With seven Michelin-starred restaurants, the highest concentration in a UK city after London, Edinburgh has an incredible fine-dining scene. Seasonal produce guides the best local chefs, so expect to encounter sea herbs from East Lothian, game from the forests of the Borders, farm produce from the Lothians and Fife, and the bounty of North Sea fishing boats and Hebridean creelers. Star or not, if you’re in the market for a tasting menu, or a special celebratory meal, the city has some enticing choices. Few of these experiences come cheap, though it’s worth noting that many places offer lunch or shorter menus.

Starting with the stalwarts, The Kitchin in Leith has been Michelin-starred since 2007 and winning awards ever since; this is a restaurant that continues to innovate and impress with a philosophy of ‘From Nature to Plate,’ influenced by classic French techniques. Restaurant Martin Wishart is celebrating 25 years in Leith this year, and the creative but assured French-style approach to Scottish produce here continues to dazzle those who dine here. In the modern European style, Number One at The Balmoral is a glorious underground dining room with beautifully plated dishes and impressive wines, right beside Waverley Station.

For more of a Scandinavian-style approach, at family-run Timberyard near the Usher Hall you’ll find some of the most innovative and exciting food in Scotland. Alongside top local produce you’ll find pickles and ferments, foraged ingredients, plus herbs and edible flowers grown in the restaurant courtyard. Sister restaurant Montrose in Abbeyhill is also very special at a more accessible price point. American chef Rodney Wages moved his bold Michelin-starred restaurant Avery from San Francisco to Edinburgh’s Stockbridge, plates and all, and this year regained the star he left behind. It’s bold creative cooking, where Californian and Japanese influences meet Scottish produce: think raw razor clam with grilled anchovy gel on a soft kuzu dumpling, or pineapple-glazed eel wrapped in nettle leaves.

There are Japanese notes also on the eclectic menus at light and lovely Leith-based Heron too, like shio koji with turbot. At Condita in Newington, only 12 guests a night are treated to Scottish chef Tyler King’s creative cuisine. The beautiful decor changes seasonally and the menu comes as a series of hand drawn pictograms at the end of the night. There’s also an intimate setting at Eòrna in Stockbridge, where chef Brion Grigor and sommelier Glen Montgomery serve a set six-course menu to 12 diners at a long chef's table. Nearby, Tomás Gormley’s Cardinal is a wee warren of rooms, muffled with thick black curtains and glowing with candlelight. Both lunch and dinner are curated, fixed-choice tasting affairs.

If you’re going to blow the budget in style, go to Lyla on the edge of Calton Hill where chef Stuart Ralston is at the peak of his powers. Expect ten delicate but dazzling seafood-focused courses from the calm open kitchen. Every dish is beautiful: think tender cured plaice decorated with radish flowers, an individual Exmoor caviar pearl in every bud. Ralston’s first fine-dining restaurant Aizle on Charlotte Square pivots around the seasons with an à la carte offer that remains an absolute treat.

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.