BRASSERIE
Locally sourced seasonal food, served in a relaxed atmosphere with stunning views of the Pentland Hills & Edinburgh.
OPENING HOURS
SPRING/SUMMER OPENING HOURS 30th March 2026 – 4th October 2026:
Monday – Thursday: 0930hrs – 4pm
Friday & Saturday: 0930hrs – 7pm
Sunday: 0930hrs – 5pm
Kitchen closes daily to food orders 1 hour before advertised closing time
AUTUMN/WINTER OPENING HOURS 5th October- 28th March 2027:
Monday – Thursday: Open from 0930hrs – 4pm
Friday – Sunday: 0930hrs – 5pm
Kitchen closes daily to food orders 1 hour before advertised closing time
Festive Opening Hours:
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: CLOSED
New Year’s Day: Open 10am – 5pm
Please note that during the winter months daylight hours are limited, with sunset typically falling between 3.30pm and 4pm. We strongly advise that you plan ahead for winter weather conditions.
Table Reservations
If you would like to dine at Swanston Brasserie during your visit to Swanston Farm, we recommend booking a table in advance to avoid disappointment. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours prior to your intended visit.
To make a reservation, please call 0131 445 2239 and select Option 2, or email brasserie@swanston.co.uk.
If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message including:
- Your full name
- The date and time you wish to visit
- The number of guests in your party
- A contact telephone number or email address
Please note that we are unable to return calls to international telephone numbers, therefore an email address is required for overseas enquiries.
Important Information
- Reservations are only confirmed once you have received confirmation from a member of our team.
- The Brasserie may occasionally be closed to the public for private events, including weddings, funeral receptions, corporate functions, and private dining experiences. Any closures will be reflected in our opening hours and communicated via our Facebook and Instagram pages.
- Adverse weather conditions may affect opening and closing times.
- Our kitchen stops taking food orders one hour before the advertised closing time.
Balcony Dining/Tables
We are unable to take bookings for outside tables and these are offered on a first come basis. Our large balcony is closed during winter opening hours.
House Rules
- Dogs are not permitted inside the Brasserie unless it is an Assistance Dog.
- We offer one bill per table and kindly ask split payments are calculated by the customer.
OCCASIONAL EARLY CLOSING:
TABLE RESERVATIONS
Reservations
If you would like to dine at Swanston Brasserie during your visit to Swanston Farm, we recommend booking a table in advance to avoid disappointment. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours prior to your intended visit.
Table Reservations
To make a reservation, please call 0131 445 2239 and select Option 2, or email brasserie@swanston.co.uk.
If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message including:
- Your full name
- The date and time you wish to visit
- The number of guests in your party
- A contact telephone number or email address
Please note that we are unable to return calls to international telephone numbers, therefore an email address is required for overseas enquiries.
Important Information
- Reservations are only confirmed once you have received confirmation from a member of our team.
- The Brasserie may occasionally be closed to the public for private events, including weddings, funeral receptions, corporate functions, and private dining experiences. Any closures will be reflected in our opening hours and communicated via our Facebook and Instagram pages.
- Adverse weather conditions may affect opening and closing times.
- Our kitchen stops taking food orders one hour before the advertised closing time.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
- Swanston Farm is not a petting farm – we are a 700 acre family-run working farm with a Brasserie, self-catering holiday cottages and an historic golf course. We do not have any animals that you can feed or pet.
- We kindly ask visitors to be aware of their surroundings and respect the golfers, residents and farm workers.
- Our 3 Highland Cows are the only animals you can see when you visit. All of the information regarding our Highland Cows can be found here.
- If you wish to have something to eat or drink when visiting the cows, you will need to book a table at our Brasserie. Head to the Table Reservations area for information on how to book a table.
FAQs:
- We do not serve Highland Cow meat in our Brasserie. Our Cows are used for conservation grazing, not meat.
- We do not sell any meat, milk or eggs from the farm.
- We do not serve Halal food.
- We do not have a dedicated prayer room on site.
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessibility
At Swanston Brasserie, we are committed to providing a welcoming and accessible experience for all visitors.
Getting Here & Parking
Free customer parking is available adjacent to the Brasserie. Four designated accessible parking bays are located directly outside the building for Blue Badge holders, with additional drop-off and pick-up facilities available for visitors with limited mobility.
The main car park is situated a short distance from the Brasserie and is connected by a gently sloping route.
Accessible Access
Step-free access to the building is provided via a wheelchair-friendly ramp leading to the main entrance. The ramp features a handrail for additional support, and the entrance foyer is spacious and easily accessible for wheelchair users, mobility aid users, pushchairs, and prams.
Accessible Toilets
An accessible toilet, including baby-changing facilities, is located on the ground floor and can be reached directly from the entrance foyer. Emergency assistance cords and support rails are provided.
Lift Access
A passenger lift provides step-free access to the Brasserie on the first floor. The lift accommodates wheelchairs and includes Braille-labelled controls positioned at an accessible height.
Stair Access
For those who prefer to use the stairs, the Brasserie can also be accessed via two flights of stairs with handrails on both sides.
Within the Brasserie
The Brasserie offers spacious dining areas and two outdoor balconies, both of which are accessible to wheelchair users. Assistance is always available from our team if required.
Assistance Dogs & Additional Support
Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the Brasserie, and water bowls are available on request. An outdoor relief area for assistance dogs is also available, and our team will be happy to direct visitors to it.
Several members of our team have received Sighted Guide training in partnership with Sight Scotland and can provide assistance to blind or visually impaired guests. We offer:
- Large-print menus
- Braille menus
- Audio versions of our menus
Need Assistance?
If you require any assistance before or during your visit, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate your needs. A meet-and-greet assistance service can be arranged with prior notice.
Email: brasserie@swanston.co.uk
Telephone: 0131 445 2239 (Option 2)
Accessibility Information & Reviews
Visitors can view photographs of our accessible facilities here (add link to images?)
Learn more about accessible venues via Euan’s Guide, the UK’s leading disabled access review platform.
Click here to see disabled access photos
AUDIO MENU
WELCOME
Swanston Brasserie is an all-inclusive dining establishment and all are welcome! Swanston Brasserie has disabled access for wheelchair users, walking frame users, buggies, prams and any visitors who would rather not climb steps.
PARKING
Parking at Swanston Brasserie is free. There are 4 disabled parking bays directly to the front of the building reserved for disabled badge holders, as well as ample space for dropping-off/picking up those who struggle with mobility yet do not possess a Blue Badge.
Our main car park is located just below the Brasserie and is a very short walk to our building with a small, steady incline.
If the disabled bays are full, there is a drop-off bay directly in front of the steps to the front doors. The steps are wide stone slabs and have a central 2-level metal hand-rail to allow visitors to walk up or down either side of the rail.
ENTERING THE BUILDING
The ramp, made from wet-pour rubber safety-surface, starts from the golf course side of the building, outside the window of the Swanston Golf Pro Shop and takes users round to the double front doors of the building and in to the downstairs foyer. The ramp has a 2-level metal hand-rail on one side.
The front doors have a large metal handle on the inside and outside and a push-bar from the inside of both of them, providing access in and out of the foyer. There is a small metal arched lip on the floor of the doorway. The foyer is very wide with a slate tile floor and has some seating available on the left as you enter the foyer.
ACCESSIBLE TOILETS
From the foyer you can access the toilets. There is a mens toilet with cubicle and urinals, a ladies toilet with cubicles and a disabled toilet all located through the door at the base of the staircase towards the back of the foyer (proceed straight ahead through the main doors and the door to the toilets is just to the left of the lift, at the bottom of the stairs). The mens toilets are the first door on the left, the ladies toilets straight ahead and the disabled toilet is to the right just before the ladies toilets. The disabled toilet also includes baby changing facilities. The disabled toilet includes a chair-height sink next to the toilet and a hand-dryer on the opposite wall from the sink, next to the toilet, there is a grab-rail next to the toilet and on the back of the door as well as a mirror on the opposite wall to the toilet above the hand-dryer as well as a fold-down changing table for infants. The door lock is a slide-lock. There is an alarm pull-cord next to the toilet on the left as you sit on the toilet. The light in this toilet is eco-motion-sensitive and the light will go on when passing towards the door of the toilet.
LIFT TO THE BRASSERIE ON THE FIRST FLOOR
You will also find the lift in the foyer, which will take you to the Brasserie on the first floor. The lift is located directly ahead as you enter the foyer and has a light silver metal door and surround. The square button to call the lift is at standing waist height on the right side of the frame and is slightly raised. The lift is a standard ‘Schindler’ lift with a single sliding door that opens with a width of 900mm. There is room inside for a wheelchair plus an additional pedestrian, and perhaps one or two small children. The buttons to the floors and lift alarm button are at chair height and the buttons are marked with braille. The Brasserie is on the first floor which has Number 1 on the button. Once you arrive on the first floor and the doors open, you enter a small area with a door to your right and a door to your left. Go through the wooden door to your left (this is a wooden door with a metal handle on the left to pull open) (please note: sometimes this door to the left is propped open) and once through this doorway you will be located at the end of the bar (on your left) inside the Brasserie itself, where a member of staff will greet you.
STAIRS TO THE BRASSERIE ON THE FIRST FLOOR
There are also stairs that will take you to the Brasserie on the first floor. These are located in the back left corner of the foyer as you enter, to the left of the door to the toilets. There are 2 sets of stairs to climb. There are rounded metal railings on either side of the staircase up the first set of stairs, where the railing on the right will stop and you will meet a wall on your right that curves round in a semi-circle to the left, with a recess with a tall thin window (non-opening) half way round (there is often a floral display in the window) and the next railings on your left just above the end of the first set. The staircase continues from your left and again has railings on both sides of the staircase. Upon reaching the top of the second set of stairs, there is a wooden door straight ahead with a metal pull-handle on the left of the door, to pull open the door. This will take you into a small area where the lift finishes (lift now on your left) and then through another wooden door ahead of you with the same handle that also pulls towards you to open. Sometimes this second door is propped open. Once through this second doorway you will be located at the end of the bar (on your left) inside the Brasserie itself, where a member of staff will greet you.
INSIDE THE BRASSERIE
The Brasserie also has 2 balconies which allow for coffee and cakes or dining in warm and drier weather! Both have wide doorways to allow for wheelchair access and assistance will happily be provided upon request if needed.
ASSISTANCE DOGS
Assistance Dogs are welcome in the Brasserie and water bowls can be provided upon request. A toilet area for assistance dogs is available outside and our staff can direct you or assist you to this area.
BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED VISITORS
Our staff have been trained in association with Sight Scotland to assist blind or visually impaired visitors. This includes offering Sighted Guides where required. Please either contact us in advance to notify us of any assistance you may require, or ask a member of staff upon arrival who will be happy to help.
LARGE PRINT MENU
Swanston Brasserie is able to provide our current menu in large print. Simply ask a member of staff for a copy.
BRAILLE MENU
Swanston Brasserie is able to provide our current menu in Braille. Simply ask a member of staff for a copy.
AUDIO MENU
Swanston Brasserie is able to provide our current menu in an audio version. Simply click here to listen or ask a member of staff to locate it on your handheld device for you.
WE CAN PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IF REQUIRED
If you have any concerns or requests prior to or in preparation for your visit to Swanston Brasserie, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do our very best to help. We can provide a meet, greet and assist service if notified in advance.
You can contact us as follows: Email: brasserie@swanston.co.uk or Phone: 01314452239 and choose Option 2
Click here to see disabled access photos
Have you heard about Euan’s Guide? It’s a great charity, founded in 2013 by Euan MacDonald, who has Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and is a powerchair user, and his sister Kiki. As Euan’s access requirements changed, both went in search of recommendations for accessible places to go, but a platform for this kind of information didn’t exist. Built as a friendly and honest alternative to hours of web searching and phone calls before visiting somewhere new, Euan’s Guide now has thousands of disabled access reviews and listings for places all over the UK and beyond.
Take a look at the website where you can find a great guide to disabled access, making it easier for disabled people to find great places to go. Click on the Euan’s Guide logo below to visit the website.
OUR TEAM
Emma Hilder (left) and Louise Abbott (right)
Emma Hilder – Brasserie General Manager
Emma has worked in the hospitality sector for 23 years and previously owned and ran one of Marchmont’s busiest brunch establishments. Outside of work, Emma is a keen baker and also works as a freelance musician with the function band Callanish, playing some of Scotland’s grandest castles and venues. Emma loves animals and being outside and is a keen triathlete, training with the Newhaven Harbour triathletes and has competed at half-iron distance.
Louise Abbott – Brasserie Assistance Manager
Louise has worked for Swanston Farm in the Brasserie for over 7 years. A mum of one and keen on fitness, Louise’s ability to remain calm in a storm (in a teacup) is her Super Power. Louise is a fountain of knowledge about the ins and outs of the Brasserie and her professional efficiency is perfectly paired with her welcoming warmth. In her spare time, Louise enjoys being creative in art and cooking and is renowned for her festive displays and Christmas cake at Swanston!
Glyn Sommerville
Glyn Sommerville – Head Chef
Our head chef Glyn is the Brasserie’s best kept secret! Glyn has an excellent career pedigree, previously working with teams at Valvona & Crolla’s Vin Cafe on Multree’s Walk, Fishers on the Shore, the famous Witchery and the stunning Prestonfield House. With over 30 years of experience, Glyn creates seasonal menus to suit the Brasserie’s visitors and now enjoys working in the family environment, as a father himself. Glyn’s forte is preparing fish and his use of locally sourced freshly prepared produce is the driving force behind the Brasserie’s excellent dishes.
Our Story
We often get asked about the history of our Brasserie and our story is an interesting one!
Many people confuse us with Swanston Golf Club and that’s because Swanston Farm was better known during the 1900’s and early 2000’s as the location of a private golf club.
Here’s a whistle-stop run-down of how Swanston Farm’s Brasserie evolved from a wooden golf club pavilion that fed its membership on catering provided by the Greenkeeper’s wife, to the thriving farm-owned public eatery that stands today:
1928 – Swanston Golf Club opened as a Ladies Only 9-hole golf club, renting an area of surplus land from Swanston Farm.
1929 – The golf course was extended to 18 holes and opened up to include men.
1970’s – The landowner died and the tenant farming family who had farmed the land for 2 generations since the 1930’s were able to buy the land. This included both Swanston Golf Club and Lothianburn Golf Club. The descendants of this family are still the owners and custodians of Swanston Farm today.
2007 – Swanston Farm wanted to move away from the exclusive-use golf club set-up and open up catering at Swanston to the general public. The old Swanston Golf Clubhouse was demolished and a purpose-built home for a Brasserie was erected.
Swanston Golf Club still rents the golf course land from Swanston Farm and is now based on the ground floor of the Brasserie building, where you can find the Golf Shop and Golfer’s bar and is a separate business to Swanston Farm’s Brasserie and Swanston Farm. Swanston Golf Club is run as a separate company to Swanston Farm and is managed by Club Manager & Secretary, Mike Robson. All things golf can be found on their website here (but we do allow golfers in the Brasserie too!).
Swanston Farm’s Brasserie (on the 1st floor the building) is owned and managed by Swanston Farm and is open to the public.
WEDDINGS AND EVENTS
Celebrations & Events at Swanston Brasserie
Swanston Brasserie provides a welcoming and versatile venue for a wide range of private events. Whether you are planning a wedding, funeral, christening, family celebration, corporate function, conference, dinner, or public speaking event, our venue is available for exclusive hire or for the reservation of a dedicated area within the Brasserie.
Our experienced team takes pride in delivering a professional, attentive, and friendly service, ensuring every event is tailored to your requirements and enjoyed by all your guests.
Our Head Chef brings a wealth of experience gained at some of Edinburgh’s most renowned establishments, including The Witchery and Prestonfield House. By combining exceptional culinary standards with a practical approach to budgeting, we offer a range of high-quality catering options to suit your event. We can also accommodate a variety of dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and coeliac-friendly menus, and are happy to discuss any specific preferences or requests. Please note that we are unable to accommodate Halal dietary requests.
To discuss your event and explore the options available, please contact our team on 0131 445 2239 or email brasserie@swanston.co.uk.
Planning a Wedding?
For enquiries about weddings and celebrations at Swanston Brasserie, please get in touch with our team.
If you are considering a civil marriage ceremony at the Brasserie, we recommend familiarising yourself with Scotland’s legal requirements for marriage. Your starting point should be the National Records of Scotland website, where you can access the guidance, forms, and information needed to begin the process.
FIND US
Getting Here
Please be aware that Swanston Farm does not resemble what you may expect from a traditional visitor farm. Over the centuries, the estate has evolved into a thriving rural business and leisure destination. We do not operate a visitor centre or information centre. The focal point for visitors is Swanston Brasserie, located at:
Swanston Brasserie
111 Swanston Road
Edinburgh
EH10 7DS
The Brasserie is the large white building at the top of Swanston Road and serves as the starting point for visits to see our Highland Cattle.
What3Words: Using.Coffee.Weeks
By Bus
Swanston Farm is easily accessible via Edinburgh’s public transport network.
Lothian Buses services 4, 5, 16, 27 and the 400 Skylink Airport Bus all serve Oxgangs Road, approximately 900 metres from Swanston Brasserie.
From the bus stop, visitors should walk to Swanston Road and then uphill in the direction of the Pentland Hills. A stone path runs alongside the road from the bypass bridge to the Brasserie and should be used where possible.
Typical journey times from Edinburgh City Centre range between 25 and 50 minutes, depending on the route.
By Car
Swanston Farm is conveniently located just off the Edinburgh City Bypass.
Follow signs for either Dreghorn or Fairmilehead, depending on your direction of travel, and proceed to Swanston Road. Continue uphill towards the Pentland Hills, where the distinctive white building of Swanston Brasserie is clearly visible at the top of the road.
Visitor parking is located on the right-hand side before reaching the Brasserie.
By Train
The nearest railway stations are:
- Edinburgh Waverley
- Edinburgh Haymarket
From either station, visitors can continue to Swanston Farm by bus or taxi.
By Air
Edinburgh Airport is approximately 8.6 miles (14 km) from Swanston Farm, with a typical journey time of around 15 minutes by car.
Taxi Services
For reliability and to support local businesses, we recommend booking with one of the following local taxi providers:
- City Cabs: +44 (0)131 228 1211
- Central Taxis: +44 (0)131 229 2468
- Festival Cabs: +44 (0)131 551 6777
GIFTS & VOUCHERS
GIFT VOUCHERS
Treat someone special to a Swanston Brasserie Gift Voucher. Vouchers are available in denominations of £25, £40 and £50.
These can be purchased by emailing us at brasserie@swanston.co.uk.
Do contact us for more any further information.
OUR CHARITIES
We select our charities every year. Click on each charity to find out more about each one.
“I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you and your team for the wonderful afternoon tea you organised for my mother’s 90th birthday. You completely surpassed what we expected! We thought there would be some scones and cake but you provided the most delicious array of sandwiches, wraps, cakes, etc – my mother and her friends were delighted. It was one of the best afternoon teas we have ever had. We would also like to thank the very charming waiter who was allocated to look after us – he was so helpful and lovely. Thanks again – it is much appreciated and made an elderly lady very happy.”