Breakfast Nomination #7 - the Tower Restaurant in the National Museum of Scotland

Nomination  #7 - the Tower Restaurant in the National Museum of Scotland 

Nominated by Claire Wheelan

Originally reviewed on November 15th, 2015 

"They're going to throw us out, 'cos we're SCUM!"

His score: 4.8/6
My score: fancy but overpriced

He ate: ham hock with fried eggs and toast (£8.95) and a hot chocolate (£4.50!!!)
I ate: French toast with Ayrshire bacon and maple syrup (£8.50), also with a hot chocolate (£4.50!!!)
Total cost: £26.45

Our pros: nice views (probably would be better on a nicer day, obviously); friendly staff; really nice décor with a bright and clean atmosphere; offered different things on the menu from the norm such as granola, porridge, ham hock etc; our food was delayed but only because the chef was unhappy with how the dishes had turned out so he remade them so they were to his high standards and this was explained by the waitress; you can book online before you go to ensure you have a table; and lastly, the place was extremely fancy but the staff made us feel very welcome despite us both walking in drenched by the rain and in our check flannel shirts and fingerless gloves like a pair of hobos. 
Our Cons: hot chocolate and teas were priced as £3.95 on the online menu but were actually £4.50 in the restaurant; there didn't seem to be English breakfast tea on offer at all so we settled for a hot chocolate that was sickly sweet with bitter cocoa sprinkled on top and I'm genuinely shocked at the fact it cost nearly £5 as I wouldn't pay that even for the best hot chocolate out there, let alone for one that was a few sickly, lukewarm mouthfuls; strange edible flowers sprinkled all over both our meals, so were presumably for decoration but tasted bitter and earthy so we had to pick them off so as not to spoil our food; staff were friendly but a tad overbearing and felt like they were almost scared (perhaps used to more intense and rude customers with it being quite a fancy place) when asking us if we were ok and clearing dishes etc; my food was very sickly (perhaps too early in the day for maple syrup) and made me feel unwell after, also portions were small for the price and although the food was definitely cooked well and of high quality, it felt more as though we were paying for the service and fancy surroundings more than the quantity and quality of the food we were getting.

Our experience:  We think we would go back here for other meals, and if I were to go back for "brunch" (as they call it on the menu) then I would order something different. 

My food was a bit sickly sweet and I was put off by the fact they don't seem to offer regular English Breakfast tea. 

It was refreshing to see a few new things on the menu as I mentioned earlier, but they fact they had no traditional breakfasts on offer (i.e. full Scottish) was a bit odd. 

There were mostly variations of Eggs Benedict or French Toast so as much as it was nice to see granola and porridge on the menu, it would've been nice to have some traditional café breakfast-type foods too. 

You get a nice view of the castle from your seats and on better days you can sit on the small terrace outside. We would love to go back here on a sunny/warm day and enjoy the outside seating. Unfortunately today, it was just rain and mist on offer on the Edinburgh skyline. 

I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a fancy experience - we had our coats taken to be hung up, napkins placed on our (uncomfortable working class) laps and drank our (free) tap water out of big wine glasses. We did feel a little bit like fish out of water at times, but the staff were very friendly and not snobby despite how fancy the place clearly was. 

What’s next: Our next nomination is Bijou Bistro on Leith Links, nominated by Megan McFarlane.