Ladywood Restaurant Guide

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).

“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!

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.

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.

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’!”

“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.

“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”.

“First-rate Indian tapas coupled with brisk-but-not-brusque service” is the pleasing offer at this “efficiently run” offshoot of the well-known Glasgow group. There’s “often a slight twist to the dishes to elevate your eating experience further”, and it’s “such good value, especially the lunchtime set menu”.

“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.

“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”.

“Good solid restaurants like this deserve our support” – a “small but friendly” New Town bistro, overseen by Marcelline Levicky, that has been around forever and turns out pitch-perfect Gallic cooking (onion soup, rabbit pies, moules) that also comes at a “great price”. While that price has crept up slowly over the years, it remains a steal: the two-course lunch is £20.90, the two-course dinner £34.50.

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.

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.

“Off the scale for the quality you receive”, say fans of Paul & Lisa Wedgwood’s fixture, which first opened in a basement on the Royal Mile in 2007. Scottish sourcing is a key feature of the menus: both the à la carte, or also the more culinarily exotic tasting menu which provides a ‘Wee Tour of Scotland’ in nine-to-ten courses for £85: dishes such as Sea Trout, new potato, peppers, sea vegetables, and cherry tomato or Avon valley roe deer loin, black pudding & bone marrow, neeps, cabbage, and mushrooms.