Best restaurants in Edinburgh

One of Edinburgh's long-standing restaurant institutions, Ondine combines views of the city’s most famous landmarks with the finest Scottish seafood. A sparkling crustacean bar reveals the freshness of ingredients that need only the lightest of chef touches to shine.

Stepping into Aizle is like stepping into a warm rustic countryside kitchen. The focus here is on homemade, seasonal food and the constantly evolving six-course tasting menu guarantees some pleasant surprises.  

Be it brunch, dinner, a Sunday roast or cocktails with a view, Duck & Waffle is undoubtedly one of Edinburgh’s most fun restaurants to book a table at. Its eye-catching interiors deserve a place on your ‘gram, as does the restaurant’s eponymous dish - crispy confit duck leg, fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup. 

With its shabby-chic style and commitment to foraging, butchery, curing and growing your own, Timberyard is a restaurant for our times. Multi-course menus, much of it adorned with herbs and flowers, are best enjoyed in the alfresco yard.

Chef Tom Kitchin has almost every eating eventuality in Edinburgh covered and this Stockbridge gastropub ticks the boxes for casual and family-friendly. Expect classy pub grub, bar food, weekend breakfasts, Sunday roasts and Scottish beers.

This Royal Mile restaurant comes courtesy of TV chef Paul Wedgwood. It’s a chic setting for refined modern Scottish cooking that is as creative as the surroundings are elegant. Like the food, the wine list changes with the seasons.

The fame of this Michelin-starred restaurant extends well beyond Edinburgh, not least due to Tom Kitchin’s regular TV appearances. The chef’s ‘from nature to plate’ food philosophy results in destination dining of the highest order.

It might look like a cosy local, but with ex-Castle Terrace chef Roberta Hall-McCarron in the kitchen, you can be sure the food here punches well above its easy-going appearance. Short seasonal menus guarantee freshness and thoughtfulness, while staff are friendly. 

The first Scottish location from the group is located in the ground floor of the  InterContinental The George hotel and serves high-quality beef cuts and playful twists on their well-loved classics alongside a stellar cocktail selection.The venue has luxurious classic brasserie feel with burgundy booths, chequered flooring and a grand piano as a centrepiece.

Montrose is a tale of two halves: a casual wine bar on the ground floor serving sharing plates and organic wines, and an intimate restaurant upstairs where a stripped-back set menu features ingredient-led dishes. Montrose is the sister site to acclaimed Edinburgh restaurant Timberyard.  

Lyla is Stuart Ralston’s fourth Edinburgh restaurant, this time offering visitors a honed fine dining experience focused on sustainable seafood, organic UK-sourced meat and produce from local growers and foragers. Begin upstairs with cocktails and canapes in the drawing room, before moving to the ground floor dining room for 10 supreme courses.  

This intimate Michelin-starred eatery offers a surprise, no choice, tasting menu designed by chef Conor Toomey. Modern dishes are beautifully prepared and presented, with delicate flavours carefully chosen to enhance each other. Definitely one for the adventurous, but be prepared to book well ahead.

Beautiful, seasonal tasting menus in a pared-back modern dining room give Heron its timeless appeal that make it as equally suited to dates as it is for sophisticated parties when you really want to impress. 

The fin-de-siècle look of this Edinburgh institution looks more like something you’d find in Le Marais than the New Town. The cooking has a stronger British accent than the Parisian-style surrounds suggest but the wines are très French.

Pared-back plates of just a few gorgeous ingredients sum up The Palmerston’s signture style. With an in-house bakery, bread and sweet treats aren’t to be missed, and thanks to an ever-evolving seasonal menu, there’s always a reason to revisit.

With luxurious interiors and a menu to match, The Spence is the flagship restaurant at Gleneagles Townhouse. Expect a menu bursting with top-drawer Scottish ingredients and don’t skip dessert: it is delivered via the trolly of your childhood dreams.

Offering some of the best views of any restaurant in Edinburgh, The Lookout is an impressive spot to have up your sleeve for dates or dinners with out-of-town friends. A very reasonably priced, inventive set menu is the order of the day here.

Chef David Bann raids the global larder for his innovative vegetarian restaurant that is Edinburgh’s best place to eat for anyone following a meat-free diet. Modern interiors reflect the kitchen’s forward-looking outlook.

Copper pans, posters of Edith Piaf: there’s no mistaking you’re eating in a French restaurant here, even if you didn’t know that it was owned by proud Frenchman Fred Berkmiller. Expect Gallic classics washed down with French wines.

Ka Pao deals in big, bold flavours inspired by southeast Asian cuisine. It’s a recipe for success, with the dining room packed on any given day. Don’t skip the fish sauce caramel fried chicken and order at least one of the fragrant curries.

Independent seafood bistro Left Field is one of those quietly excellent spots you wish you’d known about sooner. This humble restaurant has only six dining tables, plus limited counter seating, while dishes are classic and elegant, from torched mackerel with crispy capers to halibut crudo with fennel and citrus.  

Not content with having conquered London, the unstoppable meat-grillers have opened up a grand site in the heart of the Scottish capital. Expect all your favourites - a wide range of steak cuts, comforting sides, and a good helping of Scottish seafood too. 

Not content with running just one phenomenal restaurant in Edinburgh, The Little Chartroom team is also behind the excellent Eleanore too, which offers a refined seasonal menu full of fine British-inspired foods and wine in a casual and intimate setting. 

Skua’s older sibling Heron nabbed a Michelin star in 2023, and though Skua is a little more casual and budget-friendly, it’s no less popular. Small, seasonal plates make up the majority of the menu, with influence taken from far and wide across the globe - expect anything from koji chicken and pork belly sandos to sticky toffee pudding, washed down by an innovative cocktail list.

Tipo is another entry from Stuart Ralston – the same man behind Aizle, Lyla and Noto - where he proves his culinary prowess yet again with a trendy sharing plate and cocktail format. Dishes are modern Italian, from homemade pasta to cured meats and its very own signature soft serve.  

Fhior is the Gaelic word for ‘true’ and chef Scott Smith’s restaurant stays true to its ethos with a seasonal menu based on Scottish ingredients, some of them foraged. Expect small plates at lunch and an evening tasting menu.

Head chef and owner Paul Gunning delivers deftly executed dishes at this casual fine dining venture in Stockbridge. It’s small (only 20 covers!) and tasting menu only, with a choice between five and seven courses.  

Lucky Yu’s tastebud-tickling menu features a concise selection of Asian fusion sharing plates, from karaage fried chicken with yuzu mayo to miso and sesame aubergine, all washed down with housemade sodas and funky wines. A budget-friendly favourite you’ll keep coming back to.  

Michelin-starred since 2001, this slick restaurant is the showcase for one of Scotland’s most famous chefs, Martin Wishart. Scottish ingredients combine with French technique on the seasonal menu; vegetarians get their own tasting menu.

Noto is chef Stuart Ralston's second Edinburgh-based venture, following the success of Aizle. Minimalist New York inspired décor shines the spotlight on the main event; Noto’s small Asian-accented sharing plates.  

Eorna is a two-man-show run by chef Brian Grigor and sommelier Glen Montgomery, who bring a wealth of experience from Scottish restaurant royalty (Restaurant Andrew Fairlie and Number One) to this chef's counter experience in Stockbridge. Ultra-personal service and precision tasting menus have made this a smash hit since it opened in early 2023.

Chef Mark Greenaway's restaurant on the ground floor of the Waldorf Astoria if a very effective showcase for his unfussy, skillful cooking style. Despite the name, Grazing majors in hearty dishes of rich meats, while the casual surroundings encourage lingering.

Located in Edinburgh's Leith district, Season Quayside offers an intimate restaurant and events space. A sleek and versatile dining room comes with neutral backdrops and candelabras to act as a dramatic centrepiece as you dine. Menus here are varied, with pop up dining events every Thursday that boast dishes from around the world.

Focusing on dishes from the Languedoc region of southern France La Garrigue offers guests interesting and perhaps unfamiliar classic French dishes alongside a showcase of the region's best wines. The bistro's location is also as  central as they come located on a quiet street just off The Royal Mile and minutes from Waverley station.

Located in the middle of the Royal Mile, Angels with Bagpipes serves reasonably priced, seasonal sharing dishes, natural wines and signature cocktails. It originally opened in 2010 and locals still love it as they return for reliably delicious cooking served in a laid-back, friendly setting.