City Of Edinburgh Restaurant Guide

2019 Review: This contemporary four-year-old near Haymarket Station very consistently produces imaginative ‘nouvelle Indian’ cuisine of superior quality.

2021 Review: “From the owners of nearby Locanda De Gusti” – this three-year-old sibling is praised for its “authentic Neapolitan pizza” and at a good price too.

This year-old venture in a converted bank – restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop and butchery – “has taken Edinburgh by storm” with its “very unfussy and robust cooking, relaxed atmosphere” – and its excellent in-house baked goods. The “shabby-chic premises belie stunning prep and cooking” from ex-Spring chef Lloyd Morse, who has teamed up with ex-Harwood Arms GM James Snowdon. Top Tip – “on no account depart without buying one of their loaves”.

2022 Review: “Really good, cheap Chinese food” is the order of the day at this “fun” two-year-old, featuring whitewashed brick walls and a long, refreshingly unusual menu that incorporates the headline event alongside BBQ dishes, noodles etc.

“A superb location, where the chef's culinary skills are effectively displayed” – Dean Banks is succeeding where others have failed in this plush and “romantic” dining room, dating from 1925. Culinarily speaking, it’s in a similar ambitious vein to his St Andrews venture, Haar, and even a reporter who thought it is “maybe a bit pricey” concludes that “the quality of food and the high standards effectively make this a no-brainer to visit”.

2022 Review: “In the Caledonian Hotel (Waldorf Astoria)” for the past couple of years, in a space previously occupied by the Galvin brothers, Mark Greenaway's hyped modern English and Scottish venture may be a little ill-named (it's less about sharing plates than heftier options) but receives feedback that’s notably sound, including for the “fab” puds and “well-presented” Sunday lunch.

2021 Review: “Tasty, freshly prepared sushi” and “friendly service” can be found at this “very popular” Japanese: a stylishly minimal operation near the Lyceum Theatre – from the team behind Sushiya.

The Radford family’s Victorian warehouse conversion remains “relentlessly inventive and delicious”, a decade after they were among the first to bring the lessons of ‘new Nordic’ cuisine to Scotland, with foraged or pickled ingredients presented in industrial-style premises. Head chef James Murray (ex-Lyles, Le Manoir & Nur in Hong Kong) joined the team last year. Natural and low-intervention wines are also an important part of the experience. Even a diner who felt “the food is overhyped” said “what an amazing place!”

“Everything is spot-on” at this “lively” and “inventive” gastropub from a top-class chef – “we love it, and it’s great to take international visitors as it showcases Scottish produce”. With its “good pies and loads of local beers”, the place “doesn’t forget it’s a pub” – but the “wonderful, skilled cooking” makes it “more than just that”. He might not like to hear this, but “we enjoyed this far more than Tom Kitchin’s main restaurant”.

2021 Review: “Excellent views from the conservatory” – including possibly “the best view of the castle, if you get the right table” – are incentive enough to visit this branch of an eight-strong Thai chain. It also delivers “surprisingly good and inexpensive food”.

“Amazing Italian cooking using Scottish produce – impeccable – and with outstanding service” inspires excellent feedback on this stylish and moodily decorated New Town site. It was opened in mid 2021 by Stefano Pieraccini of the Rocca Group in premises vacated by Martin Wishart’s The Honour (RIP).

This “busy and atmospheric” restaurant with “reliably excellent pasta dishes” (plus, unusually, ‘full Scottish breakfasts’) was opened almost 20 years ago in a former banking hall by Victor Contini, whose family has brought their Italian heritage to bear on the Scottish food scene for more than a century. The venue’s success has led to further openings, at the Scottish National Gallery and in Cannonball House, next door to Edinburgh Castle.

“Beautiful Thai food just off the main Stockbridge thoroughfare is well worth a detour”, according to fans of this “friendly and professional” operation in a seventeenth-century townhouse. Since late 2020, it has also had a sibling near the castle.

“Definitely an experience” – James Thomson’s “glorious” 40-year restoration of a 1595 merchant’s house next to the castle makes a “totally unique and intimate location” for a candle-lit meal, either in the wood-panelled dining room, filled with leather furnishings and hung with tapestries, or in the ‘Secret Garden’. The “atmospheric setting” is “perfect for a romantic dinner” so long as you “don’t expect too much gastronomically” from the traditional menu – and there is a “killer wine list – sorry, Wine Bible”.

2022 Review: “Good all round” – this popular and well-priced Marchmont venue keeps a local crowd happy with the French-accented dishes sent out by its owner-chefs, a Sicilian/Canadian couple who live nearby. A proper two-course lunch costs under £20, which adds to the appeal.

“Tucked away in a back street off George Street” you’ll find a little corner of “Left Bank Paris preserved en gelée” – serving “divine French bistro food” that’s “just right for a romantic tryst”. “This long standing restaurant continues to show others that great ingredients well prepared shine through”, while demonstrating “outstanding commitment to local small suppliers”.

“Every course is delicious and made with meticulous care” at Paul Gunning’s small venue in a Stockbridge basement. In the evening the choice is between a 5-course and 7-course tasting menu, and it provides “excellent value (especially at lunchtime with the set 2-course and 3-course menus)”.