Stockbridge Restaurant Guide

“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.

2024 Review: “If you’ve ever been in Thailand, you’ll know how authentic the food is” at this “very popular Stockbridge restaurant” (which also has an offshoot near the castle). It’s “small, intimate and always busy, but the efficient staff try their best to provide you with a good dining experience”. Top Tip – “the chili crab signature dish”.

Tom & Michaela Kitchin’s upmarket Scottish gastroboozer (est. 2013) is an “excellent” spot that’s “always fun to visit” – and “child-friendly too” (“a saviour” if you are sprogged-up). The hearty grub (“would go back just for that steak pie!”) is “good value”, while there’s a hint of Scandi in the décor, nodding to Michaela’s Swedish heritage. These days, the Kitchin mini-empire also stretches to ‘The Kitchin’, in Leith, and restaurant-with-rooms ‘The Bonnie Badger’, in the coastal village of Gullane, a short drive from Edinburgh.

2024 Review: “The food is of the highest standard” at chef Maciej Szymik’s modern European spot, tucked away in the New Town – “we were lucky to stumble on it”. There’s “only a handful of tables in each room, which gives the feel of quasi-private dining”. “My only real criticism is the portion sizes are too large – it just wasn’t possible to leave room for dessert”.

2023 Review: “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).

Virginie Brouard’s smart outfit in a mock-Tudor building in the West End has established itself as one of Edinburgh’s most reliable Gallic restaurants as it noses into its third decade, with “reasonable prices” part of the draw, whether you opt for the à la carte menu or the two-course set lunch for £29. If you’re in the mood for a pre-dinner drink, her adjoining wine bar ‘Le Di-Vin’ occupies a dramatic former church (and has formerly featured as one of the best of its kind in the land in a Sunday Times national survey).

“You could be in Montmartre” rather than a cobbled alleyway in the New Town as you stumble across this evergreen stalwart – “a firm favourite over many years” providing an “interesting Scottish-produce-oriented menu, together with very good service in a traditional French-bistro-style setting”.

This “beautiful room” – a Georgian former banking hall modelled on a Florentine palazzo – makes a wonderful setting for an Italian restaurant that is “definitely a swagger establishment”, attracting celebs from Sean Connery to Margot Robbie over its 20-plus years. Victor Contini, who runs it with his wife Carina, received a knighthood from the President of Italy in 2024 in recognition of his achievements! The venue can become “very noisy”, though, and critics say it “promises much, but attention to detail is lacking”.

2022 Review: “Still knocking out great burgers with a retro feel – the relish selection harks back to the 1970s”. This “great local burger joint” in Stockbridge which celebrates its half-centenary this year is “always reliable and never changes”. “The staff are rushed off their feet, but they’re always really professional and smiley”.

“Tables are close together” (and “the noise is heightened by the tiled floor”) at this popular venue – a stalwart of the New Town for over 20 years now. All reports, though, suggest it’s “worth it for the food”, using Scottish produce to create classic Thai dishes.

“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.

“Just right for a nice tapas lunch with a glass of good vino”, this Spanish specialist with eye-catching décor (wall-hung ceramics, jazzy textiles, foliage) wins praise for a “wide choice” of “very good value” dishes which are “generally tasty if not always authentically Spanish”. As of November 2023, when they added a Stockbridge sibling, there are now three branches in town, with the wider family (the NE-based DRG group) stretching to Glasgow, Newcastle and Aberdeen.

“You won’t go wrong” at this “always-reliable fish restaurant in the heart of the New Town”, with “large windows, an open-plan layout, small bar, warm and efficient service, and skilled kitchen, all at a reasonable price”. Top Menu Tips – “Tempura King Prawns, Halibut in Parsley Sauce, good curried fish, fishcakes and creme brûlée”.

“Affordable fine dining” – say fans – makes these Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf venues (from Nico Simeone’s Glasgow-based national chain) “good for date nights” and “real value-for-money”. “The tasting menu changes regularly, so it’s a different experience every time” – the formula being “no mystery: you get to taste small samples of delicious food all related to a specific, changing theme”. (“We’ve been twice this year – more themes have caught our eye without the window of opportunity to try them. It’s not filling, but a really enjoyable eat”). There is, though, an alternative jaundiced view, which is that they offer “style over substance – you’ll leave still feeling hungry and the venue is noisy, like being in a canteen”.

“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”.