Best Places to Eat in Edinburgh
The Travel Pages lists its personal favourites of the best places to eat in Edinburgh, based on many visits over the years, from Michelin-star to wine bar.
The best places to eat in Edinburgh? What a choice! That’s why a little guidance is helpful, as you’ve everything from Michelin-starred restaurants to good pubs to places that are cheap as chips. We’ve put together a short list of some of the best places we’ve really enjoyed on our visits over the years. They range from Michelin Star to a fantastic wine bar.
If you’ve got your own favourite place to eat in Edinburgh, let us know (see out Contact page) and we’ll include it.
Best Places to Eat in Edinburgh
Restaurants are listed alphabetically according to price range, signified by the £ symbol, with the most expensive first. We don’t give exact prices because we have written far too many guidebooks where exact prices have to be stated, when of course it totally depends on whether you have a bowl of soup and a glass of water or lobster with a bottle of Krug. We’ve always found that dividing restaurants into three simple categories works the best.
£ = budget
££ = moderate
£££ = expensive
Restaurant Martin Wishart
54 The Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RA
0131 553 3557
restaurantmartinwishart.co.uk
£££
You’ll need to travel out to Edinburgh’s port at Leith to find this, one of the city’s top restaurants, but it’s well worth the journey. You can get there by bus or tram, a 5-minute taxi ride, or even work up an appetite on a 40-minute walk… though best get a taxi back.
It earned a Michelin star in 2001 and has kept it ever since, giving some indication of the food quality. The dining room is formal but unpretentious, and the food presentation is first class. The cuisine combines top Scottish produce with French flair in dishes like roast woodcock in Armagnac ‘en cocotte’. In the evening there’s a Market Menu, a Tasting Menu, and also a Vegetarian Tasting Menu.
The Witchery by the Castle
Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 2NF
0131 225 5613
thewitchery.com
£££
Just down from the entrance to Edinburgh Castle, the Witchery is one of the city’s top choices for atmosphere, being based in a 16th-century merchant’s house. Top choice for food, too, as years of success have given them supreme confidence in what they’re cooking. Scottish game and seafood are specialities, changing with the seasons, with Scottish lobster and Angus beef fillet being established favourites. You’ll definitely need to book ahead, and they have rooms too.
The Dome Grill Room
14 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PF
0131 624 8624
thedomeedinburgh.com
£££
The New Town’s George Street is one place to head if you’ve no set plans, as it’s lined, east to west, with good eating options. The Dome was once a hospital and the magnificent glass dome that gives it its name, and character, once provided light for the operating theatre. Now it’s bar, brasserie and Grill Room, always lively and a popular meeting place. The food’s not fancy but it is superb, much better than your typical grill room fare – Angus beef steaks, duck breast, sea bass with fennel. They do whisky tastings too.
Stac Polly
29-33 Dublin Street, Edinburgh EH3 6NL
0131 556 2231
stacpolly.com
£££
Just up from the National Portrait Gallery in the New Town, Stac Polly is where you can get traditional Scottish food with a modern twist, in a smart but very relaxed setting, with both a brasserie and restaurant. Haggis puff pastry parcels are an essential starter, and their slow-cooked venison casserole is absolutely wonderful. The name comes from a mountain in the Highlands, by the way, and it means the peak of the peat moss. They also have a ‘Secret’ Gin Garden but we’re sure they’ll show you where it is.
Whighams Wine Cellars
13 Hope Street, Edinburgh EH3 9JR
0131 225 8674
whighams.com
£££
You’ll find the wonderful Whighams between Charlotte Square and the western end of Princes Street. On a busy night you’ll have to squeeze your way through the crowds at the bar and grab a table in one of the booths or the dining room. The stripped-down look adds to the noise and the relaxed atmosphere, but the food is way above standard wine bar fare. Succulent scallops, perfect risottos, a great wine list, a tapas menu, and cheerful service all make for a perfect night out.
Le Monde
16 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PF
0131 270 3900
lemondehotel.co.uk
££
Stylish and fun place on George Street, which combines hotel with brasserie-style restaurant on several floors. You can eat anything anywhere – at the big upstairs bar, at the pavement tables or in the Moulin Rouge-style restaurant. The menu’s kept simple (pan-fried Scottish Salmon, Scottish steaks, chicken breast) but everything’s perfectly done, and there’s a very relaxed atmosphere everywhere.