Cafe Fish

Been here a couple of times since they moved from Leith to Stockbridge. have to say it was really very good on both lunch and dinner. Lunch was on a saturday and we had a tapas style lunch with my extended family of 9. so much choice and really tasty small and large plates, different but worked a treat for so many of us try the spicey oyster shooters!! Dinner was last week and it was probs the best fish dinner I've had in edinburgh - Cod with mussel and leek velout was outstanding and my partner had a stunning curry with Monkfish and king prawns. starters were sahimi of salmon and seared king scallops. we had a delish fiano from sicily and a couple of glasses of proseco. Staff were there when we needed them and knew their menu inside out, it was busy and buzzy it's in an old bank but still has the aluminium bar that they had in Leith. Dont understand the other reviewer comments about price as fresh fish costs a fortune - our wine was £40+ but there was loads of wines around the £20 mark and the food bill was £48, in my book that is fantastic value. we'll be back.

It is with great pleasure to share with you my disgust of the level of communication and the method of customer treatment that took place in the evening of my first and last visit to Cafe Fish Having tasted the delicious food, me and my girlfriend soon realized that a small 125mL glasses of Amaro Italy red wine were mistakenly substituted for a full wine bottle, as the waitress had misheard our order and served a full 750 mL bottle of Amaro Italy.  Upon gazing on the bill, I walked up to the front desk to explain to the staff of this misunderstanding, I was immediately attacked verbally and initially by the store Manager (Murray) who ACCUSED me of being under the influence and suffering from cognitive impairment due to alcohol consumption, even though me and my girlfriend had 125mL each. Not realizing that he was speaking to a competent medical professional, he INTIMIDATED me and THREATENED to call the police if the bottle price was not paid without even bothering to listen to my explanation.  Being the bigger and better man, I paid the full price even though the error stemmed from the waitress and not from us. He LAUGHED at me when I stated that universally THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT under these circumstances. He then proceeded by INSULTING me by asking "How many times do you do this over time and get away with?" I demanded to speak with the owner Richard , whom after I met him, I explained to him that this is NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, as the difference between a full bottle and 2 glasses is only £11! It's about the principle. His argument was solely on "why did you not mention anything in the beginning?" When I asked him if it was worth it to ruin an entire evening for £11, he was speechless. I stormed out of the store with no apology from the waitress, manager, and owner. The bottle was left on the table, and I refused to take it as it was not mine and I restated that I ordered a glass not a bottle. For all those travelers abroad who are eager to tour and live the magnificence of Edinburgh, I urge you to look beyond my review and explore other amazing restaurants out there who know how to properly deal and treat dissatisfied customers. As a Canadian citizen, I have been to countless number of upscaled restaurants worldwide, and this is not a restaurant to be considered.  Manners do not come with the price you pay at Cafe Fish, as it has not yet been implemented by the staff, and perhaps never will be. (YL, Canada)

We made a return visit to Cafe Fish, having last visited it a couple of years ago, in it’s former Leith location. Our last visit was disappointing. The problem back then was small portions, limited choice, and high prices. I put it down to them having a bad day when we visited. Unfortunately things haven’t changed. It’s an overrated restaurant serving small portions of adequately cooked food at inflated prices. Drinks are expensive too, the cheapest bottles of wine being £18-£19. Don’t be fooled by the so called fixed price menu. Most of the dishes have a hefty £5-£6 supplement, and the dishes that don’t have a supplement are invariably sold out. Edinburgh has many excellent restaurants serving fish at reasonable prices. This isn’t one of them. I’ve been scalped. I won’t go again.

The food was good.
We had octopus confit and oysters to start and for mains we had the duck leg confit and the seabass. Oh, and loads of chips.
I was SO pleased by the freshness of the oysters and the texture of the duck confit.
We also had some lovely glasses of wine.
SO, three stars only because our service was atrocious. First we were nearly denied our table because they stopped using the service I booked it with (the restaurant was empty at the time we came, too). Second we tried to order around some food allergies and our server was horrific about it. It was clearly a big deal for him to have to check with the kitchen and he offered no substitutes. Here was an exchange: “I’ll take the masala without the raitha…” “the masala has butter in it.” “oh, ok well the cod…” “that has a cream sauce.” (do you want me to move through each menu item???)
I won’t be coming back and I wont be suggesting it. I can get great oysters elsewhere. This is Edinburgh; they have a sh*t tonne of oysters.

Wow.. the sea food s fantastic, me and my hubby went last saturday for lunch.. would definately recommend was served by a lovely girl called tess she was very professional and tended to our every need.
We will be back.

Food was very well balanced and tasted great but unfortunately we felt a bit let down by the service and wine selection with the cheapest bottle being £34 – I know they are looking for a star but that is just ludicrous.
Service was friendly but no wow-factor especially considering we were not asked how the food was until paying the bill. Glad we tried it but the lack of ambience and service would not entice us to return in a hurry.

Operating out of the Stockbridge site previously occupied by Zanzero this is the new home for Cafe Fish.

Business wasn’t too brisk on Monday evening but the service was attentive (possibly overso in terms of checking how we were getting along with only two other tables occupied) and swift with empty glasses of water being topped up regularly.

My serrano ham, mozzarella balls & peach starter was tasty and well presented and the haddock on a borlotti bean & spring onion base was well cooked and filling. Overall two courses for £22 was good vfm although they could maybe do with getting in some wine around the £12 mark.

Not then somewhere I see myself going on a regular basis (the acoustics could I think be a problem at busy times) but my experience chimed well with a friend’s recent account so it seems you could do worse in the city in terms of fish restaurants pitched at this level of the market.