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 dishes: Hand-dived scallop with cauliflower, Aged duck with cherry
Must 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.
Address: 33a St Stephen Street, Edinburgh EH3 5AH
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
