Duddingston, British, Modern - Restaurant Guide

“A truly unique dining experience with highly original food cooked to an exceptional standard” – that’s the verdict, albeit on limited feedback, on chef-patron Tyler King’s 12-seat venue on the city’s South Side. You sit in candle-light at one of six tables, and are advised to allow two and half hours for a surprise menu that costs £160 per person. Fans consider it “Edinburgh’s best, with knowledgeable staff who really buy into the offering, all alongside a wine list with a keen focus on sustainability, and organic and biodynamic farming”. More reports please!

A leading light of vegetarian cuisine in Edinburgh for more than two decades – this “enjoyable but noisy” outfit off Holyrood Road takes its cues from around the world (as in the signature smoked tofu with Korean cucumber pickle, Italian risotto alla Norma or Mexican bean chilli) or closer to home (double-baked smoked Isle of Kintyre cheese pudding) – “I go there because the food’s delicious and the service lovely, not because it’s vegetarian”. It also offers vegan and gluten-free options.

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.

“Can’t tell you how delicious the food is” at chef-patron Roberta Hall-McCarron’s “lovely” small foodie magnet on the road to Leith – the cooking from her open kitchen is “so creative”, be it from the three-course menu for £73 per person or the five-courser for £95 per person (if you go at lunch, the three-course option is just £49 per person). Top Menu Tip – “steak with haggis sausage is a standout”; “kedgeree croquettes or mushroom pâté may sound dull, but they taste and look sublime”, while “the venison is the best ever”.

All Corinthian columns, marble and palm trees – the Graeco-Roman former HQ of the Commercial Bank of Scotland is unquestionably a “beautiful and opulent” space (and “particularly special at Christmas with a maximalist tree and decorations”). There are a range of dining areas in which to enjoy the surroundings, from a classy afternoon tea in The Georgian Tea Room, to The Grill Room, which offers à la carte and a table d’hôte; while most feedback was on the setting, there’s “good, solid bistro-style food” to go with it (with a “special mention to the Cullen Skink, up there with the best”).

“Interesting sharing dishes” – inspired by the Japanese cuisine encountered by founder Stuart Ralston while training in New York – make up the concise menu at this chic New Town address. “The room is quite stark: it’s all about the food here” – a sentiment echoed by Daily Mail critic Tom Parker Bowles, who rated it “a gem” in his February 2025 review.

“Beautiful, austere candle-lit decor” makes the Radford family’s brick-walled warehouse (originally built as a props and costume store) in the city-centre an atmospheric choice as well as a culinarily accomplished one. It is rated on limited feedback in this year’s annual diners’ poll, continuing the high marks of last year, and ongoing reports of “exceptional” meals match its reputation as one of Michelin’s few starred restaurants in the city. The evening five-course tasting menu is £130 per person.

“Beautiful views”, including of Edinburgh Castle from some lucky tables, add further to the distinction of this famous chamber, named for the year of its construction and King Louis XV’s favourite mistress. Overseen nowadays by prominent chef, Dean Banks, our best reports this year relate to special events co-hosted by Dean and other famous chefs on the site. For the most part here, though, the fixed menu format has been dropped and the menu is now of individually priced dishes with luxurious ingredients (Smoked Lobster, Beef Fillet Rossini with Foie Gras and Truffle, Champagne-baked Market Fish). Feedback on this latest format has scaled peaks and troughs – from “not too pretentious but perfect for that special occasion” to “overpriced” and “poor all round”.

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.

“Small and unassuming” it might be, but Paul Gunning’s “top-end” Stockbridge basement has built up quite a reputation for its “relaxed” fine dining approach; whether you go for the two- or three-course set lunch, or the five- or seven-course evening tasting menu, it’s all “very, very good” and “prices have remained reasonable” to boot. The team also runs Dùtchas, in Leith, which focuses on seasonal tasting menus.

Tom & Michaela Kitchin’s restaurant-with-rooms in the village of Gullane on Scotland’s East coast sits just a stone’s throw from Muirfield golf course, and a 30-minute drive from Edinburgh. All reports are complimentary without ever hitting any heights – viz. “great place to stay and a good restaurant, if you do stay the breakfast is spectacular”.

2022 Review: “A very classy experience with little or no fault to find”, say fans of the Roux-branded operation at this well-known Lutyens-designed golfing hotel, which looks towards the Firth of Forth, although it again attracted only a limited volume of feedback. Also acclaimed: “a lovely country-house ambience for a perfect afternoon tea, with spot-on service”. (Albert Roux, who passed away in early 2021, had been in charge of managing the cuisine here, but now it’s handled by his son, Michel Roux Jr).

“It’s a tiny room, split (some would say weirdly) down the middle, but even if you don’t take to it you don’t care because the food is good and the service is wonderful” – this “sister to the Little Chartroom” (which once occupied this space) is, say fans, “on a par” – “a real find that looks unassuming but serves wonderful food”. It’s also “lovely to sit at the counter and chat with the chef”. At dinner, it’s a set menu priced at £75 per person (lunch is three courses for £39 per person). Top Menu Tip – “Lovely cod main, gorgeous blood orange custard dessert”.