Modern Scottish££££leith
Tom Kitchin's Commercial Quay dining room in Leith, Edinburgh, opened in 2006 and held a Michelin star within seven months, the kitchen that brought Scottish.
Signature: Rock pool (langoustine, shellfish, sea vegetables), Razor clams, chorizo and lemon
Order: The seasonal Rock Pool starter and whatever lands fresh from the Anstruther day-boats that morning.
Tip: Lunch is half the dinner price and runs the same kitchen. The Tom's Sunday lunch (the chef's table) gets cancelled less than the evening tasting if you book it.
Modern French££££leith
Martin Wishart's Shoreside Leith dining room in Edinburgh, opened in 1999 and Michelin-starred since 2001, the city's longest-running modern French tasting kitchen.
Signature: Roast quail with foie gras and morel, Ravioli of langoustine
Order: The eight-course Tasting Menu or the half-priced lunch tasting served Tuesday to Friday.
Tip: Lunchtime four-course menu at GBP 50 is the value play; same kitchen, same sommelier, half the dinner price.
Modern Scottish£££tollcross-west-end
The Radford family's foraged-and-fermented kitchen on Lady Lawson Street in Edinburgh, opened in 2012 and Michelin-starred since 2024, a courtyard dining room.
Signature: Cured trout with smoked oil and elderflower, Aged beef with bone marrow
Order: The full tasting menu at dinner; let the kitchen send what is best that day from the garden.
Tip: The summer terrace under the oak in the courtyard is the best dining seat in the city when the weather permits.
Modern British£££leith
Sam Yorke and Tom Hagger's Henderson Street kitchen in Leith Edinburgh, opened 2021 and Michelin-starred 2024, an open-pass small-plates room on the canalside.
Signature: Aged Scrabster turbot, North Sea brown crab
Order: Whatever has come off the Scrabster fish auction that morning and the cured-egg-yolk opening course.
Tip: The bar counter takes four walk-up seats from 18:00 if your booking falls through. Same menu, better view of the pass.
Modern Scottish££££leith
Stuart Ralston's Shoreside Leith fine-dining room in Edinburgh, opened in 2024 and Michelin-starred within twelve months, a 14-seat tasting counter overlooking.
Signature: Hand-dived scallop, Highland venison with juniper
Order: The full chef's tasting menu; this is a counter-only kitchen designed for the set sequence.
Tip: Counter seats numbers 1 and 14 face the open pass directly. Tasting menus only; no a la carte.
Modern European££££marchmont-meadows
Conor Toomey's Marchmont neighbourhood kitchen in Edinburgh, opened in 2018 and Michelin-starred from 2020, a no-choice tasting menu in a 20-seat residential.
Signature: Hand-rolled tortelloni with brown butter, Aged dairy beef
Order: There is no choice. The fixed seven-course tasting menu is the only option; trust the room.
Tip: Bookings open 60 days ahead on the dot at 10:00 GMT. The whole month sells in under an hour. Set a calendar alarm.
Modern British£££bruntsfield-morningside
Roberta Hall-McCarron's Bonnington Road dining room in Edinburgh, a Michelin Bib-listed neighbourhood kitchen running modern Scottish tasting menus.
Signature: Beef tartare with smoked oyster, Roast cauliflower with chickpea
Order: The set lunch on Friday; three courses of the kitchen's best new dishes at half the dinner price.
Tip: Roberta also runs Eleanore around the corner on Albert Place for walk-in small plates if the Chartroom is fully booked.
Modern Japanese small plates£££new-town
Stuart Ralston's Thistle Street dining room in New Town Edinburgh, opened in 2019, a Japanese-inflected small-plates kitchen in a former townhouse basement.
Signature: Wagyu beef tataki, Charred octopus with miso
Order: The wagyu tataki with truffle and the miso-glazed octopus that anchor the menu.
Tip: Bar seats look directly onto the sushi pass. Stuart's other rooms, Aizle and Tipo, sit within a four-minute walk.
Modern British£££tollcross-west-end
Lloyd Morse, James Snowdon and Ruairidh Buchanan's Palmerston Place dining room in Edinburgh's West End, opened in 2021 in a former bank, a Michelin Bib-listed.
Signature: Whole roast chicken for two, Sourdough with cultured butter
Order: The whole roast chicken to share, and whatever fish has come off the East Coast that morning.
Tip: The bakery counter sells off the day's bread at 16:00 for the next morning. Sourdough and cinnamon buns go first.
Modern Scottish£££new-town
Stuart Ralston's Garden Room kitchen inside the Kimpton Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, opened 2014 (relocated 2020), a no-choice market-driven tasting menu.
Signature: Hen of the wood with smoked egg yolk, Aged hogget with sea buckthorn
Order: The six-course set menu changes weekly; whatever appears on the harvest board that month.
Tip: The hotel terrace is open to walk-ups for a glass of fizz before service. Lunch is half the dinner price and runs the same menu.
Seafood£££old-town
Roy Brett's George IV Bridge oyster bar and dining room in the Old Town of Edinburgh, opened in 2009, a Royal-Mile-adjacent seafood kitchen with day-boat fish.
Signature: Native lobster Newburg, Plateau de fruits de mer
Order: The plateau de fruits de mer for two and a half-dozen native rock oysters from Loch Fyne.
Tip: Pre-theatre lunch from 12:00 to 18:00 is the value play. The horseshoe counter holds 10 walk-up seats at any time.
Scottish££££old-town
James Thomson's medieval-tavern dining room at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, opened 1979 inside Boswell's Court, the city's heritage-cuisine landmark.
Signature: Scotch beef Wellington, Edinburgh haggis with whisky cream
Order: The Scotch beef Wellington for two and the haggis with whisky-cream sauce as a starter.
Tip: Ask for The Secret Garden, the second dining room down the stairs; the candlelit version of the experience.
Modern Scottish££canonmills-inverleith
Edward Murray and Dale Mailley's stone-cottage kitchen in Royal Terrace Gardens in Edinburgh, opened 2012, a shared-table no-choice set-menu room with produce.
Signature: Daily-changing seven-course set menu, Sourdough with cultured butter
Order: There is no choice. The fixed seven-course set menu changes daily; bring an appetite.
Tip: Communal long-table seating; book three days ahead for the popular Friday-night sittings. Bring cash for the wine pairing.
Scottish gastropub££stockbridge
Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack's Stockbridge gastropub in Edinburgh, opened 2013, the casual-counterpart to The Kitchin running British classics in a Comely Bank.
Signature: Fish and chips with mushy peas, Cullen skink
Order: The fish and chips with mushy peas, plus a starter of Cullen skink to share.
Tip: The kids' menu is not patronising; the meatballs and mash is a proper plate. Sunday roast books out a week ahead.
Bombay-Irani cafe££old-town
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 building.
Signature: Bacon naan roll, House black daal
Order: The bacon naan roll for breakfast and the 24-hour house black daal at any other meal.
Tip: No 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.
Seafood££new-town
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.
Signature: Cullen skink, Whole grilled lemon sole
Order: Cullen skink for starters and the whole grilled lemon sole with brown butter.
Tip: The original Fishers Bistro on the Shore in Leith is the smaller, more atmospheric sibling if you want the Old Port version.
Modern Scottish££old-town
Howies on Victoria Street in Edinburgh, the Old Town flagship of David Howie Scott's Scottish-bistro mini-chain opened in 1990, the city's everyday Scottish.
Signature: Haggis bonbons with whisky cream, Aberdeen Angus steak
Order: Haggis bonbons with whisky cream as a starter and the Aberdeen Angus steak with peppercorn sauce.
Tip: Pre-theatre two-course menu from 17:30 to 19:00 is the value play. The Waterloo Place branch is the second-best room.
Scottish brasserie£££new-town
The Dome on George Street in Edinburgh's New Town, opened in 1996 inside the former Commercial Bank building, a glass-domed grand brasserie room running.
Signature: Scottish smoked salmon platter, Roast beef Wellington
Order: Smoked salmon platter at lunch and the roast beef Wellington at dinner under the central dome.
Tip: The Georgian Tea Room at the back is a quieter alternative if the main hall feels too touristy at peak hours.
Modern Scottish fine dining££££new-town
Mark Donald's basement dining room inside The Balmoral hotel on Princes Street in Edinburgh, Michelin-starred from 2003 to 2024 and still running fine-dining.
Signature: Loch Duart salmon with caviar, Aged Scotch beef with red wine jus
Order: The seasonal tasting menu; lunch sittings include a four-course at half dinner price.
Tip: The Bollinger Bar upstairs (also at the Balmoral) takes walk-ins for a glass of fizz before service. Smart-casual dress code enforced.
Modern Scottish£££canonmills-inverleith
Scott Smith and Laura Smith's Broughton Street kitchen in Edinburgh, opened 2018, a foraging-led set-menu room running 7 or 10 courses on Scottish wild produce.
Signature: Foraged greens and fermented butter, Roast deer with juniper
Order: The full Discover tasting; this is a no-choice kitchen designed for the long version.
Tip: Wine pairings include rare Scottish-distilled liquors; the non-alcoholic pairing is fermented juices made in the kitchen.
Modern European£££stockbridge
Paul Gunning's Stockbridge basement dining room on St Stephen Street in Edinburgh, opened 2014, a 20-cover neighbourhood kitchen running set tasting menus.
Signature: Hand-dived scallop with cauliflower, Aged duck with cherry
Order: The six-course evening tasting menu; lunch runs a slimmer four-course at GBP 40.
Tip: BYO Tuesday with a GBP 7 corkage is a cheap way to bring a bottle from the Wine Pantry next door.
Modern Scottish£££old-town
Paul and Lisa Wedgwood's Canongate dining room on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, opened in 2007, a family-run fine-dining kitchen with a focus on Scottish.
Signature: Pigeon with foraged greens, Scallop with chorizo
Order: The pigeon with foraged greens, the kitchen's long-running signature plate.
Tip: The chef's table in the kitchen takes four guests; book a fortnight ahead for the demo-led version of the tasting menu.