For close-knit private dining occasions in Edinburgh, The Cottage at Royal Terrace offers something beautifully intimate: an entire 19th-century former garden keeper’s house hidden within Royal Terrace Gardens. Designed by William Playfair, the building has been transformed into a restaurant centred around seasonal cooking, communal dining and the produce growing immediately outside its doors.
The Garden Room is a charming space for small, gastronomic events of up to eight guests. Everyone dines around one table, with the space available for lunch from Friday to Sunday, or dinner Thursday to Sunday.
Private groups can also enjoy exclusive use of the restaurant, with space for up to 20 seated guests. Rather than dividing diners between separate tables, The Cottage uses communal dining tables, giving celebrations, family lunches and business dinners a naturally easy feel, perfect for socialising and bringing people together. Guests can also make use of the gardens, while the dedicated events team can help with everything from suppliers and drinks choices to creating a bespoke menu with the kitchen.
The cooking is overseen by Peter Adshead, whose career includes Michelin-starred restaurants and five-star Edinburgh hotels. Menus change with the seasons, but the shorter lunch and pre-theatre offering gives a good idea of the restaurant’s produce-led approach. A meal might begin with asparagus paired with black garlic, charred lemon and basil, or smoked trout with crème fraîche and coriander. Hogget shoulder follows with pomme purée, purple sprouting broccoli and jus gras, while a vegetarian alternative combines barbecued leek with crowdie, garden pickles and parsley. Dessert might be chocolate with miso caramel, crème fraîche and candied walnuts, or Isle of Mull cheddar with Edinburgh honey and crackers.
For a longer celebration, the seven-course tasting menu turns dinner into the main event. After sourdough and garden herb butter, courses can include Isle of Wight tomatoes with Kalamata olives and nasturtium, steak tartare with capers and chives, halibut with Shetland mussels and gooseberry, and hogget with smoked yoghurt and peas. Strawberry with balsamic and clotted cream provides a lighter transition before chocolate tart with miso caramel and candied walnuts.