40 editor picks in Edinburgh.
40 mid-range places in Edinburgh, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Edinburgh, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Edinburgh food.
Artisan Roast on Broughton Street in Edinburgh, founded 2007, the city's third-wave coffee pioneer with a Glasgow roastery and cafes in Bruntsfield.
TipWhole-bean retail is sold from the Broughton counter; the Glasgow roastery does Saturday public tours by booking.
Pilot Beer brewery on Tennant Street in Leith Edinburgh, founded 2013 by Matt Johnson and Patrick Jones, an industrial-estate craft brewery known for fruited.
TipTaproom takes walk-ins Fri-Sat; the rest of the week is wholesale only. Try the Vienna Lager and the Mochaccino Stout.
Williams and Johnson Coffee Co roastery and cafe on Customs Wharf in Leith Edinburgh, founded in 2017 by two former Square Mile baristas, runs one.
TipSaturday morning roastery tours run by booking; the cafe sells single-origin whole-bean retail from the roastery rack.
L'Alba D'Oro on Henderson Row in Edinburgh New Town, open evening-only since 1975, the city's most decorated chip shop serving fresh-chipped Scottish haddock.
OrderBattered haddock and chips
TipCloses at 21:15 sharp. The post-theatre window is 20:30-21:00; go straight there from the Lyceum or Usher Hall.
L'Alba D'Oro on Henderson Row in Edinburgh New Town, an evening-only takeaway chippy opened in 1975 and named UK's best by The Times in 2014.
OrderBattered haddock and chips. No gimmicks, no sides. That is the dish.
TipEvening only from 16:00. Take your chips to the Stockbridge Water of Leith path five minutes away.
The Edinburgh outpost of London's Bombay-Irani cafe chain on St Andrew Square, opened in 2016, a 200-cover all-day room in the old Bank of Scotland HQ.
OrderThe bacon naan roll for breakfast and the 24-hour house black daal at any other meal.
TipNo dinner bookings under six; walk in from 17:30 and the wait is 30 to 60 minutes. Drinks at the basement bar while you wait.
The Edinburgh outpost of the London Bombay-Irani cafe on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, opened in 2016, a 200-cover all-day room in the former Bank.
OrderBacon naan roll at breakfast, house black daal at any other time.
TipNo dinner bookings under six; walk in from 17:30 and wait 30 to 60 minutes. Basement bar pours while you queue.
Campervan Brewery on Jane Street in Leith Edinburgh, founded 2015 by Paul Gibson, a homebrew-turned-pro craft brewery with a taproom doubling as a bar.
TipThursdays are pizza-and-pint nights with a fixed deal; the taproom takes walk-ins through to 22:00 most weekends.
The Fishmarket on Pier Place in Newhaven Edinburgh, a collaboration between Welch Fishmongers and the Ondine team, serving oysters, langoustines and grilled.
OrderA dressed crab with brown toast and a glass of house white on the outdoor deck.
TipBook the evening deck table in summer. Buses 16 and 32 from Princes Street reach Newhaven in 20 minutes.
Dulse seafood restaurant on Queensferry Street in Edinburgh West End, from the Dean Banks Group, a two-rosette seafood and oyster bar open Wednesday.
OrderHalf a dozen Scottish oysters with the house mignonette, and the monkfish with Highland butter sauce.
TipThe oyster bar counter at the front takes walk-ins without a booking. The full menu requires a reservation.
Ardfern on Bonnington Road in Edinburgh, opened May 2024 by Roberta Hall-McCarron beside The Little Chartroom, an all-day cafe and natural-wine bottle shop.
OrderLamb kofta with tahini and flatbread, or the full Scottish with house haggis.
TipThe bottle shop sells the same wines you drink at the table. Walk in on Sunday for roast beef and a glass of orange wine.
Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack's Stockbridge gastropub in Edinburgh, opened 2013, the casual-counterpart to The Kitchin running British classics in a Comely.
OrderThe fish and chips with mushy peas, plus a starter of Cullen skink to share.
TipThe kids' menu is not patronising; the meatballs and mash is a proper plate. Sunday roast books out a week ahead.
Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack's Stockbridge gastropub in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, the casual sibling to The Kitchin running British classics in a Comely.
OrderFish and chips with mushy peas, or the Sunday roast that books out a week ahead.
TipChildren's menu is taken seriously here; meatballs and mash is a proper plate.
The Dundas Street pizzeria in Canonmills Edinburgh, opened 2019, a 60-second wood-fired Neapolitan kitchen with 00-flour dough and Italian San Marzano.
OrderThe Geek Margherita and the salsiccia-and-friarielli with stracciatella.
TipTheir second branch on Drum Street takes walk-ins more reliably than the Canonmills original.
Rosario Sartore's Dalry Road kitchen in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, a family-run Neapolitan dining room running pasta, seafood and wood-fired pizza.
OrderPesce all'acqua pazza (whole fish in tomato broth) and the homemade pappardelle with wild boar.
TipThe lunchtime three-course express menu at £18 is one of the city's best Italian-value deals.
Peter Adshead's restaurant in the 1836 William Playfair stone cottage at Royal Terrace Gardens in Edinburgh, opened May 2026 on the former Gardener's Cottage.
OrderThe £25 two-course lunch by the kitchen garden door; available Friday to Sunday from 12:30.
TipLunch sittings 12:30-14:30 Friday to Sunday are the casual entry point; evening flips to a fixed five or seven-course set.
Sam and Alice Young's Obadiah Coffee roastery in a railway arch at Abbeyhill in Edinburgh, founded 2017 a few minutes east of Waverley Station.
TipCard-only at the arch counter; weekday opening 9am to 4pm, closed at the weekend. Subscriptions and wholesale ship UK-wide.
Moonwake Beer Co on Tower Street by the Shore in Leith Edinburgh, a brewery and taproom pouring its own range plus rotating guest beers in a colourful.
TipTaproom is open Thursday to Sunday only; the Saturday session runs from midday and the outdoor yard fills first on a sunny afternoon.
LeftField on Barclay Terrace in Edinburgh Bruntsfield, a neighbourhood seafood bistro serving seasonal small plates with minimal-intervention wines.
OrderWhatever shellfish came in from the West Coast that morning and a glass of Gros Manseng.
TipNo website booking form; call ahead on 0131 563 1792 or walk in at 12:30 for a lunch table.
Haze inside the Brown's of Leith hall at 4-6 The Shore in Leith Edinburgh, opened November 2025 by the Radford family of Timberyard and Montrose.
OrderGrapefruit brulee with caramelised sugar and the house filter coffee from the brew bar.
TipOpen Thursday to Sunday only; arrive for the 8am opening on a weekend morning to claim a corner of the steelworks hall before the lunch rush.
Baba on George Street in Edinburgh's New Town, a Levantine mezze and charcoal grill restaurant with a cocktail bar inside the Kimpton Charlotte Square hotel.
OrderBaba ghanoush, the lamb shawarma flatbread and the house pita with za'atar.
TipThe mezze deal at lunch (four plates plus a drink for £22) is one of George Street's best value menus.
Kaori Simpson's Bruntsfield Japanese kitchen on Gillespie Place in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, a family-run kaiseki and izakaya room cooking authentic Tokyo.
OrderBento set at lunch and the gyoza dumplings; ask whether the homemade kimchi is on the day's menu.
TipThe Bruntsfield branch is the original; the Stockbridge offshoot is brighter but the south-side room takes more walk-ins.
Chef David Bann's vegetarian dining room on St Mary's Street in Edinburgh, opened in 2002, the city's reference vegetarian fine-dining kitchen.
OrderThe Sri Lankan coconut curry and the spinach and feta filo parcel.
TipPre-theatre two-course at £22 runs to 19:00; the wine list is genuinely thought through.
Edinburgh Larder bistro on Blackfriars Street in the Old Town of Edinburgh, opened in 2009, an all-day cafe-restaurant serving Scottish-provenance breakfast.
OrderThe Larder breakfast with Stornoway black pudding and the daily soup with sourdough at lunch.
TipCloses by 16:00 most days; the original cafe on Blackfriars Street is the calmer of the two rooms.
Valvona and Crolla's caffe-bar on Elm Row in Edinburgh, opened in 1934 (the bistro since 1996), the back-of-deli dining room for Scotland's longest-running.
OrderThe carbonara made with house-cured pancetta and the Pugliese antipasto board.
TipThe deli at the front sells the same dry pasta and tinned tomatoes the kitchen uses; shop while you wait for your table.
Twelve Triangles bakery-cafe on Brunswick Street in Edinburgh, founded 2015, a third-wave coffee counter pouring filter and espresso from UK roasters.
TipCoffee is rotating UK single-origins; the bakery counter is the volume play. Saturday queues from 09:30.
Dishoom on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh New Town, open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, serving the slow-cooked Irani cafe menu into the small.
OrderRaan and midnight naan
TipThe full menu is available until closing. Book the late slot on weekends if you are coming from a theatre or concert.
Dishoom on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, the Bombay-inspired all-day cafe open from 08:00, serving bacon naan rolls, keema per eedu and house-cured meats.
OrderBacon naan roll with cream cheese and chilli jam, or the full Irani cafe breakfast.
TipWeekday breakfast before 10:00 skips the queue. The bacon naan with house chilli jam outsells every other dish on the menu.
Edinburgh Larder on Blackfriars Street in Edinburgh Old Town, opened in 2009, is a seasonal cafe and bakehouse sourcing from Scottish farms.
OrderFull Scottish breakfast with house-baked bread, or the soup and Scotch pie combination at lunch.
TipThe full breakfast runs all day, not just mornings. Queue at 12:30 for the lunch crowd to thin out slightly.
The New Town offshoot of the Leith Fishers seafood mini-chain in Edinburgh, on Thistle Street since 2001, a brasserie-style room running East Coast fish.
OrderCullen skink for starters and the whole grilled lemon sole with brown butter.
TipThe original Fishers Bistro on the Shore in Leith is the smaller, more ambient sibling if you want the Old Port version.
Victor and Carina Contini's George Street dining room in Edinburgh, opened in 2004 in the former Lloyds Bank, an Italian-Scottish bistro serving.
OrderThe Contini meatballs, the Sicilian sea bass and a glass of the Continis' own-import Etna Rosso.
TipThe high tea at 15:00-17:00 is a quieter alternative; Sunday family lunch is a long-running tradition.
Brew Lab on South College Street in Edinburgh Old Town, founded 2012, a coffee bar and barista-training academy with Saturday cupping sessions and an open.
TipSaturday public cuppings at 11:00; sign up online a week ahead. Their training academy runs barista courses through the year.
Newbarns Brewery on Jane Street in Leith Edinburgh, founded 2020 by Chris Lewis and Emma Skoda, a saison and modern lager brewery known. At Unit 7.
TipThe taproom is two doors down from Campervan; you can crawl between four breweries in 500 metres on Jane Street.
The Pitt street-food market on West Shore Road in Edinburgh, open Thursday to Sunday, an award-winning indoor market with rotating food trucks and craft bars.
OrderThe food truck list rotates weekly; check the website the day before and plan your order.
TipFree entry. The sauna books up separately. Best visit is a Thursday or Friday evening before the weekend crowds.
Margot wine cafe on Barclay Terrace in Edinburgh Bruntsfield, a neighbourhood wine and small-plates room from the LeftField team, serving seasonal European.
OrderThe weekly-changing small plates with a glass of whatever the owner recommends from the bottle list.
TipWalk-in only for brunch; evenings require a booking. The Thursday slot is the least contested.
Urban Angel on Hanover Street in Edinburgh New Town, open since 2006, a basement organic-leaning cafe serving ethical breakfasts and brunch plates from 09:00.
OrderBaked eggs with tomato sauce, chorizo and chilli jam.
TipBook ahead for weekend brunch; the basement fills by 10:00 on Saturdays. Ask for the window table at street level for light.
Margot wine cafe on Barclay Terrace in Bruntsfield Edinburgh, from the team behind LeftField, a neighbourhood brunch room with natural wines and seasonal.
OrderPolenta with wild mushrooms and crispy chilli oil, or the smashed avocado with Stornoway black pudding.
TipThe natural wine list is available during brunch service. A glass of Muscadet with scrambled eggs is the move.
Stewart Brewing in Loanhead on the south edge of Edinburgh, founded 2004 by Steve and Jo Stewart, a craft brewery running a Craft Beer Kitchen with public.
TipTheir Craft Beer Kitchen runs public sessions for brewing your own pint; book ahead by a fortnight via their website.
Roseleaf Bar Cafe on Sandport Place in Leith Edinburgh, an eclectic all-day pub and cafe in a converted Victorian bar, serving brunch until 17:00 and dinner.
OrderPoached eggs with wild mushrooms on sourdough and a pot of loose-leaf tea.
TipTea comes in full china pots here, not a bag in a mug. Ask for the printed tea menu.
Union of Genius on Forrest Road in Edinburgh Old Town, Scotland's first dedicated soup cafe serving six freshly made soups daily with flavour-matched artisan.
OrderAsk the staff what they made today and take the one they recommend. They are right every time.
TipCloses at 16:00 weekdays and 15:00 Saturday. No Sunday service. Arrive at 12:00 for first pick.
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