the lunchquest 2014 edinburgh guide guide 2014.pdf · cuckoo’s bakery casa angelina final five...
TRANSCRIPT
Dear Fellow Lunchers,
Lunchquest started in July 2011, as a simple way of ensuring that two great friends ate in a wide variety of restaurants, rather than spending their entire lives in the same place.
Three years on, we’ve reviewed nearly one thousand restaurants, cafés, bars, take-aways, and other assorted eating places, and we’ve had a great deal of fun doing it.
We still have a long way to go to complete our tour of Edinburgh’s dining delights, though. For local residents, we’ll have missed one of your favourite places from this guide; there’s no doubt about it. In some cases, we’ve simply not been able to visit it yet; in others, we haven’t enjoyed it quite as much as you did.
This year’s guide is in a more condensed format. That said, we have a few new categories, expanded from the twelve that we had in the original Guide. This is be-cause we’ve been to so many good places, and we couldn’t resist the opportunity to showcase even more of Edinburgh’s finest food.
Edinburgh is a fantastic city. You’re never too far away from a wonderful new din-ing experience. During August, the culinary diversity that we’re used to the whole year round is matched by the range of visitors we host, and the breadth of culture to which we give a platform.
An increasing number of restaurants are showcasing Scotland’s bountiful larder. That’s not only heartening, but entirely fitting. Not taking advantage of this coun-try’s wonderful produce would be foolish indeed.
What we present in this short Guide is a brief and personal insight in to some of the places that are best equipped to capitalise upon this wonderful wild harvest, adapt it to the culinary style of their forebears, and present you with high quality dishes to make your time in Edinburgh, whether permanent or fleeting, an altogether en-joyable experience.
We’ve welcomed many new restaurants and cafés, this year, and said goodbye to many treasured friends that will live long in our culinary memories. Change is inevi-table, but don’t neglect your most valued dining spots, as the restaurant business is perilous, and no-one is immune from the vacillations of external economic factors. If you don’t use your local dining spots, you may surely lose them.
Edinburgh continues to have a vibrant and blossoming eating and drinking scene. Long may that continue. We wish you good lunching and dining luck!
BKR & MJ
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Best BurgerBBLBroughton DeliTwenty Princes StreetNoblesGreenmantle
Best SteakBlackwood’s at the Nira CaledoniaEarthyWildfireCalistogaChez Jules
Best SaladTh’eateryPep & FodderCafe ClassGran CaffeSouthern Cross Cafe
Best Street FoodStreet Food CartelBespoke BBQScoffBloomboxNusou
Best Breakfast RollsCopper BirdThistle Sandwich BarTani ModiCoffee MillDemarco’s Deli
Best Healthy BreakfastHula Juice Bar & GallerySocial BiteMaxi’s Cafe on the CornerPep & Fodder
Best Bakery TakeawayWee BoulangerieArchipelagoSicilian Pastry ShopManna HousePeter’s Yard
Best for BeerThe Bow BarCloistersThe Hanging BatThe Stockbridge TapThe Vintage
Best “One Offs”RolloYellow BenchRafael’sTupiniquimSabor Criollo
Cakequest 5LovecrumbsPatisserie MadeleineMimi’sCuckoo’s BakeryCasa Angelina
Final FiveThe PantryEdinburgh Larder BistroThe AtelierIrisPapii
The BesT of The BunchBest for Formal Fine DiningMark GreenawayWedgwoodThe BonhamPlumed HorseOne Square
Best for Relaxed Fine DiningPurslaneFieldBrasserie de LuxeThe ApiaryBistro Moderne
Best for Lunchtime Take-awayHernandez & CoSocial BiteCrombie’s SprioThe Bakehouse
Best for Lunchtime Sit-inThe DogsThe Grain StoreAngels with BagpipesMichael NeaveTImberyard
Best Coffee ShopCastello CoffeeFortitude CoffeeMachina EspressoBrew LabGamma Transport Division
Best for Pub FoodSalisbury ArmsNoblesThe Bon VivantSafari LoungeCross & Corner
Best CaféHula Juice Bar & GalleryStag EspressoCairngorm CoffeeLeo’s BeaneryRonde
Best Relaxing SundayPorto & FiElbowCafe Nom de PlumeThree BirdsToast
Best for SoupUnion of GeniusClub SandwichEdinburgh LarderLezzetliWild
Best for SeafoodOndineShip on the ShoreKing’s WarkC-ShackGiovanni’s
Best for ItalianCafé Domenico’sPiatto VerdeAl DentePolentoniPositano
Best for IndianMithasBindiTanjoreVinyasaYak & Yeti
best JapaneseKanpaiHarajuku KitchenSushiyaTang’s Hay Sushi
Best FrenchL’Escargot BlancLa GarrigueBistro ProvenceCafe MarlaynePetit Paris
Best ChineseB&D’s KitchenJasmineFeastSzechuan KitchenKweilin
Best ThaiTime 4 ThaiSpirit of ThaiTing Thai CaravanBangkok BarBluerapa Thai
Best PizzaOriganoPeter’s YardLa FavoritaMorattiZizzi
76
Best for Formal Fine Dining
Mark Greenaway
With confident and stylish cooking throughout, Mark Greenaway’s dishes are runaway crowd pleasers.
With a considerable flair for presentation, Greenaway’s is one of the rare places where I sometimes eschew the cheeseboard in favour of sweet dessert treats, which are entirely excellent.
Fast becoming an Edinburgh institution, it’s a restaurant worthy of your close attention.
Location: North Castle Street, New Town
Price: £55 for lunch (2 diners)
Wedgwood
Top quality produce, peppered with foraged goodies, Paul Wedgwood’s restaurant is top class.
From their stylish Canongate premises, it produces exquisite platefuls, and their lunchtime deal is very good value, too.
A place of real quality and panache.
Location: Canongate, Old Town
Price: £13 for lunch (1 diner)
The Bonham
In west end elegance, the restaurant at The Bonham produces excellent quality, with their risotto outstanding.
The stylish hotel premises provide an excellent backdrop for the food, too.
Service is on-point throughout making a trip to The Bonham an absolute joy.
Location: Drumsheugh Gardens, West End
Price: £70 for dinner (3 diners)
Plumed Horse
Continuing to produce dishes of the highest quality, the Plumed Horse remains one of Edinburgh’s finest.
Their dining room, near Leith’s Shore, is classically elegant, which matches the dishes on offer.
Cooking of consummate excellence pervades.
Location: Henderson Street, Leith
Price: £65 for lunch (2 diners)
One Square
In a very swish dining room, One Square at the Sheraton showcases local produce in wonderful creations.
Dishes are presented with confident assurance and flavours are bold and punchy.
In stylish surroundings, you’ll be impressed with the end-to-end experience in this outstanding eatery.
Location: Lothian Road, West End
Price: £63 for dinner (1 diner)
98
Best for Relaxed Fine Dining
Purslane
The parade of stylish and spectacular food from Paul Gunning at the Purslane is practically never-ending.
Dishes bringing constant delight to all who dine there, with elegance and flavour at their heart.
The premier casual fine dining place in the city, for sure.
Location: St Stephen Street, Stockbridge
Price: £30 for lunch (2 diners)
Field
A true Lunchquest favourite, Field’s levels of excellence remain constant, both in terms of the food and the service.
With an ever-changing menu of locally sourced dishes, the quality and variety is outstanding.
Book early to ensure you get to sample their magical restaurant for yourself.
Location: West Nicolson Street, Southside
Price: £70 for lunch (4 diners)
Brasserie De Luxe
With impressive lunchtime value on offer, Brasserie de Luxe continues to produce high quality plates of food in smart surroundings.
A large and spacious slice of Parisian bistro elegance, seafood is a considerable strength.
With a wine list that includes an excellent range of by-the-glass options, this is a brilliant option for relaxed fine dining.
Location: Rutland Street, West End
Price: £20 for lunch (1 diner)
The Apiary
The Apiary is just an absolute joy, with beautifully executed, imaginative dishes that lend themselves to enjoyable communal dining.
As with sister restaurant, Three Birds, sharing platters are to the fore, and their specials board is packed with quality.
A very good selection of both wines and beers round out this highly impressive place’s excellent offering.
Location: Newington Road, Newington
Price: £30 for dinner (1 diner)
Bistro Moderne
Cool and distinguished, Mark Greenaway’s Bistro Moderne has created a very favourable impression since arriving in Stockbridge in late 2013.
The former bank lends itself well to a relaxed yet sophisticated feel and has a menu to match.
A great favourite for weekend breakfasts and Sunday roasts, this is another successful venture for chef Greenaway.
Location:North West Circus Place, Stockbridge
Price: £80 for lunch (4 diners)
10 11
Best for Lunchtime Takeaway
Hernandez & Co.
Packed with Spanish charm, Hernandez & Co is great little takeway on Queensferry Street.
With outstanding bocadillos and lovely soup, we’re often to be found there grabbing a quick bite.
A great breakfast favourite, too, their chorizo omelette rolls have often been a complete lifesaver.
Sadly, we noticed the “closed until further notice” sign in its window, recently, but we hope, perhaps over-optimistically, that it re-opens soon.
Location: Queensferry Street, West End
Price: £11.50 for lunch (2 diners)
Social Bite
Social Bite continues to impress and is a great spot for a lunchtime meal on the go.
This social business has spread its wings with a second Edinburgh branch and one in Glasgow.
Further stores surely beckon for this excellent business.
Location: Rose Street, City Centre
Price: £5 for lunch (1 diner)
Crombie’s
Broughton Street’s famous butcher’s shop does an excellent line in lunchtime items to take away.
These include excellent burgers and delicious pulled pork, with a daily changing selection of hot specials.
While you’re there, it’s hard to resist picking up some of their famous sausages for home-cooking, too.
Location: Broughton Street, Broughton
Price: £4 for lunch (1 diner)
Sprio
A sophisticated little Italian deli in Stockbridge, Sprio is packed with quality and full of charm.
Valued as one of the finest purveyors of Italian roast espresso in the city, their St Stephen Street shop does a brisk trade.
Definitely one to add to your list, if you haven’t already paid it a visit.
Location: St Stephen Street, Stockbridge
Price: £10 for lunch (1 diner)
The Bakehouse
The Bakehouse serves excellent soup, lovely stews and offers really good lunchtime value.
Broughton Street is a hotspot of food excellence and The Bakehouse does fine work in playing its part in maintaining that reputation.
With great coffee and a high-value afternoon tea option, it’s a great all-rounder of a place.
Location: Broughton Street, Broughton
Price: £10 for lunch (2 diners)
13
Best for Lunchtime Sit In
The Dogs
Serving dishes of exceptional quality, The Dogs should be at the top of your list for a fabulous lunch or dinner in Edinburgh.
From their Hanover Street premises, replete with dog detailing in the design, they surprise and entertain with a well-balanced menu of modern British cooking.
A must-visit.
Location: Hanover Street, New Town
Price: £30 for lunch (2 diners)
The Grain Store
In a real character property on Victoria Street, the Grain Store serves excellent dishes based on locally sourced ingredients.
Their lunchtime deal is one of the best in the city, so worth seeking out.
A place that’s guaranteed to impress, get yourself along for a visit, soon.
Location: Victoria Street, Old Town
Price: £40 for lunch (3 diners)
Angels with Bagpipes
On the historic Royal Mile, Angels with Bagpipes is a purveyor of high quality fare served in smart surroundings.
Stylish and accomplished dishes are matched by simple and elegant surroundings.
A great option for a larger party with a broad range of tastes, Angels with Bagpipes is a winner of a place.
Location: High Street, Old Town
Price: £36 for lunch (2 diners)
Michael Neave
Their insanely good lunchtime deal makes this place hugely popular, with customers returning time and again to sample the ever-changing menu of carefully crafted dishes.
Their evening menu is one of the most balanced we’ve come across, with particularly good and imaginative vegetarian options.
Their whisky selection in their upstairs bar is highly impressive, too, making it a very attractive place for a visit.
Location: Fishmarket Close, Old Town
Price: £8 for lunch (1 diner)
Timberyard
Greatly valued in Edinburgh circles, this former timber yard has been transformed into one of the city’s most impressive dining spaces, with dishes of real quality to match.
They have a stylish cocktail bar, make their own soda, keep chickens and quail, and grow other ingredients on the premises.
Innovation and creativity is at the heart of this much-treasured restaurant.
Location: Lady Lawson Street, Old Town
Price: £32 for lunch (2 diners)
1514
Best for Coffee Shop
Castello Coffee
Showcasing Allpress espresso, which remains our favourite, Castello is our most frequent stop in the city.
Bircher muesli and their pain au banane are breakfast time favourites and they make their own soup daily on the premises.
A place with a warm welcome and exceptional quality on offer, it’s an absolute must-visit for all coffee lovers.
Location: Castle Street, City Centre
Price: £7.50 for lunch (1 diner)
Fortitude Coffee
With one of the best ranges of retail beans we’ve come across in the city, newcomer Fortitude has made a great early impression.
With excellent Workshop espresso-based drinks at the core of their offering, the quality on offer is extremely high.
With an understated and minimalist charm, Fortitude is a lovely wee place.
Location: York Place, City Centre
Price: £6.30 for lunch (1 diner)
Machina Espresso
Machina Espresso caters to all your coffee needs, serving excellent drinks in the shop and providing a full range of coffee equipment and paraphernalia for those who prefer to make theirs at home.
With Steampunk to the fore, their coffee is of extremely good quality.
A Tollcross gem, make a visit to Machina a priority.
Location: Brougham Place, Tollcross
Price: £9.70 for lunch (2 diners)
Brew Lab
Home of some impressive coffee paraphernalia, Brew Lab is at the forefront of Edinburgh coffee excellence.
The folks do a fine line in tasty comestibles to go with their great coffee, with particularly nicely crafted sandwiches.
At the heart of student land, Brew Lab’s welcoming atmosphere brings together a broad spectrum of the city to bask in its wonders.
Location: South College Street, Old Town
Price: £16.50 for lunch (2 diners)
Gamma Transport Division
With nearby Mr Eion providing their outstanding house blend, Gamma Transport Division is a bike shop and gallery that serves coffee and…well that’s about it.
You don’t need to be a bike fanatic to sample their excellent wares. Simply pop in for a sipping espresso and relax and take in the atmosphere.
Add it to your list for a visit.
Location: Dean Park Street, Stockbridge
Price: £2 for coffee (1 diner)
1716
Best for Pub Food
Salisbury Arms
Salisbury Arms serves really impressive food in a wood and tweed-clad setting.
With an excellent range of dishes, many of which lend themselves to sharing, the place has a welcoming atmosphere and attentive service.
We were mightily impressed with everything we sampled, making it entirely worth checking out, next time you’re in the pub grub mood.
Location: Old Dalkeith Road, Newington
Price: £140 for dinner (6 diners)
The Bon Vivant
The Bon Vivant is fast becoming an absolute favourite and it’s not hard to see why.
A highly sophisticated and elegant menu is matched by stylish surroundings and fantastic cocktails.
This Thistle Street gem is always one for the shortlist when looking for dinner and drinks in town.
Location: Thistle Street, New Town
Price: £20 for lunch (1 diner)
Safari Lounge
In terms of diversity, there are few places that can match the Safari Lounge’s menu.
With Spanish, Chinese, North African and American dishes (to name but a few) regularly appearing on the menu, it has something for everyone.
Probably the most successful of the recent rash of “gentrified” pub refurbishments, you’ll be impressed when you visit.
Location: Cadzow Place, Abbeyhill
Price: £7.25 for lunch (1 diner)
Cross & Corner
The Cross & Corner is understated and quietly impressive, with dishes delivered to a very high standard.
I remember a high quality risotto from our visit, which was highly enjoyable.
Definitely worth checking out, next time you’re in the neighbourhood.
Location: Canonmills, New Town
Price: £13 for lunch (1 diner)
Hemma
One of the small chain of Scandinavian pubs in Edinburgh, the menu at Hemma is full of great dishes.
Their smoked fish is excellent, as are their daily changing soups.
With a great events space upstairs, where Scran Salon regularly takes place, this is an excellent pub grub option.
Location: Holyrood Road, Old Town
Price: £7.60 for lunch (2 diners)
1918
Best Cafe
Hula Juice Bar & Gallery
Everyone’s favourite little ray of sunshine, Hula serves dishes that delight the senses and are packed with flavour sensations.
Pop in for a juice, coffee, bagel, porridge, granola…their list of excellent is a lengthy one.
It also showcases the work of emerging local artists in their regularly changing exhibitions. A very special place that embodies so many of the great things about Edinburgh.
Location: Grassmarket
Price: £15 for breakfast (2 diners)
Stag Espresso
Stag Espresso is a gem of a place with great soup, excellent sandwiches and tremendous coffee from Artisan Roast, making for a very attractive café offering.
Located with the Dovecot Studios, the bright and airy premises are very smart indeed with a menu to match.
Always busy and buzzing, it’s another greatly valued Edinburgh favourite.
Location: Infirmary Street, Old Town
Price: £15 for lunch (2 diners)
Cairngorm Coffee
Purveyors of fine coffee from Mr Eion and excellent baked goods from Archipelago, Cairngorm is a fantastic recent addition to our café scene.
With a fondness for cheese, their toasties are fabulous and the café space very nicely appointed.
An increasingly regular haunt, we’d strongly recommend a visit.
Location: Frederick Street, New Town
Price: £6.50 for lunch (1 diner)
Leo’s Beanery
A top-notch New Town café with a varied menu of treats, Leo’s Beanery is an impressive place.
Their menu has options to suit all tastes and is served in wonderfully welcoming surroundings.
Service is attentive and warm, coffee excellent, and dishes extremely pleasing.
Location: Howe Street, New Town
Price:£10 for lunch (1 diner)
Ronde
Essentially a bike shop, but with a wonderful little café attached, Ronde keeps things simple but achieves excellence in every aspect.
Showcasing Union of Genius soups and Mr Eion coffee, everything they have on their focussed menu is first-rate.
Their tiled wall, part of the original fixtures of the Stockbridge shop, is beautiful, too, bringing a real sense of elegance to the place.
Location: Hamilton Place, Stockbridge
Price: £5.50 for lunch (1 diner)
2120
Best Relaxing Sunday
Porto & Fi
A dazzling star of place with a Sunday menu to meet all tastes and requirements, Porto & Fi is quite magical.
Their fish pie is one of the best in the city. All dishes are delivered to an excellent standard.
With views out across the Firth of Forth, there are few more relaxing places to replenish both body and soul.
Location: Newhaven Main Street, Newhaven
Price: £60 for lunch (4 diners)
Elbow
With the best Sunday roast we’ve sampled in the city, Elbow is a quirky, split-level bar with a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere.
With different seating options to meet your comfort requirements, the menu is varied and comprehensive and the wine list very reasonable.
A great spot for a quiet and contemplative catch-up on life.
Location: East Claremont Street, Broughton
Price: £14 for lunch (1 diner)
Café Nom de Plume
A broad menu, comfy seats, a nice drinks selection and a feeling of total calm make Nom de Plume a wonderfully welcoming Sunday destination.
Another excellent Broughton Street spot, sit back with a copy of The Spurtle and let Sunday was over you.
It’s an extremely good place for vegetarian and vegan choices, also.
Location: Broughton Street, Broughton
Price: £50 for lunch (4 diners)
Three Birds
Fabulous bloody marys and a great brunch selection make Three Birds a really good Sunday choice.
The potential to indulge in decadent sharing platters across meat, seafood and veggie, is very appealing.
Service is fabulous in this beautifully appointed little place, too.
Location: Viewforth, Bruntsfield
Price: £15 for lunch (1 diner)
Toast
A brunch favourite, Toast is a really smart and friendly little place that does a cracking good job for its customers.
A hard-working and attentive staff make it a pleasure to sample dishes from their comprehensive menu, at any time of day.
Give them a visit, soon.
Location: Marchmont Road, Marchmont
Price: £30 for dinner (1 diner)
22 23
Best for Soup
Union of Genius
Union of Genius is the epitome of soupy excellence.
They serve the soup needs of half the city, these days, from their mother-ship café, their soup van, Dumbo, and as a supplier to multiple businesses across the city.
Soup royalty, they have elevated this humble dish to real distinction.
Location: Forrest Road, Old Town
Price: £25 for lunch (4 diners)
Club Sandwich
With a daily selection of eight different soups, you can’t fault the variety or quality on offer at Club Sandwich.
A narrow little shop with a very efficient system to manage customer traffic, I recall with great fondness a cheese and potato soup I sampled there.
Guaranteed to meet your soup longings, whatever they might be.
Location: Dundas Street, New Town
Price: £4.50 for lunch (1 diner)
Lezzetli
Lezzetli certainly lives up to its name – it’s the Turkish word for delicious.
The soups are excellent, with their cream of spinach a particularly good one.
With a further branch at Haymarket, they’re a fine purveyor across a range of dishes, with a Mediterranean influence.
Location: Dundas Street, New Town
Price: £4 for lunch (1 diner)
Wild
Quirky doesn’t quite cover it for Wild, a truly bonkers little place that serves relentlessly interesting food in surroundings that leave a little to be desired.
All dishes are cooked from scratch, including excellent soups, which makes for an evening at a “relaxed pace”.
A place you have to visit, be prepared for the unexpected at this oddball classic.
Location: Newington Road, Newington
Price: £15 for dinner (1 diner)
Edinburgh Larder
The Larder is a real Lunchquest favourite, exuding quality and charm in equal measure.
It offers delicious lunchtime soups and salads, which are high on both flavour and value.
A busy wee place in the Old Town, it’s a lunchtime venue that’s likely to put a broad grin on your face.
Location: Blackfriars Street, Old Town
Price: £4.50 for lunch (1 diner)
25
Best for Seafood
Ondine
Our premier purveyor of seafood excellence, Ondine delivers one of the finest dining experiences in the city.
The seafood on offer is of the highest quality and service is peerless.
It gets a lot of exposure from famous visitors, but when you cross the threshold you will soon see why.
Location: George IV Bridge, Old Town
Price: £36 for lunch (2 diners)
Ship on the Shore
Quality seafood in a relaxed pub setting, the seafood platters at the Ship on the Shore are a joy to behold.
Ordering is often done by pointing at what another table is having and saying you want the same, or at least that’s how it usually works with me!
A classic and well-established favourite, you will be impressed by this excellent seafood establishment.
Location: The Shore, Leith
Price: £60 for lunch (3 diners)
C-Shack
A great new addition to our seafood selection, the C-Shack, from the team behind the Bangkok Bar and Port of Siam, serves a regularly changing menu of excellent local seafood.
Their premises are small and bright, offering lovely views across Newhaven harbour.
With a good selection of Belgian beers to match, C-Shack is definitely one for a visit.
Location: Pier Place, Newhaven
Price: £11 for dinner (2 diners)
Giovanni’s
The chip shop fish champion of Edinburgh, Giovanni’s is a place that’s full of charm and quality.
Having opened in the late 1960s, it has been a firm favourite for many a year. Their huge pieces of crisply battered fish are rightly valued very highly.
With a typically warm Italian welcome, and a good range of other chip-shop favourites, this is definitely Edinburgh’s go-to spot for fish n chips.
Location: Northfield Broadway, Northfield
Price: £15 for dinner (1 diner)
King’s Wark
A wonderfully characterful pub, their specials board is loaded with fresh and delicious seafood options.
Another gem on Leith’s Shore, it’s always best to book as it’s a very popular place.
Their weekend brunches are always a treat. A place where you’ll find many things to delight.
Location: The Shore, Leith
Price: £30 for lunch (2 diners)
2726
Best for Italian
Café Domenico’s
A wondrous little Italian offering serves delicious dishes and has service that’s full of character.
Their prices haven’t changed for a decade and more making it a high-value proposition, too.
Definitely one for your list when Italian food is the order of the day.
Location: Sandport Street, Leith
Price: £43 for dinner (2 diners)
Piatto Verde
Quality seafood in a relaxed pub setting, the seafood platters at the Ship on the Shore are a joy to behold.
Ordering is often done by pointing at what another table is having and saying you want the same, or at least that’s how it usually works with me!
A classic and well-established favourite, you will be impressed by this excellent seafood establishment.
Location: Dundee Terrace, West
Price: £60 for lunch (3 diners)
Polentoni
A stylish little deli and cucina, Polentoni showcases traditional daytime dishes from northern Italy
With a particularly good selection of breakfast and baked goods, it’s a really welcome recent addition to our city’s dining options.
Location: Easter Road, Leith
Price: £7 for lunch (1 diner)
Positano
It doesn’t look like much, but appearances can be deceiving.
Its chip-shop exterior hides a restaurant of true excellence and considerable charm.
With dishes prepared with considerable care, Positano is a memorable wee place.
Location: Newington Road, Newington
Price: £22 for dinner (1 diner)
Al Dente
High quality fare in a friendly and welcoming environment, Al Dente is a lovely dining spot
Their dishes are classy and classic with fresh flavours to the fore.
One of Edinburgh’s finest Italians.
Location: Easter Road, Leith
Price: £35 for lunch (2 diners)
28 29
Best for Indian
Mithas
The best restaurant in the city combining outstanding food with wonderful service, Mithas remains peerless.
Embodying total excellence, service is faultless, presentation highly elegant and the food is quite magical.
We look forward to introducing more and more people to this outstanding place in the coming year.
Location: Dock Place, Leith
Price: £190 for dinner (4 diners)
Bindi
Our best restaurant of 2013, Bindi’s Gujarati/East African veggie street food is a revelation.
With a cookery school as a core part of their business, it’s a place with a heady atmosphere that will enchant.
Prices are incredibly reasonable, too, making it a compelling place that you’ll quickly find yourself visiting often.
Location: St Patrick’s Square, Southside
Price: £11 for lunch (1 diner)
Vinyasa
The best curry house in the city, Vinyasa’s food is stylish and tasty.
Their lunchtime deal offers impressive value and their restaurant is very bright and smart.
With good attention to detail in presentation, Vinyasa is definitely worth a visit.
Location: St Mary’s Street, Old Town
Price: £25 for lunch (2 diners)
Yak & Yeti
With a menu that offers just a little twist on the north Indian classics, Yak & Yeti will serve you a really good meal from their Newington premises.
I was particularly impressed with their lamb shank, which was a flavour-packed delight.
Service is really well-judged, too.
Location: Newington Road, Newington
Price: £25 for dinner (1 diner)Tanjore
Delicious south Indian cooking including excellent dosas make Tanjore a must-visit.
Their lunchtime thali offers excellent diversity and the informal setting lends itself to sharing dishes.
The southside is an excellent place for Indian food, with Tanjore among the very best places.
Location: St Patrick’s Square, Southside
Price: £20 for lunch (2 diners)
31
Best for Japanese
Kanpai
Outstanding sushi in simple and elegant surroundings, Kanpai leads the way for Japanese food in Edinburgh.
Their sashimi platter is exquisite and their sweet miso aubergine is one of the finest dishes in the city.
It’s always a joy to see excellent Scottish seafood delivered in this elegant way. A must-visit.
Location: Grindlay Street, West End
Price: £40 for lunch (3 diners)
Harajuku Kitchen
An impressive all-rounder, Harajuku is a wonderfully stylish Japanese place serving an excellent range of quality dishes.
Their recently opened bistro adds to their regular street food stall that built up an appreciative following at Stockbridge market.
Their miso soup is the best in the city, making it a great favourite with us.
Location: Gillespie Place, Bruntsfield
Price: £25 for lunch (2 diners)
Tang’s
Offering an excellent range and high quality, Tang’s provides great lunchtime value for delicious Japanese dishes.
Their sushi is very good and they have an extensive selection of noodle dishes, making it one of the more comprehensive Japanese menus on offer.
The premises, on Candlemaker Row, are small and intimate making the dining experience entirely memorable.
Location: Candlemaker Row, Old Town
Price: £7.95 for lunch (1 diner)
Hay Sushi
Often overshadowed by its near neighbour Sushiya, Hay Sushi does very good work.
Lunchtime sets offer very good value and things are presented with typical neatness.
It’s quite a big restaurant space, so is slightly better for larger party sushi dining than some.
Location: Dalry Road, West End
Price: £11 for lunch (1 diner)
Sushiya
In the same ownership as Kanpai, but in the sushi bar style, Sushiya is a very good little place.
All the usual suspects are produced to a very high standard and service is friendly and efficient.
A favourite for a quick bite on the go.
Location: Dalry Road, West End
Price: £12.50 for lunch (1 diner)
3332
Best for French
L’Escargot Blanc
With Fred Berkmiller at the helm, L’Escargot Blanc matches excellent dishes with a sparkling atmosphere for true restaurant excellence.
Dishes are routinely outstanding, packing flavour and charm aplenty.
For relaxed dining of consummate class, this is the restaurant for you.
Location: Queensferry Street, West End
Price: £85 for dinner (2 diners)
La Garrigue
Chef patron Jean-Michel Gauffre showcases the regional delights of the Languedoc at the truly magnifique La Garrigue.
With an excellent wine list and dishes of panache and verve, La Garrigue is a real favourite.
With another lovely view over the city, this is always a great lunchtime or evening option.
Location: Jeffrey Street, Old Town
Price: £35 for lunch (2 diners)
Café Marlayne
Café Marlayne serves high value dishes packed with character and flavour.
Across two branches in the city, it can be relied upon to deliver good quality at an attractive price.
The Thistle Street branch plays its part in a stretch of outstanding restaurants, so is particularly worthy of your attention.
Location: Thistle Street, New Town/Antigua Street, Leith
Price: £27 for lunch (2 diners)
Petit Paris
A wonderful little oasis in the sometimes frenetic Grassmarket, the food at Petit Paris is joyfully good.
With high-value lunchtime options, a pleasing wine line, and some memorably good mustard, it’s a really unexpected pleasure.
It also represents a good option for al fresco dining on warmer days.
Location: Grassmarket
Price: £80 for dinner (2 diners)
Bistro Provence
A recent addition to Commercial Quay, Bistro Provence serves classic dishes to a very high standard.
Service is wonderfully friendly and the restaurant space lends itself to comfortable dining.
Dishes from simple to elaborate are delivered with equal excellence of execution.
Location: Commercial Quay, Leith
Price: £10 for lunch (1 diner)
3534
Best for Chinese
Jasmine
Specialising in seafood, Jasmine does a rather fine job of looking after looking the pre and post-theatre Chinese needs of Lyceum, Traverse and Usher Hall patrons.
Their spacious restaurant is a relaxing environment in which to choose from their enticing range.
A highly enjoyable place.
Location: Grindlay Street, West End
Price: £23 for dinner (1 diner)
Feast
Serving a range of delicious dishes, Feast has established itself as a popular option for sit-in or takeaway Chinese.
In a newly emerging parade of restaurants on Dalry Road, Feast keeps things simple, delivering pleasingly good quality.
A reliable Chinese food purveyor.
Location: Dalry Road, West
Price: £16 for dinner (1 diner)
Szechuan Kitchen
A really good new Chinese offering a nicely balanced array of dishes, Szechuan Kitchen is doing good work
Their beef noodle soup is a particular favourite.
Equally adept at meeting sit-in or takeaway needs, you’ll be very pleased with what they have to offer.
Location: Haymarket Terrace, West
Price: £15 for dinner (1 diner)
B&D’s Kitchen
B&D’s Kitchen is a real hidden gem, with cheap and delicious dishes that you won’t find on other menus.
Their outstanding hakka beef is simply tremendous, for example.
One that needs to be added to your list for a visit at your earliest convenient opportunity.
Location: Dalry Road, West
Price: £14 for dinner (1 diner)
Kweilin
A New Town classic that has been producing stylish dishes for an appreciative and regularly visiting audience for many years, the Kweilin is an Edinburgh institution.
With seafood as a speciality, their menu is packed with attractive dishes.
In carpeted drawing room comfort, you’ll be made to feel very welcome at this characterful place.
Location: Dundas Street, New Town
Price: £30 one diner
3736
Best for Thai
Spirit of Thai
A great little place on Grindlay Street, Spirit of Thai produces aromatic and power-packed dishes to a really good standard.
Like Jasmine, it serves West End pre-theatre needs most admirably.
Service is super-friendly, so you’ll find yourself planning your next visit to Spirit of Thai shortly after your first.
Location: Grindlay Street, West End
Price: £20 for dinner (1 diner)
Bangkok Bar
A well-priced menu of light and informal dishes makes the Bangkok Bar a very good option for lunch or early evening dining.
The bar of the Port of Siam, on Broughton Street, it has become a popular stop-off on this excellent stretch of dining spots.
I recall with great fondness a slow roast duck dish I sampled there that was right up there as one of the best duck dishes I’ve been served in the city.
Location: Broughton Street, Broughton
Price: £15 for lunch (2 diners)
Bluerapa Thai
A Haymarket favourite for cheap and cheerful Thai dishes with all the flavour and elegance you’d expect, Bluerapa is a really handy spot to know about.
Popular for both sit-in and takeaway, their menu offers good variety at pleasing prices.
Make plans to go there, soon.
Location: Torphichen Place, West End
Price: £18 for dinner (1 diner)
Time 4 Thai
With a raging panoply of flavour to the fore, the dishes at Time 4 Thai are packed with taste explosions that will impress and delight.
Soups and salads are whether their strength lies, with their wonderfully punchy and aromatic dishes.
An enduring favourite.
Location: North Castle Street, New Town
Price: £60 for dinner (2 diners)
Ting Thai Caravan
Offering a completely different take on Thai food to what’s on offer in other Edinburgh places, with a strong emphasis on street dishes, Ting Thai Caravan is a great informal dining option.
Originally an August pop-up, its continuing appeal led to a year-round re-appearance.
Quality and speedy service pervades this highly accomplished little place.
Location: Teviot Place, Old Town
Price: £6.40 for lunch (1 diner)
3938
Best for Pizza
Peter’s Yard
With their famous sourdough bases, Peter’s Yard does outstandingly good pizza.
Toppings are fresh and delicious, with quite an abbreviated range of options.
It’s hard to resist other baked good in their shop on a visit, too, particularly their amazing cardamom buns.
Location: Deanhaugh Street, Stockbridge
Price: £33 for lunch (2 diners)
Moratti
The best place for late-night takeaway pizza, Moratti is a real Lunchquest favourite
Their house pizza, the Moratti – a chicken, egg and spinach topped delight – is really quite something.
If you ask nicely, they will soft-bake the egg for you, which adds to the flavour, the fun and also the messiness.
Location: St Mary’s Street, Old Town
Price: £8 for dinner (1 diner)
Zizzi
The only chain restaurant to make the Guide, once more, the pizza at Zizzi remains very good.
Bases are soft and light and toppings of very good quality.
Edinburgh has a number of Zizzi outlets, with the one in Roxburgh Court a particularly nice space, offering views across the city.
Location: Queensferry Street, West End
Price: £35 for dinner (3 diners)
Origano
The height of Edinburgh pizza excellence, this place manages to feel like it’s in a sleepy little corner despite being on the main road of Leith Walk.
With room for only around 20 diners, it pays to book in advance, as it’s a very popular choice.
They also do a collection service so you can munch on their tasty dishes at home.
Location: Leith Walk, Leith
Price: £71.50 for dinner (4 diners)
La Favorita
The long-time Edinburgh champion, La Favorita is still doing impressively good work.
Pizzas are produced to a very high quality with an excellent range of toppings to choose from.
They have a number of smaller delivery and takeway outlets across the city ensuring you can get your hands on their pizzas with relative ease.
Location: Leith Walk, Leith
Price: £40 for lunch (3 diners)
4140
Best for Burgers
Broughton Deli
The Broughton Deli is an exceptional café, just off Broughton Street.
Their mixed pork and beef burger is truly outstanding, sourced from excellent local producers
With a charming vitality about the place, it’s a great wee place and one of the more unlikely homes for burger excellence.
Location: Barony Street, Broughton
Price: £20 for lunch (2 diners)
Nobles
Nobles is a Leith favourite serving a dishes packed with punch and pizzazz.
This includes a very enjoyable brunch selection and excellent burgers.
Their wine list is very good, too, making it a very impressive all-round place.
Location: Constitution Street, Leith
Price: £43 for lunch (2 diners)
Greenmantle
Showcasing Puddledub buffalo, the burgers at Greenmantle, served until midnight are utterly delicious.
They have a regularly changing “burger of the week” which is usually a good place to start.
The traditional pub setting has a relaxed atmosphere making for an enjoyable burger-eating experience.
Location: West Crosscauseway, Southside
Price: £8.50 for lunch (1 diner)
BBL
With outstanding burgers and sausages from White of Edinburgh, BBL is an absolute delight and by our reckoning Edinburgh’s premier place for a burger.
They don’t just content themselves with meaty delights either, being one of the few places to make their own veggie sausages.
Once you’ve found BBL, you’re unlikely to become anything other than a regular and frequent visitor.
Location: Pleasance, Old Town
Price: £4.60 for lunch (1 diner)
Twenty Princes Street
With their Josper grill and excellently sourced beef, the burger at Twenty Princes Street, complete with Innis & Gunn rarebit, is magnificent.
With excellent views across the city, the restaurant is super-stylish.
With an excellent lunchtime deal, this really is a place worth visiting.
Location: Princes Street, City Centre
Price: £26.50 for lunch (2 diners)
4342
Best for Steak
Earthy
Perhaps better known as a purveyor of fine vegetables and breads, Earthy served us one of the finest steaks we’ve sampled in the city.
With all of their produce locally sourced, they’ve built an impressive reputation.
Serving accomplished dishes, their Canonmills restaurant comes highly recommended.
Location: Canonmills, New Town
Price: £62 for dinner (2 diners)
Calistoga
With a notably good selection of Californian wines, Calistoga serves deliciously flavourful steaks.
The place is a great favourite during December when they’re one of the few places that serves its lunch menu for the same price as the other 11 months.
Tucked away on Rose Street Lane, this is a city centre gem that’s worth seeking out.
Location: Rose Street Lane, City Centre
Price: £31 for lunch (2 diners)
Chez Jules
The steak frites at Chez Jules is the best we’ve sampled in the city and the value on offer is outstandingly good.
It’s a charming little place with one of the better lunchtime deals in the city.
A regular staple when we have friends visiting from out of town, Chez Jules is a firm favourite.
Location: Hanover Street, New Town
Price: £160 for dinner (6 diners)
Blackwood’s at the Nira Caledonia
The quality of the steak on offer at Blackwood’s is mind-blowing.
It’s one of the few restaurants in Edinburgh where you can genuinely “dazzle your friends”.
With a complete menu of Josper-cooked delights, Blackwood’s is head-and-shoulders above any other steak place in the city.
Location: Gloucester Street, New Town
Price: £113 for dinner (2 diners)
Wildfire
A restaurant with bags of character, Wildfire can be relied upon to serve high quality steak and seafood.
The atmosphere is beautifully judged. It can happily play host to romantic dinners, working lunches or bigger parties.
Great food is matched with top quality service making it a really good dining option.
Location: Rose Street, City Centre
Price: £32 for lunch (2 diners)
4544
Best for Salad
Pep & Fodder
The kings of salad dressing, Pep & Fodder will knock you together a delicious salad box, to order, then top it with some magical flavour combos.
Serving excellent coffee, too, their Waterloo Street shop has become a frequent stop on our travels.
Very popular with the local offices, Pep & Fodder is guaranteed to please.
Location: Waterloo Place, City Centre
Price: £4.50 for lunch (1 diner)
Gran Caffe
In the stylish surroundings of the Signet Library, the Gran Caffe serves daily changing salad options to a very high standard.
Packed with freshness and flavour, there’s succour for spirit and stomach in this bibliophile’s retreat.
An elegant place for a cup of tea and a slice of cake of an afternoon, too, it’s an architectural gem that demands a visit.
Location: Parliament Square, Old Town
Price: £25 for lunch (2 diners)
Southern Cross Café
The Southern Cross, on Cockburn Street, is a great stop off for a quick bite, with deliciously crisp and fresh salads.
Another fine purveyor of the beetroot and goat’s cheese combo, I fondly recall very thinly sliced beetroot making for an eye-catching dish.
Coffee is very good, too, making it a worthy stop on your culinary journey around the city.
Location: Cockburn Street, Old Town
Price: £10 for lunch (1 diner)
Th’eatery
With Barry Bryson at the helm, Th’eatery is doing impressively good work, from their premises within the Festival Theatre.
Their wonderful salads are a particular strength, with a goat’s cheese-topped beetroot and sweet potato variety living long in the memory.
Their versatile menu is packed with other treats, too, so we’d definitely recommend a visit.
Location: Nicolson Street, Southside
Price: £11 for lunch (1 diner)
Café Class
High on flavour and profuse in their portion sizes, the salads at Café Class are outstandingly good.
Tollcross has a nice mix of different eateries and this place offers a fresh and tasty option.
With very good coffee and relaxed surroundings, Cafe Class is extremely welcoming.
Location: Home Street, Tollcross
Price: £6.25 for lunch (1 diner)
4746
Best for Street Food
Bespoke BBQ
Our finest purveyors of pulled pork, Jones & Sons Bespoke BBQ match sparkling service and glorious grub for very pleasing results.
A regular at the Tram Stop and Localmotive Markets, people come from far and wide to sample their excellence.
Location: Tram Stop Market, Localmotive Market
Price: £5 for lunch (1 diner)
Bloombox
From the travelling Bloombox bike, flower-topped salads bring light and joy to Edinburgh lunchers.
Their regular Thursday and Friday services have attracted a growing audience keen to partake of more nourishing and healthy lunchtime options.
Location: Thursdays and Fridays, on the go
Price: £7 for lunch (1 diner)
Nusou
Nusou’s noodle pots are an aromatic delight, with a wonderful blend of textures underpinned by an elegant and delicate broth.
Now a firm favourite at markets and festivals, their highly accomplished work is well worth sampling.
Location: Tram Stop Market, Localmotive Market, Farmers’ Market
Price: £5.50 for lunch (1 diner)
Street Food Cartel
A Glasgow interloper in the mix, but one that makes Edinburgh its home for the whole of August, the Street Food Cartel serve up delicious dishes to an exceptional standard
Bringing together stalls such as Pad BKK, SoLaTiDough and Antojito, when the cartel comes to town it signals the start of Edinburgh’s month of cultural hilarity.
Location: Festival time, George Square
Price: £6 for lunch (1 diner)
Scoff
Featuring an outstanding Cullen skink and tattie scone wrap, there are few more innately Scottish pleasures than a trip to Scoff.
With an expanded selection now including a delicious smoked mackerel salad and excellent black pudding, they’re fast becoming a street food favourite.
Location: Tram Stop Market, Localmotive Market
Price: £5 for lunch (1 diner)
4948
Best for Breakfast Rolls
Thistle Sandwich Bar
Thistle Street is a little haven of quality food places, with the Thistle Sandwich Bar ensuring its reputation extends as far as breakfast roll excellence.
Quick, cheap, cheerful and hearty, it’s a brilliant spot for breakfast on the go.
An increasingly regular haunt, it’s a place you’ll be thankful to discover.
Location: Thistle Street, New Town
Price: £2 for breakfast (1 diner)
Coffee Mill
One of the friendliest little cafes in the city, it’s the haggis rolls at the Coffee Mill that really hit the spot for us.
I never pass the place without getting a cheery wave from the owner. I regularly stop for espresso and a chinwag.
A lovely wee place.
Location: West Port, Old Town
Price: £3 for breakfast (1 diner)
Demarco’s Deli
An unassuming little place in Portobello that just happens to serve excellent breakfast rolls, Demarco’s Deli isn’t much to look at, but serves quality items.
On Portobello High Street there are a number of good little breakfast places, but this is our current favourite.
At £1.30 for a double filled roll, it represents excellent value, too.
Location: Portobello High Street, Portobello
Price: £1.30 for breakfast (1 diner)
Copper Bird
With bacon and sausages from George Bower’s, the butcher in Stockbridge, Copper Bird’s breakfast rolls are a class apart.
Served on copper topped tables on china plates, there’s a wonderful charm to the place, too.
Fewer welcomes are warmer in the city than you’ll find in this sparkly wee place.
Location: Morrison Street, West End
Price: £4 for breakfast (1 diner)
Tani Modi
Serving one of the best bacon rolls in the city, Tani Modi is a lovely little Italian cafe on Hanover Street.
The wonderful folks there will also serve you a really enjoyable Italian roast espresso.
Lunchtime piadas are a real treat, too, making it a place that’s worthy of many a visit.
Location: Hanover Street, New Town
Price: £4 for breakfast (1 diner)
5150
Best for Healthy Breakfast
Social Bite
Their business principles are highly commendable and their food, especially at breakfast time, is delicious.
Their porridge is very tasty and their banana, peanut butter and honey bagel is a real favourite.
It’s a morning combo to lift the spirits, for sure.
Location: Shandwick Place, West End
Price: £5 for breakfast (1 diner)
Café on the Corner
Supporting people with autism, the Café on the Corner serves excellent breakfast fare, with delicious smoked salmon and eggs a particular favourite.
Their coffee is also impressive making it an attractive cafe option.
It comes into its own, for us, during August when it provides a very handy oasis of calm from the Festival frenzy.
Location: Hill Street, New Town
Price: £5.50 for breakfast (1 diner)
Pep & Fodder
Another fine porridge purveyor, Pep & Fodder is a great little café spot in the city centre that produces excellent quality throughout the day.
Many a day has been transformed by a bowl of something oaty that they’ve prepared, bringing verve and energy where limp submission once lived.
Friendly staff members are always on hand to ease your transition back into the land of the living, too.
Location: Waterloo Place, City Centre
Price: £5 for breakfast (1 diner)
Hula Juice Bar & Gallery
Their porridge is outstanding, their granola excellent and their smoothies are fantastic making a trip to Hula a perfect healthy way to start the day.
Their winning approach to breakfast makes them extremely popular at the start of the day.
During Festival time, it becomes an absolute lifesaving godsend, as there are few better ways to re-energise, re-invigorate and restore your spirit than a trip to its hallowed confines.
Location: Grassmarket
Price: £15 for breakfast (2 diners)
Maxi’s
A really strong breakfast selection makes Maxi’s on Raeburn Place a really good option to start the day with a healthy meal.
Although it has a different feel to it, I think of it as being like the Stockbridge equivalent of Hula, with Maxi’s granola and excellent coffee often transporting me to sunnier Grassmarket climes.
They also stock breakfast meats from Bower’s for days when you’re feeling less virtuous.
Location: Raeburn Place, Stockbridge
Price: £6 for breakfast (1 diner)
5352
Best for Bakery Takeaway
Archipelago
Hidden away on the corner of Frederick Street and Queen Street, Archipelago is a magnificent recent addition.
The savoury tarts are absolutely first class and the focaccia delicious.
Packed with sweet treats, too, make time for a visit, soon.
Location: Queen Street, New Town
Price: £6 for lunch (1 diner)
Manna House
The backbone bread supplier to many places across the city, Manna House does excellent work from their Easter Road premises.
Their little bakery café is a delightfully aroma-filled spot to unwind and relax.
Their delicious and delicately presented cakes are worthy of your attention, also.
Location: Easter Road, Leith
Price: £11 for lunch (2 diners)
Peter’s Yard
Peter’s Yard has established itself as an Edinburgh favourite with a broad cross-section of the community.
Their cardamom buns, in particular, are quite outstanding and have been successful in spreading the Scandi joy across the city.
Top notch.
Location: Squaremile, Old Town
Price: £20 for lunch (2 diners)
Wee Boulangerie
Home of delicious fougasse and pizzetta options, Wee Boulangerie serves outstanding baked goods from their Clerk Street premises.
With French flair and charm aplenty, this local bakery is entirely worth seeking out.
Location: Clerk Street, Southside
Price: £6.75 for lunch (1 diner)
Sicilian Pastry Shop
With a wonderful array of sweet and savoury treats for amazingly cheap prices, the Sicilian Pastry Shop is a little Leith gem.
Those in the know have been visiting for years and have managed to keep it just secret enough so that when you discover it for yourself you feel like a veritable pioneer.
You’ll find it hard to resist regular visits, after that.
Location: Albert Street, Leith
Price: £2.70 for lunch (1 diner)
5554
Best for Beer
Cloisters
This former church is an atmospheric home to another of the city’s beer institutions, with a long-standing and deserved reputation for serving the best in British beer – and manager Barry even co-founded the city’s innovative fledgling Elixir brewery.
Location: Brougham Street, Tollcross
The Stockbridge Tap
Like its sister pubs the Bow and Cloisters, the Tap has an impressive range of well-kept beers which has a strong focus on Scottish brewers, including local favourites Stewart’s and Alechemy, across 17 taps.
Location: Raeburn Place, Stockbridge
The Vintage
With a strong reputation for food, the Vintage in Leith also has a solid core of keg and cask beers which is supplemented by some top-class guest taps which regularly feature renowned British breweries like Beavertown, Buxton and Kernel and even a rare appearance from the divine Duchesse De Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Belgium.
Location: Henderson Street, Leith
The Bow Bar
A real Edinburgh institution in the heart of the Old Town, the Bow continues to provide an impressive range of primarily British brews, with an understandable emphasis on the cask beer which is dispensed from its vintage Aitken tall fonts.
Location: West Bow, Old Town
The Hanging Bat
The Hanging Bat really raised the bar for the Edinburgh beer scene when it opened in 2013, with 21 lines – and an on-site brewkit – showcasing the very best in modern beer, with the accent on the finest Britain has
to offer including Buxton, Siren, Kernel, Beavertown and Scotland’s own Tempest and Cromarty.
Location: Lothian Road
5756
Best for “Ones Offs”
Yellow Bench
An understated shop-front on Leith Walk, with a yellow bench out front, hides a little pearl of Polish dining.
Delicious and wonderfully hearty dishes at a ridiculously low price are what Yellow Bench is all about.
With a warm welcome from staff members who are committed to ensuring you enjoy your experience of the place, Yellow Bench is a must-visit.
Location: Crighton Place, Leith
Price: £29 for dinner (3 diners)
Tupiniquim
The Brazilian crepe maestros and darling of the gluten-free community, Tupiniquim continue to do excellent work from their little tardis at the top of Middle Meadow Walk.
Their crepes are wonderfully filling and their juices bright and flavour-packed.
One of the best all-year-round street food places, visit Tupiniquim soon and often.
Location: Middle Meadow Walk, Old Town
Price: £7.50 for lunch (1 diner)
Sabor Criollo
From a wonderfully decked out faux beach house basement, this Venezuelan place serves hearty dishes at a very reasonable price.
Their pabellon criollo is particularly good, and their no-nonsense cocktails pack a good punch.
Simple and delicious, we’re delighted to have Venezuelan food represented in our city.
Location: Deanhaugh Street, Stockbridge
Price: £25 for dinner (1 diner)
Rollo
Rollo is a fabulous place for a relaxed afternoon or evening with friends.
With a welcome that’s hard to beat and sharing dishes across a range of styles, it has been a revelation since it arrived in Stockbridge in late 2013.
One of the hottest restaurant seats in town, you’ll be entirely charmed by this little darling of a place.
Location: Raeburn Place, Stockbridge
Price: £14 for lunch (1 diner)
Rafael’s
Fantastic dishes in a place that’s packed with effortless charm and homely Spanish joy, there’s nowhere else in the city quite like Rafael’s.
I had one of the most joyous dining experiences in all quests there, when I visited.
Warmth, comfort, flavour and style come together to form a great little restaurant.
Location: Deanhaugh Street, Stockbridge
Price: £36 for dinner (1 diner)
5958
Cakequest Top 5
Lovecrumbs
Imaginative flavours and quirky decor make this a must visit.
Location: West Port, Old Town
Patisserie Madeleine
Zen, minimal decoration and pastry to die for. The real deal.
Location: Raeburn Place, Stockbridge
Cuckoo’s Bakery
Consistently high quality and addictive cupcakes make this Edinburgh’s answer to the Hummingbird Bakery.
Location: Dundas Street, New Town
Casa Angelina
Don’t miss it! Hidden away, this tiny emporium never fails to delight with its high quality and warm welcome.
Location: London Street, New Town
Mimi’s
The Daddy of the Edinburgh cake scene, always hard to beat. Getting a table might be your only issue.
Location: The Shore, Leith; Cannongate, Old Town
6160
Final Five
The Atelier
The Atelier has developed a devoted following since opening just over a year ago.
Praise has been lavished upon the place in no small measure, too.
Stylish and well-balanced dishes are showcased in smart premises making this is a highly enjoyable place to dine.
Location: Morrison Street, West End
Price: £26 for dinner (1 diner)
Papii
With great Artisan Roast coffee and memorably good breakfast options, Papii is a favourite spot for morning coffee.
A valued treasure on Hanover Street, it has a simple and life-affirming charm to it.
Try their waffles next time you’re looking for a breakfast treat.
Location: Hanover Street, Tollcross
Price: £4 for lunch (1 diner)
The Pantry
Serving a wonderfully varied menu across the day, The Pantry can be relied upon to produce highly accomplished dishes.
With excellent local sourcing and a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, dishes deftly straddle classic and innovative.
I’m a great fan of the “stewps” – stew/soups of excellent quality.
Location: North West Circus Place, Stockbridge
Price: £28 for lunch (2 diners)
Iris
A great Thistle Street place and one much prized for excellent value, Iris remains a classy and elegant establishment.
Their menu is strong on seafood, but with an excellent range.
A well-chosen wine list offers good supporting combinations to make the overall dining experience very pleasing.
Location: Thistle Street, New Town
Price: £70 for dinner (2 diners)
Edinburgh Larder Bistro
An excellent place for both lunchtime and evening dining, the Edinburgh Larder Bistro sources locally and produces dishes of real quality and charm.
From their cosy west end premises, they have delivered in a restaurant format the same excellence that their Old Town cafe has been producing for years.
Their seasonal menu offers impressive value making this a very popular choice for relaxed yet elegant din-ing.
Location: Alva Street, West End
Price: £27 (2 diners)