I visited Ratho more in the last year than I have my entire life. Mostly because my friend purchased a narrow boat and its original mooring was here at Ratho, on the Union Canal. It’s now found its forever home, a permanent mooring at the Kelpies, Falkirk. Check it out here.

But if it hadn’t of been for Marigold Sunset (the name of the narrowboat), I would more then likely never have wandered down this way and would never have known about The Bridge Inn.

When the invite came through to review The Bridge Inn, I of course accepted. This is a gorgeous wee part of West Edinburgh that seems to be a well hidden but ever so busy gem.

Ratho is kinda part of Edinburgh, located in the more rural west of Edinburgh but having said that is only 4 miles from the airport and around the same to The Gyle Shopping Centre.

REVIEW OF THE BRIDGE INN AT RATHO, EDINBURGH

The Bridge Inn is located right on the waters edge of the Union Canal and occupies a large footprint hugging the banks of the canal. At The Bridge Inn, you’ll find a bar, a dining area, outdoor dining area and a beer garden complete with shipping container offering a select menu and drinks. No Inn is complete without room offerings, and The Bridge Inn has four beautiful rooms all with views over the canal.

Initially we were seated inside, but there were three large parties of 8-10 + people and the noise was reverberating across the room. We couldn’t hear each so asked to be seated outside which was much quieter and alot more apt for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Sitting outdoors, bird song, soft gentle noise from the canal and sunshine. Perfect!

The Bridge Inn is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast you can order a Full Scottish to a Breakfast Roll; lunch is 12-3pm, dinner 5-9pm and Sunday Lunch 12-7pm. They cater for Vegetarians and they have a set Gluten Free menu too.

They also use local suppliers, all of which are listed on their website. They use some of my favourite producers like Breadwinner Bakery for their bread, IJ Mellis for their cheeses and Belhaven Brewery for beer.

From the A La Carte menu we chose:

STARTERS

• Scallops with pea puree and pancetta (£10.95)

• Haggis Bon Bons (£5.50)

The scallops were presented well with one being just slightly overcooked - it was a little chewy. Overall the flavours were spot on.

The Haggis Bon Bons were nice. The haggis wasn’t too peppery and the crust was a shell rather than a crumb.

MAINS

For Mains we mixed and matched.

• Fillet Steak with hand-cut chips, roasted tomato, mushrooms, onion rings and your choice of peppercorn, Diane sauce or garlic butter (£34.95)

• Sunday Lunch of the Day with Yorkshire Puddings, roast potatoes, crispy parsnips, carrots and jus (£19.50)

Steak was cooked as requested - medium rare and served as such. It was well flavoured and tender. We ordered this without the chips and asked for salad instead. An easy swop with no fuss or questions asked. The mushrooms and tomato were both well cooked but we are still waiting on the garlic butter though.

For Sunday Lunch the roast was sirloin. A large thick cut steak that was beautifully tender and just fell apart. I found the veg offering lacking with half a carrot and one crumbed parsnip; and the tatties fine, good flavour just lacked the crispiness. Loved the jus.

DESSERTS

Desserts we went for

• Sticky Toffee Pudding with salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream (£6.50)

• Cheese Plate with crackers and chilli jam (£9.50)

Sticky Toffee Pudding was great packed with soft sticky date-iness in the sponge and a good amount of sauce!

The cheese board was possibly one of the best we’ve had in a long long time. Superb mix of crackers, freshly cut, fairly generous slices of cheeses, fresh grapes and a lovely chilli jam.

All round applause for desserts.

OVERALL

The Bridge Inn is a popular spot, both inside and out. It was extremely busy but the food came out of the kitchen timeously and the staff, although most of them fairly young were friendly and didn’t look or sound too harassed which I think is possibly down to good training. They were most accommodating when we requested to be seated outside - thankfully there was plenty of seating.

We enjoyed a lovely meal here. Sure there are a few things that could have been done better but overall is was good. Price wise, The Bridge Inn, isn’t cheap and you will need to pay some ££’s for a three course meal.

Things to note:

• They do cater for Vegetarians and have a Gluten Free menu

• The seating area outside and the beer garden are dog friendly

• Disabled access - there seems to be a path down to the outdoor seating area that can be navigated. The front door has ground level access

• Do book as they seem to get very busy

• Check out their Facebook page for their events and special offers

  
  

The Bridge Inn, 27 Baird Road, Ratho, Midlothian EH28 8RA. Tel: 0131 333 1320 www.bridgeinn.com

My Spoon Award : Silver Spoon 8/10

I was invited by The Bridge Inn to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.