The Best Places To Eat In Edinburgh
CHIC
Lyla
If you are ready to splurge, this is the place to do it. Stuart Ralston’s Lyla sits within a Georgian townhouse on New Town’s magnificent Royal Terrace. It’s a grand, formal setting for cooking that deserves such reverence. Ten-course tasting menus are served each evening from Wednesday to Sunday, with shorter five and seven-course options available on Friday and Saturday lunchtimes. Whenever you’re there, you can expect imaginative contemporary cooking of the highest calibre, with a focus on the bounty of the Scottish sea. Arrive early for a drink in the gorgeous bar.
Visit LYLAEDINBURGH.CO.UK
Aizle
Stuart Ralston is perhaps *the* name to know on the Edinburgh restaurant scene. Lyla, Tipo and especially Noto have all impressed us (and they’re all on this list) but it all began here for him. Well, not quite here – since it opened in 2014, Aizle has moved from its original premises into the Garden Room of the Kimpton Charlotte Square hotel. It remains a testament to Ralston’s game-changing talent. A decade ago, it became the first restaurant in the city to offer a surprise tasting menu. Today, it makes everything in house: from the nutritious live ferment in the sourdough, to the hand-churned butter, to the aquavit and the aged kombucha in cocktails.
Visit AIZLE.CO.UK
The Little Chartroom
Edinburgh-born Roberta Hall-McCarron is a graduate of The Kitchin (also on this list). At this popular spot in Leith, her prix fixe menus are offered with matched wines. Starters to look for include hare loin, black pudding, Jerusalem artichoke, pickled walnut and truffle, and cured mackerel, beetroot, apple, celery and smoked almond. Book ahead at peak times to beat the crowds, and show up early to make full use of the cool bar.
Visit THELITTLECHARTROOM.COM
Timberyard
Timberyard occupies a 19th-century warehouse that was originally a props and costume store. No gimmicks are needed today – the quality of the cooking can speak for itself. Artisan suppliers deliver fine local produce to a kitchen team who turn out rarefied dishes like John Dory, celeriac, Scottish truffle and chestnut, or pheasant, preserved lingonberry, buckwheat and nutmeg. The appealing Nordic-style main dining space is supported by a courtyard that comes into its own on warmer days.
Visit TIMBERYARD.CO
Kanpai
This is the place to know for sushi in Edinburgh – along with Yamato, its sister restaurant about 10 minutes’ walk away. Sushi places can sometimes feel like loveless food laboratories. Not this one. The menu includes long lists of hand rolls, nigiri, maki and sashimi, all perfectly prepped and exquisitely satisfying. The craft and dedication of the chefs shines through.
Timberyard; The Little Chartroom
Eleanore
CONTEMPORARY
Ardfern
Chef Roberta Hall-McCarron’s third and newest place is right next door to her much-loved Little Chartroom in Leith. It’s open through the day as a café and bottle shop, imperceptibly becoming a bar and small-plates restaurant as day becomes night. Evening menus of perfectly executed contemporary comfort food showcase the quality of their ingredients – don’t pass on the game kofta with kohlrabi remoulade, dates, egg yolk jam and chicken skin. You might find it on Ardfern’s excellent brunch menu too.
Visit ARDFERN.UK
Eorna
There are intimate restaurants, and then there is Eorna. Each evening around 7pm, a dozen guests gather at its counter for canapés. What follows is a seasonal six-course tasting menu prepped in front of them by a kitchen team of one. Chef Brian, the son of a gamekeeper and himself a veteran of multiple Michelin-starred places, does remarkable things with great Scottish produce – imagine loin of Borders venison, carrot and apricot purée, and pickled elderberry jus. Glen, Eorna’s only other member of staff, is in charge of drinks. And they are all you will need.
Visit EORNARESTAURANT.COM
Noto
Following the success of Aizle, Stuart Ralston took inspiration for his next restaurant from time spent in New York, naming this appealing small-plates spot in New Town after his NYC roommate, Bob Noto. It’s been a hit since it opened, offering exquisitely conceived dishes at sensible prices that are ideal for sharing. The culinary influences are not American, however. There’s a focus on Asian flavours – look out for duck bao buns or a luscious chocolate and miso dessert.
Visit NOTOEDINBURGH.CO.UK
Tipo
Tipo is where Stuart Ralston channels his European influences. Like its sister Noto, which is just around the corner, it’s a small-plates kind of place. ‘Tipo’ is the name of the flour Italians use to make pasta, and the stuff they make here is a star of the show. The inventive menu might feature bigoli cacio pepe with truffle or short rib raviolo, kale and shallot. There’s even a dedicated pasta room for bigger groups. Just keep in mind the soft serve is another signature.
Visit TIPOEDINBURGH.CO.UK
Heron
From the outside, Leith’s Heron is pleasantly handsome, yet understated. You wouldn’t immediately know this is the place where Sam Yorke, the UK’s youngest Michelin-starred chef, does his cooking. Into a relaxed modern dining room, the 20-something prodigy turns out some memorable dishes that make fine use of Scottish ingredients. The tasting menu might feature hand-dived Orkney scallop with chive, hazelnut and oscietra caviar – or you could go à la carte with Shetland mackerel, hazelnut, ponzo and blackcurrant leaf.
Visit HERON.SCOT
Montrose
The good people behind Timberyard (also on this list) have turned a 19th-century pub near the Palace of Holyroodhouse into a buzzy wine bar and, up on the first floor, a candlelit restaurant. The head chef from Michelin-starred Timberyard creates its striking set menus – look for rare flavour combinations like Shetland mackerel, green strawberry, peas and coastal greens. The small plates in the bar downstairs are good too.
Visit MONTROSERESTAURANT.CO
The Palmerston
It sounds like it might be a pub, but The Palmerston is really an attractive European-style bistro in an old bank. The daily changing menu is all about casual classics made well with local produce. It might throw up slow-roast Shetland lamb, barley, roast turnips and green sauce – or halibut, white beans, violet artichokes, crème fraiche, Pernod and alexanders. A strong cocktail list includes an excellent Rob Roy-like Lord Burnsie. The team also serves some of the best butter in town – as proudly shouted about on the back of their t-shirts.
Dulse
Dean Banks is the Fife boy turned MasterChef: The Professionals finalist with a fine-dining restaurant inside the historic Caley hotel. Just up the road, though, he does good things in the more laid-back surrounds of Dulse. The ground-floor bar turns out a decent cocktail, but the restaurant upstairs is where you really want to be. That’s where Banks goes to work with some of Scotland’s best seafood, turning out note-perfect classics (lobster thermidor) alongside inventive dishes like Barra monkfish tail with smoked eel bourguignon. Late in 2024, Banks opened a second Dulse in Leith. We’d follow him there too.
Visit DULSE.CO.UK
Condita
This is a restaurant worth leaving the city centre for. On the far side of the Meadows, in affluent Newington, chef owner Tyler King opens Condita’s kitchen each Tuesday to Saturday evening, when he delivers surprise tasting menus that combine seasonal Scottish ingredients in exciting new ways. The dining room is small and spare, giving centre stage to the Michelin-recognised cooking.
Visit CONDITA.CO.UK
Nadair
In a spartan dining room on the far side of the Meadows, Nadair is a new-generation bistro run by a husband-and-wife team. Its five-course set menu changes regularly, according to what the team have foraged in and around Edinburgh and the nearby coastline. Count on ingredients-led dishes like cod, sea radish, brioche and sea truffleweed. Even the cocktails use foraged ingredients and in-house infusions – we’d start with the woodruff negroni. Nadair is open Wednesday to Saturday for dinner, with lunch services at the weekend.
Visit RESTAURANTNADAIR.COM
Eleanore
Roberta Hall-McCarron opened Eleanore on the Leith Walk premises that were the original site of The Little Chartroom (now elsewhere, but still very much on this list). Eleanore is named for a boat, and seafood is usually to the fore on its constantly changing menu. From their stools at high-top tables, guests can admire interiors inspired by the Scottish coastline, incorporating soft whites and hints of dark blues. It’s a lovely space for a relaxed yet experimental meal – look for the likes of cured halibut with orange kosho, followed by cod with haricot beans, cockles, samphire and sea persillade.
Visit ELEANORE.UK
The Table
It’s called The Table, but there isn’t really a table in the place. All ten of the seats in The Table are lined up at the counter behind which chef owner Sean Clark works. On Wednesday to Saturday evenings each week, there’s a single sitting of his seven-course tasting menu. His many memorable dishes have included partridge raviolo with chestnut and rosemary, and witch flounder with cauliflower, bacon and tangerine. Also worth knowing about is Under The Table, Clark’s more casual basement bistro directly underneath his main stage.
Visit THETABLEEDINBURGH.COM
Fhior
Fhior doesn’t shout about its presence on independent-minded Broughton Street. It doesn’t need to. Chef Scott Smith draws attention to his small modern restaurant with his consistently outstanding cooking. He’s guided by the Scottish produce that arrives into his kitchen each day. Once you’re seated, the seven or ten-course tasting menus reveal the particular ingredients Smith will be using, rather than the complete dishes ahead. For anyone who doesn’t like surprises, there’s really nothing to fear here – and there’s also an à la carte option available at the weekend.
Visit FHIOR.COM
Sotto
From Wednesday to Saturday, this laid-back wine bar and trattoria comes alive twice a day with chic Stockbridge locals enjoying its Italian lunch and dinner menus. From vitello tonnato to rigatoni alla genovese, lots of the dishes are familiar, but the execution is a rare treat – and each one has a perfect accompaniment somewhere on the Italian-dominated wine list. On Sundays, there’s an à la carte menu served from noon.
Visit SOTTOEDINBURGH.COM
@FhiorRestaurant
Eleanore
CLASSIC
The Kitchin
Chef Tom Kitchin runs a mini empire of restaurants in and around Edinburgh. In the port of Leith, the Kitchin is his flagship, and the one with the Michelin star. Kitchin himself came up in the kitchens of several big-name French chefs and his classical training shines through here. You have a choice of surprise tasting menus (regular, vegetarian and ‘Prestige’) with each one a showcase of seasonal Scottish produce. Game is a speciality.
Visit THEKITCHIN.COM
The Witchery
As well as being a top hotel, The Witchery has two of the most atmospheric dinner spaces in the city. Choose between the oak-panelled 16th-century dining room – which is always bathed in candlelight – or the elegant Secret Garden room with its hand-painted ceiling, antique adornments and secluded terrace. Menus in both celebrate the best of Scottish produce: expect dishes like steak tartare with burnt onion mayo; a seafood platter of lobster, langoustine, oysters, clams, mussels and crab; and bitter chocolate tart with blood orange sorbet.
Visit THEWITCHERY.COM
Restaurant Martin Wishart
Three of Edinburgh’s five Michelin stars shine above restaurants in Leith. Restaurant Martin Wishart is one of them, and it has held its star for more than 20 years. You won’t just be in safe hands here; you’ll be in skilled ones. An outstanding kitchen team applies classical French techniques to the best Scottish produce on mains like poached turbot ‘Veronique’
with Muscat grapes, fennel, chanterelle and vermouth velouté.
Fishers
Fishers is well known around town for its excellent work with seafood. From crab burgers to fillet of halibut to whole lobster, its menus span the full range of classic options – and of course you should start with oysters. Next door, the Shore Bar & Restaurant is part of the same group, differentiating itself with live jazz on Sunday afternoons and pubby classics like flat iron steaks and a signature fish pie.
Visit FISHERSRESTAURANTS.CO.UK
Café St Honoré
We discovered this Parisian-style bistro on a cobbled side street in New Town the old-fashioned way. We walked past it and, even while it was just open for its morning deliveries, it appealed so hard we had to go back for the very next service. In a sepia-toned space lit up by bright white linens, French classics are made with Scottish ingredients to brilliant effect – the kitchen even has its own signature bouillabaisse.
Visit CAFESTHONORE.COM
The Scran & Scallie
This crowd-pleasing pub in Stockbridge stands out for the quality of its food. In appealingly rustic surrounds – picture sheepskins and exposed brickwork – a kitchen team guided by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin uses excellent seasonal produce to elevate comfort dishes like fish and chips or haggis, neeps and tatties.
Visit SCRANANDSCALLIE.COM
Lannan Bakery / Zac & Zac
CASUAL
Lannan Bakery
This Stockbridge bakery is best known for its croissants. The second most famous thing about it is the queue. It’s often a long one, so get down there early. If the croissants, made with Edinburgh’s own butter, are already gone, there are myriad second prizes – and, from sweet pastries to chipotle sausage rolls, they are all outstanding in their field.
Follow @LANNANBAKERY
Mary’s Milk Bar
This tiny ice-cream shop is run by Mary herself, who trained as a chocolatier before studying at Italy’s Gelato University (really). If there’s a queue outside, see it as proof of the quality of what’s on offer inside. Gorgonzola ice-cream is worth waiting for, as are Mary’s more classic flavours.
Visit MARYSMILKBAR.COM
Toast
Right on the Shore in Leith, Toast bills itself as Edinburgh’s first ‘wine café’. You might want to start with coffee if you’re there early in the day, when it offers an array of breakfast options from porridge to huevos rancheros. Later on, there are whole new brunch and evening menus – and a wine list that goes big on natural, organic and biodynamic options.
Visit TOASTLEITH.CO.UK
Kvasa
This Leith Walk bakery has quickly become known for the surpassing quality of its sourdough. Don’t sleep on its sweet treats either.
Follow @KVASA.BAKERY
Civerinos
This brilliant pizza specialist now has four places in Edinburgh. The Stockbridge, Hunter Square and Forrest Road outposts are all worth keeping in mind, but it’s the Portobello site we really love. Right on the beach, it turns out classic pies whole or by the slice – for sheer indulgence, the deep-dish Detroit-style options have to be tried to be believed.
Visit CIVERINOS.COM
Lannan Bakery
Twelve Triangles
There are seven Twelve Triangles dotted around town. Some are takeaway only; at others, you can sit in as well. Whichever one you end up at, you can count on coffee and freshly baked goods of the highest order.
Visit TWELVETRIANGLES.CO.UK
Alby’s
‘Big hot sandwiches’ is what Alby’s promises – and that’s exactly what it pumps out at sites in Southside and Leith. You can eat in at the latter, if you want to take your time over a Gunpowder toastie of spicy charred potatoes, spring onions, masala spices, tamarind chutney, pork keema and mozzarella. Other classic options include the Filet ae Fish (panko coley, tartar sauce, house pickles, gold-star pickled onions, American cheese and shredded lettuce) and the self-explanatory Meatballs & Pesto.
Visit ALBYSLEITH.CO.UK
Patina
Out by the airport, this restaurant-bar-bakery is worth bookmarking just in case. Sandwiches, toasties and hand-rolled doughnuts are all on the bakery menu, as well as handmade pasta dishes – and if that’s the route you’re going down, you could even have a glass of wine with your lunch.
Visit PATINAEDINBURGH.COM
Stockbridge Eating House
This is a place that will nourish body and soul. New for 2024, it’s the latest project of Dale Mailley, the chef from the much-missed Lookout on Calton Hill. Here, his short menu might feature smaller plates like squid, seeds and bacon or monkfish cheeks and tartar sauce. Mains tend to include cote de boeuf for two and a game pie. You can count too on a warm atmosphere coming off its communal tables. Open for lunch from Thursday to Sunday, there’s evening services on Saturday and Sunday.
Visit STOCKBRIDGEEATINGHOUSE.CO.UK
Mootz
Wander around Stockbridge on any given lunchtime and you might start to notice in-the-know types clutching red and white paper bags. They’ve been to Mootz, the deli that has quickly become known for doing some of Edinburgh’s best sarnies. They’re not cheap, but they’re also not small. The range is broad and exciting – you can count on an array of options involving Italian charcuterie and olive oil.
Follow @MOOTZGENERALSTORE
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