City Of Edinburgh, Scottish Restaurant Guide

This “absolutely flawless” two-year-old has been a “wonderful surprise in Edinburgh”, both for Aussie chef Lloyd Morse’s “brilliant” food and ex-Harwood Arms GM James Snowdon’s “warmth and hospitality”. Alex Sage (formerly of East London bakery Jolene) contributes “heavenly bread baked on site”, while the “good-value prix-fixe lunch”, made with offcuts from whole animals butchered on site, is highly recommended.

Credited with introducing the principles of ‘new Nordic’ cuisine to Scottish ingredients, the Radford family’s converted Victorian warehouse (originally built as a props & costume store) impresses all who visit with its foraged or pickled produce and low-intervention wines. Last year it celebrated its tenth anniversary and opened a spin-off wine bar/restaurant, Montrose House, in the Abbeyhill area. The entry-level option for dining here is a five-course tasting menu for £95 per person.

Now in its 11th year, Tom & Michaela Kitchin’s “friendly” and “sometimes hectic” Scottish gastropub wins consistently high ratings for its “clever (if rich)” and “yummy” food. “Of course we had the famous steak pie, but the rest was pretty good as well”.

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).

With its incredible wood-paneled interior (candle-lit, with antique furnishings and tapestries) and an alternative ‘Secret Garden’ space, James Thomson’s restored old house near the castle (dating from 1595) provides a supremely romantic destination (there are also rooms), and has been one of the city’s landmark destinations for decades. It has long been accused of “resting on its reputation” foodwise and this year those fears were to the fore, with concerns about the “pretty uninspiring food and eye-watering prices for such unexciting choices”. Still, there’s always compensation in the vast wine list. And its most upbeat fans have different concerns: “It’s always nice to eat here, but it can be too dark to read the menu and you have to use the torch on your mobile phone to see it properly!”

2021 Review: Owned by the Crolla family (who started Valvona & Crolla, Scotland’s oldest deli and Italian wine merchant – see also), this sixteenth century fine dining spot is a beacon on the otherwise touristy Royal Mile owing to its “well-cooked and well-seasoned” Scottish fare and “good value Sunday lunch”; for a truly intimate dining experience, try ‘Halo’, upstairs, which seats just four.

“A stunning setting in a former banking hall” – the former HQ of the Bank of Scotland, complete with eye-catching cupola – provides a hard-to-beat setting for this year-old spin-off from the world-famous sporting estate: the first-ever extension of the brand (a property with 33 bedrooms). The focus of the (less reviewed) à la carte is on posh brasserie fare – the dedicated brunch menu is the most commented-on feature here (“amazing crab omelette”). Prices could be much worse given the level of grandeur. It’s also tipped for a “good business venue”.

2021 Review: “Making other fine dining establishments in town look somewhat staid, out of touch and overpriced” – this April 2018 newcomer is “superb”, and some would say “the best restaurant to have opened in Edinburgh in recent times”. “A charismatic space” with “splendid service” – “the reference on its website to ‘progressive Italian dining’ is accurate” and the modern cuisine is “outstanding” – “go downstairs to see the kitchen in action”. To match the fine cooking there’s “an exceptional, mostly Italian, wine list”.

“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”.

Tom Kitchin’s “fantastic” follow-up to his short-lived bistro Southside Scran, which shut in 2020 post-flood and pandemic; this “informal” yearling turns out relaxed Scottish dining, combining “great food and great service from a well-managed team”. Kitchin’s empire currently includes The Bonnie Badger in Gullane, East Lothian; Stockbridge pub The Scran & Scallie; and his acclaimed Edinburgh flagship, The Kitchin.

High marks in early feedback suggest a positive start for this small plates newcomer from Noto and Aizle’s Jade Johnston and Stuart Ralston, on the site of The Perch (RIP). It’s a view supported by The Scotsman’s Gaby Soutar who, in her May 2023 review, hailed “a very appealing venue” (named for the grade of flour used to make the dishes) with excellent pasta and small plates that she termed “compulsive eating”, and an “elevated combination of dreams”: apparently, it has instantly become “part of [her] fantasy perfect day in the Capital”.