. I felt as though I could have been in Scottish country house hotel and so I would refer to it as my little get away when I want away from the Edinburgh city buzz.
I attended the Unilocal Xmas meal which initially I enjoyed but if I was to deconstruct it I would say: I was impressed by my starter of brie — a whole chunk dressed with apricot sauce — delicious! Thankfully my main course tasted better than it looked — pork belly with smash potato and cranberry sauce slapped on the side sitting in a greasy looking gravy and perched on top was an onion ring — i was missing real veggies here (maybe I missed those details on the menu) so I stole a sprout from the plate next to mine. For dessert it was Yule-​tide log with berries and this looked better than it tasted — a little smaller than I expected and the log was rather dry.
However I wasn’t put off and definately want to come back and eat here again as I have heard so many good things about the food and the look and feel of the place had me when I first set foot inside.

Having read all these lovely Unilocalers’ reviews I have been desperado to sample some Salisbury Arms grub for aaaaages. So after months, the wait was over and I was positively giddy with excitement. And as i skipped through the door, my first impressions were good: clean, nice décor and not an open door in sight. There was an impressive menu on offer and we were served quickly and without any problems.
Now, I sometimes find when you’re really looking forward to something, it can end in tears and disappointment. Luckily, this didn’t happen on this occasion. We were a big table of toddlers, kiddies and adults and have to say our waitress was brilliant and possibly had the patience of a saint. The bloody Mary was pretty decent and my surf and turf was ok — not exceptional and could certainly done with being a bit warmer but tasty. My fellow diners didn’t exactly shout about their grub but there was lots of nodding and uhmmmm-​ing when I asked. Looking forward to the next time!

Visited last Sunday for the Unilocal Christmas dinner.
I agree with the mixed feelings some other reviewers hadve. I was looking forward to a meal as ordered and presented by our organiser. (no mulled wine) But misgivings aside.
I am impressed with the cosyness of the place and the large (lounge?) bar area were we met up just before dinner.
The food was OK. The definate winner was the full wedge of breaded brie — well prepared and just right in the oozingness of melting cheese. yummy!
The steak was a dissapointment, well cooked, but lacking flavour and many fatty bits (I couldn’t recall ordering a certain cut so this may be down tomy own misplaced expectations.) the sauce (peppercorn) was bland. The fries were thin cut and crisp.
Dessert for me was a chocolate nutty cheesecake — good texture — no flavour.
In all I was left a bit wanting for more satisfaction out of my meal.
The service was friendly and efficient and great credit to the waitress who kept our glasses topped up with wine — she was very good and very helpful.
It wasn’t a memorable evening for the food, but I met some great people and the place was good to actuallybe able to talk. It wasn’t noisy at all eventhough many people were there.
The tables and space supplied was well suited — nothing crammed in corners to fit the number as you sometimes see at other establishments.
For that I say it is well suited for a group.
Must indeed visit with a smaller group to see a difference.

After hearing loads of rave reviews, and receiving a voucher for a free bottle of champagne (real champagne) for my birthday, I was keen to try The Salisbury Arms.
I had never been to the original incarnation so had nothing to compare it to, but I enjoyed the muted, modern and very Scottish interior. We had arrived about 30 minutes before our booking and were offered our table right away. Our waitress was lovely and attentive and very quick at getting out food and drinks.
We started with this seriously tasty bread full of a cheese/​onion/​tomato mix and served with olive oil and a fantastic sweet vinegar.
I was impressed with the price range of dishes — ranging from about £8 to £20, it really allows the diner to find something good in their price range.
Two of our party opted for the chicken, one for a lamb burger, and The Man and I both went for surf and turf — his being steak and prawns and mine being pork belly with black pudding and scallops. Everyone seemed happy with their dishes, except me. My dish without scallops was £13.95. With the scallops it was £17.95. When it arrived I was disappointed to see two tiny sad looking scallops and was even more disappointed to bite into them and find that they were gritty. Tasty, but very gritty. So, I paid £4 for tiny gritty scallops. The black pudding with my dish was the kind you would get from Tesco on the cheap (I’m a black pudding lover and therefore very picky). The pork belly was very moist and tasted lovely, but not cooked long enough for the fat to properly thin, so I was left scraping layers of fat to the side of my plate.
The £10 dessert platter was good value, and once we polished this off we moved to the bar.
Stuffed from our meals we opted for spirits and the guys decided they fancied some rusty nails. When we ordered these, the bartender asked «what’s a rusty nail?» What kind of bartender in Scotland doesn’t know what a rusty nail is? Oh that’s right, a bad one. We opted for whisky instead and somewhere in the middle of getting together our drink orders he got distracted and stood for about 10 seconds just staring at a group of girls who had just come up to the bar. He then explained that it’s difficult for men to multitask, especially around women. Um, what? I couldn’t tell if he was distracted because he thought they might cause trouble, or because he was admiring their scantily clad arses.
So all in all, a pretty varied experience. I’m glad we finally tried it, but… I don’t see us returning in a hurry.

Unilocal Christmas Dins!
I am giving this 4 stars for a few reasons. Firstly the staff. They did well given they had to feed 30 of us and 3 courses. They maintained composure and were friendly. Secondly we didnt recieve mulled wine as promised however they did offer us a glass of champers each — fine for me! Thirdly the meal was pretty tasty!
I ordered the salmon — tasty and their was plenty! some butter with the bread would have been nice, but once one of the Unilocalers asked the waitress promptly brought some out. I chose Pork Belly for main, they pork fell apart and was not dry at all, as pork sometimes can be! Yum! I finished with Crème Brulee for desert, not the best crème brûlée ive had but it was good! and two little cute amaretto biscuits topped it off!
I liked the inside and the mix of sofas and chairs & I think it would be very nice to go in a smaller group. So ⁴⁄₅ for effort !! And I look forward to popping in sometime in the future. Thank you Jen for organising !! x

i originally knew this location as the crags, a rather popular bar with students as they offered pound a pint mondays and were only a short walk from the pollock halls campus. however, i was quite pleased to see it had been re-​born into a gasto-​pub like you’d find out in the country. so i was very much looking forward to the Unilocal xmas dinner here, but left feeling somewhat disappointed.
on arrival i was super impressed with how nice the place had been done up! loads of neutral colours and big comfy sofas and fire places and such a nice cosy ambience. however, when we inquired after the table we were told it wasn’t set up as the booking was for 7:30pm not 7pm… a bit strange but we sat on some cosy sofas while we waited and were then shown to a table.
we’d all pre-​ordered so no need for menus and food started to arrive shortly after we had sat down and been poured some wine. i had the smoked salmon to start with and it was very nice although i could have used some butter to go with the brown bread that was on the side… this was followed by the turkey which i found to be incredibly tough and dry to the point i left most of it on the plate. the roasted veg was fairly nice, but the roasted potatoes were a disappointment as they were two huge pieces of potato that had almost zero taste to them… not what a roastie should be :(my meal was completed with a slice of chocolate walnut cheesecake that i found very nice, but i’m fairly sure this was bought in instead of made on site.
i also found the service a bit off during the meal. we had one waitress that was so lovely and trying her best to make sure everyone was happy and had what they needed. however, the food was brought out at such strange intervals! where the turkey main courses were served a good ten minutes after everyone else had received their main. meaning either people waited and started in on cold food or they were done by the time the person across from got their meal. and then there was the mulled wine fiasco which is better sited in Jenny L’s review…
overall, i wasn’t impressed. the reason this place got 3 stars instead of 2 was because we were a large party so maybe if this was a smaller gathering off their normal menu then the food and service would have been better. will i go back after my experience, maybe but i certainly won’t rush back.

The Salisbury Arms was the venue of choice for the Unilocal Christmas Dinner — no small feat. 30 hungry Unilocalers looking for a homely, cosy venue and a delicious festive feast. The night itself was wonderful, everyone brought so much Christmas spirit, and largely due to the lovely Unilocalers who came I had a wonderful evening.
I do have mixed feelings on The Salisbury Arms generally though. I really want to like it, and I’m going to come back to try it again when it’s not a large table of 30 dining from a fixed Festive menu. But I fear that the large table and repetitive menu didn’t show them in their best light.
The venue itself is beautiful, the perfect setting for a warm, wintery dinner. A fire, big couches, tall ceilings, antlers on the wall. Very nice, couldn’t fault it really.
We had one waitress who was very, very lovely and trying her darndest to make sure we were happy. The table wasn’t read when we arrived as she thought it was 7.30pm, not 7pm. No biggie. We’re all happy to mill with drinks.
However, my one real negative point is this. I pre-​ordered 2 glasses of mulled wine for each Unilocaler as a Festive treat. It was on the pre-​order menu, so I duly put down the quantity and all was ok’d when I handed in the pre-​order sheet 2 weeks before and paid the deposit.
After the Starters arrived I realised there was no mulled wine. When I enquired I was told that they had none. Oh. But isn’t that the point of a preorder? I was then told by the Manager that they’ve never had Mulled Wine on the menu. Ever. THey’ve never served it, so why did I order it? Because it was on the pre-​order sheet. Oh, that’s odd. That’s a mistake. THey have mulled cider instead. Oh great can we have that? No, because we’ve run out. Oh… Awkward pause. Well it’s they’re mistake that they included an option on the pre-​order sheet that they never had to serve in the first place, so they comp’d us a glass of champagne each. Fair dos.
They did resolve the issue on the night, yes, but only when i chased it up. What gets me is they didn’t check the pre-​order sheet before the meal (when they had it for 2 week before) and call me to say they had made a mistake. They didn’t even tel me on the night when they knew they didn’t have any, or take me aside to explain. They just didn’t say anything that was fully their mistake. So it was resolved, yes, but I was made to feel foolish when really I had followed instructions exactly. As an events organiser, managing a table of 30 people with different food intolerances, allergies, requirements, and getting the order exactly right isn’t the easiest (although I do love seeing everyone so happy!) So things like this really do get to me as it makes it so much harder for me, and I know it would have been easy to resolve with a check of the pre-​order sheet and a phone call.
Anyway, rant over. It really bugged me. But regardless, we still had a lovely meal. The food was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ at points. The turkey came wrapped in bacon (YES!) but was a little dry (boo). The brie starter was epically big (YES!) but the desserts all tasted bought-​in and the Yule log tasted dry, and was the tiniest slice I’ve ever seen. I would have cut myself a bigger slice from a Cadbury’s shop-​bought Yule log and enjoyed it more.
I will go back to the Salisbury Arms to try their food when it’s less busy, less hectic. However, I do hope they might improve their communication between staff and work out their large booking, pre-​order system a little better. It’s basic logic. Why take a pre-​order if you don’t then check it and ensure everything is in place?
So yey for the Unilocal Christmas Dinner! Thank you to all the lovely Unilocalers who came, and bringing the Festive cheer. We ate, we were merry and it was a lovely evening largely thanks to the company and the ambience of the Arms. Hurrah and ho ho ho.

Had me at hello.
To think I may never have ever came here, given that its past incarnation, The Crags, had been one of my favourite bars around the town a few years back. It was only through a chance conversation with a Sheep’s Heid waitress that alerted me to Salisbury’s existence.
The sister restaurant to the Sheep’s Heid Inn, I would argue that the Salisbury Arms is more like the tougher big brother! The menu is the same as Sheep’s Heid however as Salisbury houses a larger kitchen, it has the advantage of including the Heid’s more popular specials as part of their regular menu, also allowing them three times the daily specials the Heid can manage. Three times as many!
The building intself is a sturdy old townhouse built of bricks, muscle and brawn. The inside has been decked out in the manner (or manor???) of an old American winter cabin, complete with antlers on the walls and blazing fire classily located in the centre of the room. Very swish.
My last visit saw me dine on Roast Duck with Potato Dauphinoise, Butternut Squash, Curly Kale and Rosemary Sauce (see photos). Putting the unbeatable Mark Greenaway duck to one side, this is Edinburgh’s duck silver-​medallist. Abolutely melt in the mouth, generous portions, amazing combination of flavours. It was love. Can’t stop talking about it.
Jennie opted for the gammon, a meat I would rarely select from a menu, and even that rocked the boat, steering clear of the usual thin round of meat, instead presented thick-​cut and juicy, with chips that required a knife and fork themselves! Immense.
The old bar area is still intact with the addition of board games and live music on the weekends, all combining to make this an excellent location for a chilled out evening, or even a pre-​going out meal.
If the food was rubbish I would moan about the prices, but my duck was worth every penny of the £15 asking price. And from the other dishes I’ve been lucky enough to try, they’ve all been worth the cash. The staff in turn are warm, friendly and sociable on all the right levels.
Absolute winner. Joey’s Top 5 without question.

Went here for lunch on Friday with my parents. Now I used to come hear on an almost daily basis when I was a student, and it was called The Crags, it was cheap and scummy and everything a student dive should be
However since it’d changed I didn’t quite know what I was expecting.
We wandered in and I was initially impressed. The décor is done REALLY well. It looks good and it really impressed initially.
However we sort of hung around and the staff just ignored us so I sat us down and waited… nothing.
Saw a pile of likely looking menu’s over on the bar by THREE members of staff who were chatting so I made my way over and grabbed some.
Noone bothered to come and take a drinks order or food order so father dearest went to the bar to order.
A beef burger, lamb burger for me and father, Mother ordered some soup and a salmon sandwich.
It wasn’t very busy, it was a Friday Lunch time, and it took 45 minutes for this food to arrive, well the burgers and the soup did, the chips were down… and cold (ish) certainly had been prepared some time before the rest of it. In a town where burger is fast becoming the plat de jour for those seeking a gastro-​pub experience, they need to try harder here. The Burgers themselves were actually VERY good so you’ve gained points there.
My mum really enjoyed her soup and the sandwich looked incredibly elegant and well dressed when it arrived (it was in the scandanavian open style)
Anyway. It was pretty darn expensive, with drinks, coffee’s and all else considered, but I liked the ambiance. Staff need a bit of a kick up the arse and they need to figure out if they are a pub or a restaurant. On the way out my mum and dad spoke to a lovely waitress who I imagine would have made our entire visit much more pleasant if she’d been serving us so maybe next time!

The Salisbury Arms is not only near my flay, but also everything I could ask for from a Scottish pub/​restaurant. I might be being a bit generous in giving it 5 stars, but I just love it so!
It is apparently fairly newly refurbished, and it shows. The décor is exactly what you’d expect from a typical Scottish pub in the highlands. Inside there are the stereotypical antlers on the wall and the open fire with a number of big cosy brown leather sofas. All that’s missing is a tartan carpet. It is beautifully decorated, so clean, cosy and inviting. It is also deceivingly huge inside. Although it is open plan, it is nicely sectioned off into the different areas to retain the cosy atmosphere.
The staff are so lovely, friendly and chatty. When we went in it was clear they were very busy. Nonetheless, we were advised to take a seat at the bar while they waited for someone to leave so we could have a table for dinner. She said this might be about half an hour and after this she came over for a chat, said there wasn’t a free table but we could sit at a big round table and share it with another couple, which we did, and it was pretty fun!
After dinner, we sat back on a sofa and played Scrabble, they have quite a few board games dotted around the place.
Overall, there is very little I could fault and i can’t wait to go back soon!

The refurbished Salisbury Arms (formerly a Scream pub) has had a stylish makeover. The do an excellent value light lunch with plenty of friendly staff on hand to help with choices. When the sun is out, their terrace is a great little spot.

So far, so good with this reincarnation of the student pit, I mean pub, The Crags. As they’re just getting up & running, I’ll keep this brief and I’ll post a further review after future visits.
They offer a nicely varied menu, with options for a 2 or 3 course prix fixe meal. The service looks to be off too a smooth start, with a friendly, competent staff.
This is a convenient location for the many guesthouses in the Mayfield area, as well as convention/​university visitors from the Salisbury Green Hotel & Pollock Halls.
Our food was just fine, if not spectacular. Husband enjoyed his fish & chips, but was jonesing for the roast platter another in our party was devouring. I had the french onion soup, but did not enjoy the extra rosemary flavor. For my main I ordered the vegetable tarte, which was unusual but tasty — onions, olives, roasted vegetables with a basalmic reduction glaze.
We did not dine en famille, but SA does offer a children’s menu and children may eat in the dining area at any time of day.
The renovation is lovely, it’s a beautiful space, but don’t go expecting a pubby atmosphere. The corporation (Mitchells & Butlers) that owns this owns 3000+ other properties and it shows in the manufactured charm. But it’s still a pleasant place to dine, drink & visit with friends.
As we can see the back of our house from their patio, we’ll be there often!

On dalkieth road, previously known as the crags. A total transformation — great wine list, by the glass or bottle.£20 for a bottle of champagne on Friday. Extensive menu — steak, game, fish & daily specials. All within a contemporary scottish hunting lodge theme. One to visit.