Dalry, Scottish Restaurant Guide

“Consistently fresh, bold, interesting food – forthright but beautifully balanced and absolutely delicious, and a decent wine list too” inspire nothing but high enthusiasm for this emerging star of Edinburgh’s dining scene – a ‘Restaurant & Bakery’ from Lloyd Morse and James Snowdon with traditional looks but a forward-looking menu of “simple seasonal food” delivering “outstanding” flavours. Top Menu Tip – “crispy lamb belly and sausage on mustard lentils”.

“Well deserving of its Michelin Star!” – the Radford family’s converted Victorian warehouse (originally built as a props and costume store) has built a strong culinary reputation since it opened 11 years ago and was finally recognised by the Tyre Men in their 2023 awards. A five-course menu for £115 per person is the entry-level option (although there is a more extensive tasting menu available for £145 per head).

Dine amid the ghosts of Auld Reekie at Scotland’s most romantic hotel and restaurant, set in a collection of dramatic buildings dating back to 1595, and right at the gates of the castle. Lit by candlelight, the wood-panelled dining room is a swoonsome location to enjoy fittingly traditional dishes ranging from the Omelette Arnold Bennett to local haggis. Yes, it’s been some time now that the venue has been “resting on its (ancient) laurels”, with a growing army of critics that “just don’t get the hype” (especially since it’s “as expensive as ever!”), but for a special occasion for which expense be damned it takes some beating – as does the 600-bin-strong cellar, winner of many an accolade.

“What a joy!” – Tom & Michaela Kitchin’s selfconsciously Scottish gastroboozer (‘Oor menu; Yer starters’) is a “buzzy” and “enjoyable experience” serving “upmarket and well done pub grub” as well as “wine by the useful 500ml carafe”. Top Menu Tips – the S&S fish or steak pies.

“You’d have to travel a long way to find another dining room as grand” as this sumptuous cupola-topped venue – the eye-catching old Bank of Scotland above Waverley station – which is now part of the first city hotel spin-off from the storied Perthshire hotel (replete with “beautiful” bedrooms, rooftop bar and members’ club). Some 98 years younger than that grand icon, which celebrated its centenary in 2024, the all-day restaurant, which turns out upscale brasserie fare from sharing dishes to a decadent dessert trolley, failed this year to elicit huge amounts of feedback: brunch, previously a highlight, is now once-monthly only, while the other victuals can seem “good but not exciting”, thus “not up to the elevated surroundings”.

“A stalwart in Edinburgh and one we always gravitate to” – Paul & Lisa Wedgwood’s basement on the Royal Mile is “is a conveniently located gem right in the middle of Edinburgh”. All reports attest to its “brilliant attention to detail”. “Paul is a passionate forager and you can always find something really interesting that you want to know more about on your plate” – and his seasonally changing menus are “beautifully sourced” and “excellent”. There’s a “great selection of wine by the glass as well as the bottle” too.

Tom & Michaela Kitchin’s Leith HQ occupies a converted warehouse and has shown amazing longevity since it opened in 2006 as one of the Scottish capital’s most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll. There are gripes here in the feedback we receive, almost entirely to do with those who feel the experience is “good but overpriced”. On balance, though, positivity is still the order of the day and the vast majority of reports acclaim it as somewhere that “never disappoints, with always something really interesting and fabulous on the menu”. Choose from either a three-course à la carte (for £125 per person); or there is a tasting option (at £155 per person) – “the theatre of the service is extraordinary, with front of house staff who are attentive but not overly so, carefully choreographing the emergence of food from the kitchen. Behind the glass screen, the chefs and kitchen staff beaver away in an organised and calm manner and the ambience is lovely. Yes, it was on the expensive side, but as a theatrical gastronomic experience it was worth every penny… it‘s just a shame that we live nearly 500 miles away”.

This old inn by the Union Canal, close to Edinburgh airport, is a “really lovely place to sit and watch the barges go by” while eating “well executed classics” from the superior gastropub menu – and it’s “nice to see seasonal game on the menu, too”.

Aizle chef-patron Stuart Ralston’s third Edinburgh restaurant (he’s since launched fine-diner Lyla) is a bright and airy first-floor New Town spot with striking pale wood décor and “great Italian food” by absolutely all accounts. Conjuring up worrying visions, William Sitwell in The Telegraph’s January 2024 review praised the venue for “snacks I’d run naked through a howling gale for”, but their small plates also attract plenty of attention (and are rounded out by seriously good homemade pasta).

“Such a fabulous experience” – chef Brian Grigor and sommelier Glen Montgomery man this tiny (12 covers) Stockbridge yearling which provides a single chef’s table experience each night; diners say it’s “great being able to engage with the sommelier and chef” in this manner. Feedback is not vast, but couldn’t rate the outstanding mix of food and wine any higher: a seven-course selection for £95 per person. It’s also had a string of adulatory press reviews: most recently from William Sitwell in The Telegraph, who in his January 2024 piece said it was “like the best experimental works of theatre” and “a bold and exciting glimpse of a delicious future”.

On the site of the late-lamented 21212 (which closed a year earlier after the sad passing of its owner, Paul Kitching) – Stuart Ralston has launched one of Scotland’s most accomplished restaurants at this elegant and beautiful Georgian townhouse on Royal Terrace, which nowadays boasts a svelte contemporary interior. It opened in late 2023, and the centrepiece is a ten-course tasting menu for £165 per person (although you can go for the five-course, £65 lunch). The prime focus is on top-quality Scottish fish and seafood – often infused with Asian-inflected flavours – but meat and foraged ingredients also feature. Although initial feedback in our survey is limited, it’s exceptional, and we’ve felt able to rate the restaurant accordingly, encouraged by press raves which have included The Times, FT and Scotsman.

“An exceptional all-round favourite” – there’s a buzz about this new venue from the owners of Timberyard, and their head chef, James Murray, who have taken over this Victorian pub at Abbeyhill to create a bar offering funky small plates, plus a small restaurant offering a tasting menu for £80 per person. The Times, The Scotsman, The Herald… all have also awarded rave reviews.

“Innovative, excellent food” with a clear focus on “showcasing local ingredients” in each course – be it from the à la carte menu for £95 per person or longer tasting menu for £125 per person – wins continued acclaim for Sam Yorke’s modern Scottish venue: a moodily decorated corner restaurant in site of the water in Leith. (In late 2023, it also acquired the Telegraph’s William Sitwell as a fan, who felt “Heron does make Leigh proud”).