speshalkay's Qype profile

Dishevelled and rather weary as a location. Loooks like a converted office block, but the food was really nice. I had mussels to start and a steak with chunky fries for main. All were lovely. The waitress was excellent. She had a few mishaps (dropped a wineglass, and dealing with a stroppy vegetarian on  a free meal pass) but continued to be polite. To be fair to the veggie, there really was almost NO choice at all, apart from a lasagne, which I bet was straight out of the freezer. Why can't restaurants do more veggie options? Everyone can eat veggie, whereas not everyone can eat meat!

Great view of the river and a huge flock of swans.
 
I used my tastecard so got 50% off. Around £15

You can feel the excitement coming in to this bar. I bet on a night it's totally jumping, but on a sunny day I sat in the "beer garden" which is an internal area without a roof, under the ivy and on a tall table and stool combo, and just felt fab. I had a guiness and went on my way. Too tired to atay, but wishing I could.

To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with The Pig's Ear on the night I visited. Perhaps they had all got out of the bed the wrong way or something. The waiter was sullen, the boss was moreso, until I ordered and then he seemed to perk up a bit. The waitress had a dig at the waiter for being rude to some people who came in after me, and they all seemed stressed. He was rude too!

My pet hate: A waiter/waitress asking your opinion on the food, but not waiting for an answer or looking you in the eye. Grrrrr! This happened with said waiter. The waitress however was able to smile and I was happy with her.

The food weas incredibly over priced for what it was. I had a smoked haddock starter and it came the size of an upyurned egg cup. I could have got the whole thing in my mouth, with the garnish, all at once! Now, if the flavours had been spectacular, all well and good, but they werent. I have had better many times. The main was a Donald Russell steak. I have bought direct from DR nefore and was very impressed with the quality of meat, so I thought it was a safe bet. It was excellent, but the accompanying vegetables have been forgotten about since i was there (2 weeks). I wish now that I had gone a little further around the corner onto Grafton Street as there are many more places to choose from.

A really beautiful hotel. The whole place has been refurbished recently and is to a very high standard. It used to be The Princess Hotel and shows as that on the map. I’ve stayed here 3 times now and the staff are always lovely. Very central and just a short walk from Piccadilly Station. The restaurant is reviewed seperately on Qype. Update 14/08/12 arrived to find I wasn't booked in and the young man on reception couldn't have been more helpful. He rang the other Macdonald around the corner, took in my bag and rang me later to say it had all been sorted. It was a mistake by my booking company. So grateful to him.

A rainy summers day in Edinburgh. I'm not here for the comedy festival, so I expected not to get in, but they were very accommodating. I skipped the starter and has the Coley for my main course, and some yummy cheeses for dessert. Gorgeous. Great service and timed perfectly. The waitress even went through my cheeses describing and naming each of them. Looking forward to my cheese dreams :-)

Cheap and cheerful, with emphasis on the latter. I loved the covered back room and the plants, I liked the visit by the pub dog, and i loved the food. They served Leffe too. Mmmmmmm….. The room was TINY though, with a wall on 3 sides of the bed, and little other space. The toilet was reached by walking through the shower. Not a wet room, just a cheat on the space. I bet it would be a fun place to stay on the weekend.

Nice reception area, but such a bad hotel. Check-in involves several ridiculous and unnecessary stages. As someone said before me you have to fill in a firm at reception, then shuffle 20 feet left to another person who asks you what your room number is, and then give you a foot long metal rod with a key at the end. This you must hand in when you go out, an then show the form you filled in to get it back! Why? I slept really badly on the quiet courtyard side. A single bed with sheets and blankets that disintegrated into separate piles overnight, the curtains don't block out the light, the tea and coffee I'd a joke. A plastic envelope with a generic teabag, red mill (?) coffee sachet, 2 x generic white sugar sachets, a plastic stirrer and a tissue. There were 4 milk pots though. Breakfast is cheap. Coffee nasty and orange from powder I believe. It's been a while since I stayed in somewhere so big and yet so bad.