Leith, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: This “real gem” on the road to Leith – “family-run with flair and passion” – “uses unusual cuts of locally sourced meats and seasonal produce to keep the cost of lunch to £10”. It’s “intimate and cosy, but on a hot summer’s day, sitting outside sipping wine and eating the amazing fresh food the kitchen sends out is a real treat”.

As per its siblings, this offshoot of Richard Caring’s brasserie format woos diners with its “lovely surroundings” and location in a “handy spot” overlooking St Andrew’s Square; also as per its siblings, there are critics of the “disappointing food, service and ambience”, for whom this endlessly expanding empire is “a chain taken too far”.

“Step back in time to an old-school Parisian bistro in the heart of Edinburgh New Town” at this “cosy and unpretentious establishment down a side street off Princes Street” that “serves food as Elizabeth David might have ordered and admired” – “long may it continue”.

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.

“What a cracking spot after a round of golf!” say fans of Tom & Michaela Kitchin’s East Lothian outpost, which is handy for nearby Muirfield. It serves “excellent food, and an amazing breakfast if you stay overnight”.

2023 Review: “The best steaks we have ever eaten!” – the Davidson family’s roadside inn near Linlithgow has built its renown over four decades in operation, for the quality of its meat; and there’s also a selection of prime-quality burgers. Reflecting their heritage, South African wines are the backbone of what’s a high-quality list to bolster the generally red-blooded vibe.