Juniper

I am in love with this bar. I would visit Edinburgh just to go here. The staff are amazing, the ingredients fresh, and the availability of gin’s etc are top notch. I cannot say enough good things about the food, liquor, cocktails, staff etc and great location and décor. Im a fan obviously.

I have been here a few times now and should have written a review before now! I have rated Juniper 4 stars as an average as it can fluctuate between 5&3 stars. The drinks are great and look spectacular and taste amazing, however the service is totally hit and miss. I have ordered puddings here and they were served without cutlery and I have had to go and track someone down to get cutlery do we can eat it! Also I never did get a reply to my email enquiry asking about a veggie option when I was invited to the VIP Christmas menu tasting night, so I missed out on that one.
The venue is great and the views stunning, the food and drinks are both top notch, the staff just need to be that bit more on the ball with their customers.

Juniper is slightly hidden and not at all obvious from street level. It’s a hotel bar but is open to non guests.
Juniper serves great cocktails and bar snacks. The cocktail menu is quite extensive and has a lot of quirky options as well as a traditional set.
Our group tried various things including a coffee cocktails served with dry ice, a mojito with chocolate chilli ice cubes and more traditional vodka cocktails. They all were very good and some extremely strong.
The bar was very busy when we arrived so service was a little slow but not excessively. Once the group of 12 or so who were also ordering cocktails left it got much quicker and attentive. One minor annoyance is we didn’t need all three members of waiting staff to check separately if our drinks were ok but it was fine.
I’ll certainly be back and try to claim the window seat again for the great view of the castle.

This is getting 3 stars for now. It needs a second trip, not least for the toilet entertainers (see below). I was there in a group of 15 at 7pm on a Saturday night for a birthday so I’d like to check it out when it’s quieter and the staff have time to be more attentive. It feels like the kind of place that wants to cosset you. At first blush, it’s got the zhuzhy, luxe feel you’d rightly expect of a cocktail lounge in the grand Royal British Hotel on Princes St. From the besuited doorman, to the big floral installations in the minimalist space-​agey reception area, to the subdued lighting, velvet, and panoramic views of the castle in the lounge, they have definitely spent the money where it matters here. Our generous hostess had reserved an area at the windows (a tiny bit tight for our group but I couldn’t see any other area they could have given us) and there was a glass of fizz in my hand before I’d even said my hello’s. I had a swatch at the cocktail menu while I took in the beautiful view. Quite a place! I picked a yum-​sounding gin cocktail and tried to catch the waiter’s eye. His eye wasn’t for the catching and I did notice our hostess repeatedly having to ask and remind for more bottles and glasses. She also asked him to go round and take a drinks order from everyone in our group but I don’t know if he got distracted or what, but he didn’t come anywhere near me. Harrumph. Maybe he thought I already had some fizz and didn’t need a cocktail too, but I HAVE TWO HANDS, goddammit, and YOU’RE NOT MY MUM. A minor quibble. It’s just as well he didn’t take my order as the birthday girl generously picked up the tab anyway so I would have felt greedy if I’d had cocktails as well as fizz. It ain’t a cheap place but like I say, you can tell they have splashed out on the décor, and they are clearly trying to attract a certain clientele. The big budget hasn’t extended beyond the cocktail lounge unfortunately which was well-​weird when I went to the toilet. They haven’t got round to doing these up yet. Down a beige-​hotel-​pattern hallway, you are transported to a shabby loo from the 80’s — cold and desolate with tatty laminate cubicle doors, like you get in schools. Very disappointing. I was mighty entertained by the two steaming-​drunk glamour-​pusses preening themselves in the mirror, though, falling over their mountains of bags from Harvey Nics, comparing eyelashes, slagging off the shabby toilets and finding it unbelievably, hilariously «TOTES RANDOM!» that one of them found a pen in her bag. «Hahaha, WTF have I got a PEN in my bag for? What do I need a PEN for? Hahahahaaaa». I really, really hope those two are a permanent entertainment installation there to detract from the loos. Maybe they were left over from the Fringe and nobody’s told them it’s finished? Like the Japanese soldiers in the jungle who still think the war is on.

Ah so great to be back home and enjoying this wonderful city. This is a review of Juniper and the ajacent restaurant.
So on a hungover Saturday I met two friends here for a spot of lunch. The setting is really something, wooden floor, high ceilings and a very well turned out dining room. The staff do a great job of being attentive without being intrusive.
20 Princes St has gained notice over the fact its one of the few places in Edinburgh and even Scotland to have a Josper grill. For that reason alone I went for the sirloin steak and chips. Served with a hot Bearnaise sauce and small side salad the steak was cooked perfectly. The grill gives it a wonderful smokey flavour.
After finishing our meal we moved through to the Juniper bar, very busy with it being the last Saturday before Christmas we were lucky to find seats. again a wonderful setting the background music was great. We made a good effort of working through the cocktail list, the real highlight of which had to be the Strawberries and Steam. A glass teapot with the cocktail is served with dry ice creating an amazing theatrical experience.
Juniper come highly JD Recommended!

Oh dear. Drinks decent but service awful.
Tried to book a table 5 days in advance. Tried 3 times and no one would pick up the phone and gave up as the Germany vs Brazil Blitzkreig was starting.
Called back two days later — after an extended discussion about seating arrangements (size of group & suitable tables) then high table by window was confirmed.
Arrived at designated time, table given to someone else and they didn’t know about the booking. Just as well a couple of the gang didn’t make it as they’d given away our big table which was made such a big deal of when I tried to book. Saw 4 walk-in’s arrive after us and get served before us. No acknowledgement when I arrived. Took 40 mins to get the drinks — cocktails (nearly 25 mins after arriving before the order taken and got some water as knew cocktails might be a bit slow). Then 10 mins after that to get snacks that we had to ask again for.
The guy that ended up serving us was really nice but he only arrived 25mins in as he was a bit more aware than the girl serving when we arrived.
So Juniper, nah. Had I not been using a voucher, I’d have walked. And the voucher was a 2^nd chance after friend’s horror stories of bad service…

I thought I was going to end up giving Juniper three stars, but at the end of the day «A-​OK» just doesn’t describe our experience here. I expect there to be some waiting involved when you order cocktails — they obviously take more time to prepare than a glass of wine — but the waiting we did at Juniper wasn’t just for the cocktails. We waited a long time for a waitress to take our initial orders. We waited a long time for tap water to arrive (it came well after the first cocktails, actually). And we waited a long, long time for cocktails. So much so that it became one of the major topics of conversation at our table, wondering when our thirst would be quenched. The waitstaff was mildly apologetic and blamed the delays on how busy they were, but they were far from full of customers. I’d hate to see how slow the service gets on a day when the place is crowded.
Other than the speed of the service, it was a good evening. The cocktails were interesting, and not excessively sweet. The sofas and armchairs were comfortable, and the room was well-​decorated. The noise level was conducive to conversation. Based on all this and its nice, central location, I’ll probably end up giving Juniper another try, hoping to discover that the slow service we experienced this time was was just a fluke.

i was a massive fan of juniper and after having a few enjoyable experiences here i’d suggested it for the monthly cocktail quest a few of us Unilocalers go on! so with an area booked for 15 thirsty Unilocalers, i was well excited for all of us to try out this still rather new bar.
however, my excitement died down pretty quickly as the night progressed. i appreciate this place is table service but we sat for over 20 minutes waiting for someone to take our order… and then a further 20 – 30 minutes for our first drink! so while we arrived at 7pm none of us got a drink til 8pm although for those of us that had ordered food that arrived fairly promptly. however no one ever came to check and see that we were happy with our food…
from this first wee glitch, came an evening of endless waiting for drinks. although we kept asking if they could continue to bring the cocktail tasting drinks for those of us that ordered them a bit more quickly we were told that they were extremely busy and were trying to get things out. however on a walk through the bar there were only a handful of people there, apparently they claimed the restaurant was busy… so after an hour wait for our first drink, we had another half hour wait for the second drink, a further half hour to get the third drink, but to be fair the fourth drink arrived only 15 minutes after the third. i’m assuming the restaurant had cleared out by this time so we could get some proper service.
i’d probably have updated my review to only three stars if i was basing this on the service alone, however my third drink came with a fancy flower floating in it. yes it was a very pretty idea, but on closer inspection i discovered that my flower was mouldy. yes, a mouldy flower in my expensive cocktail… unbelievably i didn’t send it back as i was terrified of how much longer my wait for a new one would be if i did! totally shocking that this drink was allowed to leave the bar…
so i’m sorry Juniper, but i’m unlikely to come back after my experience last night. the length of service seriously needs to be sorted out as three hours for four cocktails is a bit ridiculous and a mouldy flower in someone’s drink is unacceptable. i’m sad as the food is tasty and i so wanted to try out fondue fridays, but i just can’t bring myself to spend my money here again!

Like Sharon said in her review, I also love the décor in Juniper! It is really tastefully decorated and I love the lounge feel of the place. Unlike so many other cocktail bars in Edinburgh that are tiny and really loud, I liked that it was quieter although I count vouch for weekend nights.
Unfortunately, where they really fall down is in the service. Tonight ten happy Unilocalers came in to a very quiet Juniper and it took over half an hour to take our drink order, then over another hour to be served the first cocktails. For those of us indulging in the taster menu (see more below for a word of warning), it took us over two and a half hours to receive the four cocktails. This made for a long evening of waiting, and some frustrated Unilocalers.
I really enjoyed sharing a taster menu of cocktails as it was fun to get to try eight different cocktails and see what we liked best whilst navigating the extensive cocktail menu by taste. The server kindly let us share two taster menus — eight cocktails total — amongst four people but be careful since the menu does state that the £25 cost is per person. If sharing the taster menu with over two people, don’t tell them you are sharing it! I think we only got away with it since we were bringing them so much business. The server made it clear that she was being extra specially nice to us even though we were receiving the eight cocktails amongst four instead of the four cocktails per person that is outlined in the £25 price. Call me a lightweight, but I didn’t want four cocktails on a Tuesday night so I was really happy to share!

«Fondue?! Count me in!» That was the message that shot back immediately when I texted my friend mentioning Juniper’s Fondue Fridays. I’d heard great things about the cocktails at this new pad but that wasn’t a massive pull for me. But fondue — well, that’s another matter entirely.
Hopping up the first flight of stairs just inside the Royal British Hotel, we arrived at the trendy and swish bar to be greeted by a cheery staff member. Plush purple sofa-​benches, flowers in pink water on the tables, space-​age egg-​chairs, and cool textured wallpaper make Juniper a cool and sophisticated take on the cocktail bar. The music (funky stuff — Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson and so on) worked very well with the feel of the place although it could have done with being a fraction quieter. It was quite early in the evening and not that busy but we were having to raise our voices to talk. Nevertheless, it was super-​suave — a far cry from our «usual» type of place but very impressive and enjoyable.
There were two choices of both savoury and sweet fondue that night; we went for cider, cheese and bacon, which arrived pretty quickly with a lovely board of dunkables: salmon, mussels, herby chicken, tender beef steak and raw carrot sticks. Heaven! We didn’t have that problem that so often occurs with fondue, when you run out of dippy bits before you run out of fondue to dip into. It was superb, and at £16 for both of us together, a pretty cheap way to dine out. We were certainly too full to indulge in a sweet fondue to follow, so that’ll have to be a separate trip… oh, so I have to go back? Fine by me!
As I said, it wasn’t that busy. Even though it was early that evening (we were there just before six and stayed until around eight), it definitely deserves to pack out quickly. Hopefully as word spreads, it’ll become a regular go-​to spot after work for lots of people.

Another autumnal visit. The staff were friendly and attentive.
I love the seating arrangement particulary in the back area where there is comfy seats ahoy! The perfect place to enjoy a cocktail after a long hard day baking! The cockatil of choice was the Russian Roulette — which was delish!
The small food menu is great. I choose the chips and they were yummy. the had some heat but had a dip at the side so you could cool them down!
I’ll defo be back with the girls as it will be a perfect place to chill out afer walking the length of Princes Street shopping!

I visited Juniper on one of those beautiful Autumn afternoons.
When you first walk in there are tables and chairs in a light and airy area. But the real delights await further down the bar area where it opens up to a beautifully designed sitting area. There are very comfortable sofa’s laid out nicely in groups of two for those quiet meetings or imbibing one of their signature cocktails.
There are a couple of larger sofa areas for bigger groups. The service was brilliant, attentive and personal. We started with a prosecco as how else do you celebrate a new find like Juniper? We then moved onto the apple martinis. These were delicious and would highly recommend them. They were the colour of real apple juice, just how they should be (unlike some that are a fluro green!). And very quaffable indeed!
I’d highly recommend this as a great new place to try, it’s a good place to meet friends or for a date. They have wifi there and have been told their coffee is good so I’d also recommend it as a great place to work or catch up on surfing :-)