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.

Eve
18–20 Cowgate
Enjoy all-day all-Italian dining on the ground floor of the swanky Virgin Hotel. Head chef Giulio Morroni serves up hearty helpings of his Nonna’s comfort food favourites, including saffron risotto, eight-hour slow-cooked pork Bolognese with tagliatelle and Roman carbonara for two to share. Leave room for the Sicilian cannoli with sweet ricotta, cherry and chocolate. 

Fishers In The City
58 Thistle Street
Plates piled with fresh oysters and oil-drizzled scallops still in their shells showcase Scottish seafood at this former warehouse on Thistle Street. It’s a celebration of all things coastal, claws and all, and each dish feels like it’s been refined over years of trading. Dark wood and dim light buck the Scandi-minimalist trend of new restaurants, creating a classic, cosy atmosphere.

Hibiki   
45 North Castle Street
Sleek and sophisticated, this one is an impress-your-date option. It’s a general Japanese bistro, so you’ll find teriyaki chicken and a standard sushi selection, but the tantanmen ramen, with its powerful hit of chilli and tonkotsu topped with tender pork, make it a noodle lovers’ destination too.

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.

Under The Table
3a Dundas Street
A tasting menu at The Table on street level will set you back £110 per person, but this new basement bistro next door offers the same level of finery for a much more accessible prix-fixe affair. Portions are on the small side but each dish, like hay-smoked mackerel and crab with elderflower, is packed with flavour and is a delicious ode to Scottish produce. You can always supplement your meal with some of the tempting sides.

Also try... Rosa's Thai, a relaxed and welcoming new outpost of the popular London chain, and handsome wood-panelled The Spanish Butcher for excellent steaks. Tipo, sister restaurant to Noto, is another favourite spot for a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine. 

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.