Mc Kirdy’s Steakhouse

Went here based on a recommendation from the concierge at our hotel. Regretted it the moment we walked in the door. The place is lacking in hospitality and decoration. It is small and the average age was 63 and this was on a Saturday night at 830pm. The food was just OK, although I will note that my steak was cooked perfectly but lacked salt, therefore, lacked flavor. I believe our assorted steamed veggies were frozen and possibly microwaved. My plain mash was that — PLAIN. I was hoping that it would have a little bit of flavor but it didn’t. The onion rings were not fresh or homemade. I could have purchased the same quality at Sainsbury’s. Not impressive to say the least. Would have rather gone to Wildfire, even though I have never been there. At least they would have had a modern restaurant for me to marvel at instead of the radiator with food crusted to it.
Dress code is casual. This place is nothing special as far as look and feel (and our concierge did advise us of that but this was below that set expectation).

I agree with Brett, McKirdys is a little bit of a let down (and Ruth Chris is the business)
I’m not much of a steak expert, but how you cook it doesn’t matter, it’s the quality of the meat. I’m not saying this stuff is low grade or anything, it’s good. But it does’t merit the acclaim that the waiters were quick to give it. The meat looked a little skinny, definitely not what I was expecting.
Desert was excellent though. So give this place a try if you’re not expecting much.

wanna know my idea of a «5 star steak?» then just take a look at the 2 photos i’ve posted on my Unilocal profile. wherever i go, i search out the best bovine offerings. here in edinburgh, after several inquiries, i decided to try this place in search of superb steak. it was tough to get in over the weekend but i landed a table sunday night expecting 4-​star or better beef, especially considering the reputation of scottish beef. i began with their «award winning» mini-​sausages. not bad; there were several different tasty varieties served up. i opted for the ribeye, advertised at a mere 8 ounces so i didn’t expect a hearty portion. i got a quality steak, cooked perfectly to order but nothing special and very, very thin. suitable for a really good steak and eggs breakfast. could my mild disappointment be because steaks are just different back home in the states? the two scottish steak afficionados at the next table mirrored my not-​so-​great verdict. one of them said that the american chain ruth’s chris was the best steakhouse he’d eaten at and even though it’s a chain i agree it’s leagues ahead of mckirdy’s. shame, since this place came so highly recommended. but i thought their curly fries (which i dipped in a lovely stilton blue cheese sauce) were just as good as the steak and that’s never a great sign.

This was my second visit to this restaurant within the last 2 months. You can take it from our quick return that we were happy with the first visit. McKirdy’s is not somewhere I had heard of before, it is a standard Steakhouse with the twist being that it is part of an apparently well-​known butchers. On last Saturdays visit we went with 3 friends, we had not booked and it was around 5pm so not a busy time. When we arrived there was only one other table occupied, however when we left 2 hours later it was fairly fool. The same Irish water attended our table as our last visit. He is dripping with Irish charm, confidently dealing with drinks and menus, I hate having a menu without a drink. He did not rush our selection that was a toil as the selection of steaks etc is considerable. When he return to take the order he was charming and funny helping us make, the unusual but I thought a good idea, our choice of steak, how it should be cooked, pan fried or griddle, and the 3 different potato options, not forgetting a sauce.
The food itself was served quickly and all of my fellow dinners agreed the steaks were excellent. One of the group plumped for a burger, he is somewhat an expert in these, he reported that is was the best he had ever eaten, high praise indeed.
All in all this place is a bit of a find, not the cheapest place to eat a steak but with the charming staff, good food and pleasant environment, it is defiantly a place I will return with more of my friends.

I am always amazed when I recommend this place to people and they have never hear from it.
Nestled on the way down Morrison street towards Haymarket this unassuming restaurant contains some of the best meat you are likely to taste in Edinburgh.
I can’t recall if the people who run it are in the butcher’s trade themselves or if they know really good butchers but it is one or the other and it really shows. The cuts of steak may be pricy but they are well worth it and are not cooked with any fancy touches or unnecessary garnishes. The cooking simply lets the quality of the food speak for itself.