11 great restaurants in Edinburgh city centre
From elegant dining rooms to inventive sharing plates, Edinburgh has a superb line-up of eateries
Baba
130 George Street
A great spot for big groups. There’s a selection of mezze plates you can’t stop picking at, as well as feasting dishes from the grill including an entire seared sea bream dripping with flavour, or a rose-pink côte de boeuf. Dishes are laden with spices from the Levant and can be accompanied with tasty craft cocktails.
Café St Honoré
34 North West Thistle Street Lane
Squint and you’re in Paris with white tablecloths, dark wood, candles and a great French wine list. Despite the French approach, chef Neil Forbes, a champion of the Scottish Slow Food movement, ensures only the best of Scotland’s larder appears on his menus. The à la carte changes daily and the ‘café classics’ menu is always excellent.
Ka Pao
St James Quarter
Whether perched at the bar or tucked into a booth, KaPao feels like somewhere you can stay all night. Experimental small dishes are inspired by the flavours of south-east Asia merging with Scotland’s larder. Try Arbroath smokie miang, with galangal, spinach and peanuts and the messy but addictive corn ribs with salted coconut, shrimp and lime.
Noto
47a Thistle Street
Noto’s mission statement is ‘we make delicious food’ and it’s true. The sharing plate combinations are eclectic, global and playful, inspired by Stuart Ralston’s time cooking and eating in New York. Dishes include North Sea crab with cultured koji butter, trout temaki with yuzu kosho and daikon, and shiitake doughnut with mushroom xo and tonkatsu.
The Spence
Gleneagles Townhouse, 39 St Andrew Square
Billed as a ‘a place to gather and be glorious’, The Spence at Gleneagles Townhouse is a truly gorgeous venue, with pink marble columns, an intricate cupola and an art deco-style bar and furniture. Prices are on the steep side, but the quality of ingredients and the presentation make it feel like a real treat.
Rosa's Thai
43 Frederick Street
Colourful interiors, colourful food: Rosa’s Thai is a relaxed and welcoming new outpost of the popular London chain. It’s great for groups with plenty of space. Start with a sharing platter, then tuck in to generous bowls of panang curry, chewy pad thai noodles and sweet and sour som tum papaya salad.
Also try… one of the largely more casual venues in the next TipList, or those we’ve picked out on the Royal Mile, which falls within the City Centre area. There are also central restaurants covered in various specialist lists, including Thai specialist Dusit, The Spanish Butcher and Hawksmoor in Sunday Roasts, and the Italian-inspired Contini and Tipo.
This TipList is taken from Eat & Drink 365, our sister mag recommending the best in restaurants, bars, cafés and more across Edinburgh. Want a copy? It’s available online or across all good stockists in Scotland’s capital.