By way of a history lesson: for some years we had been looking for a central venue that we could combine live entertainment with dining and next-level cocktails. Eventually we struck gold in 2006 with our site visit to this well-known but dilapidated Edinburgh building (formerly The Cafe Royal Bistro Bar), with its lush history, numerous spaces and glaring potential.
It would have been a crime to do anything other than restore all the original features, woodwork and plasterwork; which we did (at considerable expense and time!). Add a touch of black and gold, an underlying fun tiki theme, a management team brimming with explorational cocktail needs, sixty tequilas and sixty rums, a cracking kitchen team and menu, and top spec sound and lighting desks – and we were in business! In 2010 we expanded into the bar next door (formerly The Penny Black) and created a further events space, which underwent a new refurbishment in 2023 to become Carte Blanche.