Dalry Restaurant Guide

“Love this restaurant – just my kind of place…” is a sentiment shared by many on the merits of Lloyd Morse and James Snowdon’s “busy, bustling” West End spot, whose “superb and interesting meals” make it several reporters’ “absolute favourite in Edinburgh”. Set in “an old banking hall with stone floors and lots of hard wood surfaces, it can get disarmingly noisy”, and natural wine sceptics need to be vigilant. It is, though, “a great place to take a vegan friend”, even though “non-vegan options predominate”. Top Menu Tip – “epic bread and butter”.

A “cosy neighbourhood steak restaurant” in a “great location” under the arches close to Waverley station. The beef is dry-aged in-house with Himalayan salt and then “well cooked” over coals, and they really “take the time to make sure it’s great”. (Its Bruntsfield and Leith siblings are no more, both having closed in the first half of 2024).

This “pretty little fish restaurant tucked away overlooking the expanse of the Meadows in south Edinburgh” has won widespread praise for its “deft and delicious cooking”. Chef-patron Phil White and his FOH partner Rachel Chisholm followed up by opening all-day spot Margot a few doors away in March 2024 – hailed by critic Chitra Ramaswamy of The Times as ‘the hippest café in the city’. Top Menu Tip – “the stand-out octopus”.

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.

“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.

“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.

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).

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: “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.

“On a dark winter’s night there is nowhere more romantic than The Witchery” – a rambling, dramatic, candle-lit space constructed from buildings at the gates of the castle that date back to 1595. Once, Auld Reekie’s most famous restaurant address, nowadays it’s not as prominent as some in the City but still a favourite for a special date (so long as it’s of the expense-be-damned variety!). Regulars have their favourite space – be it the intricately wood-panelled room at the front or the rear ‘Secret Garden’. Its traditional Scottish fare was more consistently rated this year although it’s not unfair to say that the cellar – which has 600 bins – regularly eclipses the menu. For the full romantic experience, book one of their incredible bedrooms.

“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.

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).

2023 Review: This “buzzing and reliable” home-grown homage to New York-style pizza sells its “great” versions by the slice – “the slices are enormous and one will suffice most people” – in four outlets with a “quirky vibe and music (American rock and hip-hop)”. “Their motto is branded on every cup and menu: ‘Death Before Dominos’!”

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.