The idea is great but execution wasn’t.Food was bland especially the soup ( we even overheard the couple next to us commenting that it needed salt).If you are paying £35pp for a Sunday lunch , one would expect a well seasoned meal at least.And to top it, the service was slow.
S P
Brilliant. The place feels incredibly special, the staff are super friendly and the food is amazing. It's great that it's all sourced on the farm too. If you can get a booking go.
Chung
Delicious meal with a very interesting story about their circular farming techniques. The hosts went above and beyond, and we had a fantastic experience. Thank you!!
Christopher McCluskey
Fantastic
Sylvia Dow
A unique and lovely place to have food and enjoy a wholesome evening. Great flavours and excellent wine pairing.
H. Howie
One of the best dining experiences I've had. Every dish was excellent.
Audrey Thayer
This was one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. Delicious food, incredible service, lovely drinks, and an exceptional company and cause to support. The compound is beautiful and atmosphere is merry and welcoming. We highly recommend opting for the Wine Pairing - we felt it really enhanced the food experience. I will be returning without question next time I am in Scotland and will be recommending this to anyone who will listen to me.
Allan J
The Free Company is a farm to table restaurant located on a farm on the outskirts of Balerno. The location is a bit out there (literally). The restaurant offers a shuttle from the nearest bus stop about a mile away although on a wet winter’s night it is probably best to drive. The restaurant is very rustic in keeping with the atmosphere they are trying to create. There is a bar and gathering area where drinks and canapes are served. A suggestion would be to put some small tables beside the bench seating as it can be a bit awkward balancing a drink and eating the (very delicious) canapés; also napkins would be nice. The dining area is upstairs in a warm loft. Seating is again bench style and the restaurant would benefit from having seatbacks on all of these or replacing them with chairs. You need to be sitting comfortably to enjoy the food. The food featured in season ingredients exclusively from the farm. A picture of the menu and some of the dishes are below. The flavours of the food were tasty albeit the soup course lacked seasoning. The pork was particularly tasty. Dessert was a bit disappointing as the pears were a bit hard in the middle although the sabayon was good. The restaurant operates on a pay what you think it is worth basis for the food (drinks are priced from a list and a wine pairing is available). Suggested normal pricing is £50-60. Although we paid £60 per head in retrospect probably £40-45 would have been closer to the mark. Everybody was very friendly and a warm welcome was received. There are the bones of a good restaurant here which with a few tweaks and refined touches would elevate its rating imho Not sure if it is a return destination for us although would accept that on a summer’s night it could be an entirely different experience
G F
Fantastic wedding venue. Food and service first class in cosy, welcoming surroundings. Beautiful rustic dining room, bar and outdoor fire pit with seating has something for everyone. Charlie, Angus and team are passionate about delivering high quality food produced in a sustainable fashion, cooking straight from the market garden. Excellent choice of wines and cocktails, served by knowledgeable waiting staff, combine for the perfect dining experience.
Lynn Gordon
Can not thank the staff at The Free Company enough for helping to make my Son and new Daughter-in-Law’s wedding a day we will never forget. The venue was perfect, food fantastic. They assisted greatly in the smooth running of the day. Providing access to set up the day before.
A unique layout in a lovely location. The evening reception space is great for a party. Looking forward to being back in April.
shirleyo326
We were there for a wedding, candles on the walls with seating under them ,after a while they started to drip but with us being in other parts of the function barn it wasn’t noticed Before our wedding meal we went to collect our coats and jackets ,my husbands jacket was white with wax all down one side couldn’t believe it I didn’t want to cause a fuss so I waited till the end of the night . They didn’t want to know, it’s totally ruined and my husbands jacket wasn’t the only one with candle wax on. Drink prices rather expensive considering mixers are straight out of a 2litre plastic bottle!! I expected some sort of compromise for the wax damage, but none of the staff were interested or took any responsibility My husbands jacket has been in and out of the freezer since Saturday to attempt to freeze the wax before trying to remove, not looking good at all. Would not recommend this establishment for any function. A number of Health & Safety issues, and definitely not wheelchair friendly/accessible!,
Margaret Welsh
Lovely venue for a wedding, The staff were attentive and the food was grand . Will be back for dinner.
Lauren Hughes
This is the most magical place! The best meal, beautiful service and very yummy cocktails. It's the absolute best. HIGHLY recommend.
Shae Morgon
Had a lovely night , great atmosphere and lovely food. Just a few accessiblity things that could be improved. The gravel and sand from the car park is extremely difficult to navigate in a wheelchair, and the toilet flush is too high in the bathroom. Other than those small things we had a great night and would highly recommend.Wheelchair accessibility: Gravel and sand from the car park to the path is difficult to navigate. Accessible bathroom doesn't have an emergency pull cord and the flush is too high.
The idea is great but execution wasn’t.Food was bland especially the soup ( we even overheard the couple next to us commenting that it needed salt).If you are paying £35pp for a Sunday lunch , one would expect a well seasoned meal at least.And to top it, the service was slow.
Brilliant. The place feels incredibly special, the staff are super friendly and the food is amazing. It's great that it's all sourced on the farm too. If you can get a booking go.
Delicious meal with a very interesting story about their circular farming techniques. The hosts went above and beyond, and we had a fantastic experience. Thank you!!
Fantastic
A unique and lovely place to have food and enjoy a wholesome evening. Great flavours and excellent wine pairing.
One of the best dining experiences I've had. Every dish was excellent.
This was one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. Delicious food, incredible service, lovely drinks, and an exceptional company and cause to support. The compound is beautiful and atmosphere is merry and welcoming. We highly recommend opting for the Wine Pairing - we felt it really enhanced the food experience. I will be returning without question next time I am in Scotland and will be recommending this to anyone who will listen to me.
The Free Company is a farm to table restaurant located on a farm on the outskirts of Balerno. The location is a bit out there (literally). The restaurant offers a shuttle from the nearest bus stop about a mile away although on a wet winter’s night it is probably best to drive. The restaurant is very rustic in keeping with the atmosphere they are trying to create. There is a bar and gathering area where drinks and canapes are served. A suggestion would be to put some small tables beside the bench seating as it can be a bit awkward balancing a drink and eating the (very delicious) canapés; also napkins would be nice. The dining area is upstairs in a warm loft. Seating is again bench style and the restaurant would benefit from having seatbacks on all of these or replacing them with chairs. You need to be sitting comfortably to enjoy the food. The food featured in season ingredients exclusively from the farm. A picture of the menu and some of the dishes are below. The flavours of the food were tasty albeit the soup course lacked seasoning. The pork was particularly tasty. Dessert was a bit disappointing as the pears were a bit hard in the middle although the sabayon was good. The restaurant operates on a pay what you think it is worth basis for the food (drinks are priced from a list and a wine pairing is available). Suggested normal pricing is £50-60. Although we paid £60 per head in retrospect probably £40-45 would have been closer to the mark. Everybody was very friendly and a warm welcome was received. There are the bones of a good restaurant here which with a few tweaks and refined touches would elevate its rating imho Not sure if it is a return destination for us although would accept that on a summer’s night it could be an entirely different experience
Fantastic wedding venue. Food and service first class in cosy, welcoming surroundings. Beautiful rustic dining room, bar and outdoor fire pit with seating has something for everyone. Charlie, Angus and team are passionate about delivering high quality food produced in a sustainable fashion, cooking straight from the market garden. Excellent choice of wines and cocktails, served by knowledgeable waiting staff, combine for the perfect dining experience.
Can not thank the staff at The Free Company enough for helping to make my Son and new Daughter-in-Law’s wedding a day we will never forget. The venue was perfect, food fantastic. They assisted greatly in the smooth running of the day. Providing access to set up the day before.
Restaurantji Recommends
A unique layout in a lovely location. The evening reception space is great for a party. Looking forward to being back in April.
We were there for a wedding, candles on the walls with seating under them ,after a while they started to drip but with us being in other parts of the function barn it wasn’t noticed Before our wedding meal we went to collect our coats and jackets ,my husbands jacket was white with wax all down one side couldn’t believe it I didn’t want to cause a fuss so I waited till the end of the night . They didn’t want to know, it’s totally ruined and my husbands jacket wasn’t the only one with candle wax on. Drink prices rather expensive considering mixers are straight out of a 2litre plastic bottle!! I expected some sort of compromise for the wax damage, but none of the staff were interested or took any responsibility My husbands jacket has been in and out of the freezer since Saturday to attempt to freeze the wax before trying to remove, not looking good at all. Would not recommend this establishment for any function. A number of Health & Safety issues, and definitely not wheelchair friendly/accessible!,
Lovely venue for a wedding, The staff were attentive and the food was grand . Will be back for dinner.
This is the most magical place! The best meal, beautiful service and very yummy cocktails. It's the absolute best. HIGHLY recommend.
Had a lovely night , great atmosphere and lovely food. Just a few accessiblity things that could be improved. The gravel and sand from the car park is extremely difficult to navigate in a wheelchair, and the toilet flush is too high in the bathroom. Other than those small things we had a great night and would highly recommend.Wheelchair accessibility: Gravel and sand from the car park to the path is difficult to navigate. Accessible bathroom doesn't have an emergency pull cord and the flush is too high.