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.
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.
