Dakota Hotel bar
Queensferry
Edinburgh
What is it: There are two Dakota Hotels in Scotland, on the outskirts of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The huge black box structures are not to everyone's taste but get people talking about them. While the outside may be industrial the inside is the opposite. The decor is luxurious and every corner is covered in expensive-looking furniture and art. I visited the Edinburgh bar, which had a cool open design between dining area and bar. It was busy with casual business meetings and couples having a romantic break.
Interesting fact: The hotel is named after the Dakota aircraft which changed the face of air travel in the 1930s. Air travel, until then a privilege of the super-rich, was revolutionised by the Dakota which offered stylish service and cabin accommodation at an affordable price. The hotel group claims to follow that blueprint, without the bumpy landings.
Verdict: A year or so ago I thought it was just OK. This time I was impressed by the offering. The drinks menu has been refreshed and was full of new drinks and modern mixology techniques, such as aged cocktails with have been resting in casks. Bartenders and floor staff were attentive and I felt relaxed.
Drinks: A good selection. I had a classic Dry Martini with Bombay Gin, a splash of dry vermouth and a twist of lemon for £7.95. It was expertly made and set me up nicely for my meal.
Food: I was impressed, too, by the food. I went for steak frites with caramelised onion and thin-cut chips. Tasty and well priced at £12.95.
Price: Reasonable for a four-star hotel: cocktails from £6.50 and a glass of white wine from £4.95
Children: Allowed in all parts of hotel, but not the most fun place for them.
Alfresco: No outside areas here, just the car park for a fly smoke.
Avoid if: You want to be in walking distance of good bars and restaurants.
Perfect for: A romantic night away.
Follow me on Twitter @andydrink or on Facebook
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article