Old Town, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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.

2021 Review: “Get the best seats in the place” (at the back, which offers “beautiful views” of the castle) to make the most of a visit to this city-centre staple, also turning out “enjoyable” cuisine of a modern European bent.

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.

Stuart Ralston’s New Town follow-up to Aizle combines a “cool, NY-style vibe with Asian-inspired plates” (and is named after a former NY roomate of his); by all accounts it’s a “fun place to be” (if “a little dark as a space”), particularly for those who “love small plates” that are “absolutely delicious” too (“you could feel the care and passion from the kitchen”).

Just off the Royal Mile, this aubergine-hued stalwart café (est. 2002) is one of Scotland’s best known veggie/vegan haunts, owing to its “imaginative dishes” that deftly incorporate influences from the Mediterranean to the Pacific and subcontinent; “pleasant service” adds to its appeal.

Were our reporters just unlucky this year at this famous dining room in one of the city’s most imposing hotels? Named for King Louis XV of France’s favourite mistress, its muralled ceiling and opulent decor are in contrast to the cutting-edge style of star chef Dean Banks’s eight-course tasting menu for £105 per person. But whereas there’s a host of enthusiastic reviews of the experience to be found online, our feedback this year was limited and downbeat: “was expecting great things from DB at the Pompadour but ended up really disappointed”.

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.

“Really enjoyable experience (apart from the walk in the dark on icy paths to reach the place from the Royal Terrace!”) – few restaurants can match the location of this dramatically cantilevered structure, whose floor-to-ceiling windows ensure superb views over the city from Calton Hill. On limited feedback this year, some “outstanding” results were reported from a no-choice, four-course menu for £85 (shorter and cheaper at lunch). On the downside, in March 2023, Chitra Ramaswamy in The Times had an up-and-down trip: it “ha[d] everything going for it: fabulous taste, music, service and ingredients in a world-class setting” but was “simply too expensive for what you get”.

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.

2023 Review: Paul Kitching’s “wonderfully exciting food” has been a highlight of Edinburgh’s dining scene for almost 15 years, served in the signature ‘formation’ of his restaurant’s name: a choice of 2 starters followed by 1 soup, a choice of 2 mains, 1 cheese and 2 desserts, the line-up changing every week. There’s a “beautifully decorated and elegant drawing room for pre- and post-dinner drinks”.

Paul Gunning’s casual Stockbridge fine-diner, set in a “small” but classy basement, combines “friendly staff” and “wonderful food”: either a five- or seven-course tasting menu by night, or the “excellent value” two- or three-course set lunch. (We’ve continued its ratings this year, albeit on relatively limited feedback).

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”.

Conor Toomey’s “outstanding food continues to surprise and delight” all who experience his “excellent” three-hour no-choice tasting menus (at £150 per person), while there is “good interactive service” and the “wine pairings are the best ever”. The only criticism is directed at the dining room, which is “a little sparse” – with diners saying that cuisine of this monumental quality “deserves a better setting than a glorified shop”.

“The food is good… really good” at Roberta Hall-McCarron’s popular operation, where “the queue to get in has dropped from a five-month wait to a couple of weeks” following a move to larger premises a couple of years back (the original is now open as Eleanore, see also). It offers “very friendly service and a great location” – and “happily it’s a place you can go for a three-course meal, not a ten-course tasting menu” (although there is also a five-course option available).

The younger sibling of the Little Chartroom (and occupying its old premises) certainly holds its own against its forebear; the cosy wine bar and restaurant with high stools and wooden tables turns out “lovely inventive cooking” (often fish-centric) “with exemplary service” to boot; bonus points for the “great music!”.