Life & style, Food & drink

Cooking Up Talent

Ingr3dients, a new 3D mural by Alisdair Gray, to be revealed at Ubiquitous Chip

Here at List Towers, where we love food and adore Alasdair Gray, we were heartened to hear that the two are set to complement each other this month, with a new Gray mural set to be revealed as part of Glasgow’s Ubiquitous Chip’s 40th birthday…

Edinburgh's Hawke and Hunter unveils new signature restaurant

Polished, relaxed, and the food is absolutely fabulous

Put on those designer threads and shiny new shoes, the new restaurant at Hawke and Hunter has landed. It’s polished. It’s relaxed. And the food is absolutely fabulous. This elegant townhouse with its chic cocktail and whisky bars has been working the…

Glasgow Far East-themed Opium experts in dim sum

Modern laid-back lounge feel with a slickly designed interior

This smart new city centre restaurant mixes traditional dim sum with fusion dishes from Malaysia, Singapore, China and Thailand. It has a modern laid-back lounge feel achieved through a slickly designed interior of dark neutral tones, clean lines and…

The best breadmakers (and sellers) in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Au Gourmand, Patisserie Dujardin and McGhee's Family Bakers

The appearance of more small artisan bakeries points to an increasing awareness of and demand for proper bread, both from the public and the operations serving them. Around the sandwich shops of the capital Au Gourmand, the Gorgie-based but…

Frank Larkin, owner of Cafe Sejuiced, shares his soup-er philosophy

‘Sometimes I’ll give away free soup. You’ve got to love what you do.’

‘Making soup is like any other activity,’ says Frank Larkin, cook, café owner and occasional philosopher. ‘The purer your intentions are, the more love you put into it, the better the outcome.’ Café Sejuiced is his bright daytime café hidden behind…

Art installation at Ubiquitous Chip restaurant offers '3D dining'

Ingr3dients in Glasgow unveils Alasdair Gray’s first digital mural

The Ubiquitous Chip likes to see itself at the centre of the cultural life of Glasgow’s West End. So no surprise that it has come up with something unusual to celebrate its birthday. Famously, Alasdair Gray painted his original murals on the walls of…

Win a Winter White getaway for 4 people to the Isle of Harris!

Escape to a world of scenic Winter White beauty with a luxury break for 4 people at the stylish Hotel Hebrides. This intimate 4-star boutique hotel nestles on the harbour front of Harris’s capital, and offers sparkling white sea views at the front, and…

Area guide to the Glasgow Film Festival

Kirstin Innes helps you bring the movies to life with our GFF-themed area guide

If you're interested in the Beyond Bollywood, Superheroes in Glasgow, Ceol's Craic or Fashion in Film strands, this is the Glasgow guide for you.

Edinburgh's Atrium closes its doors and Hawke & Hunter opens a new dining room

Scottish food news February 2011

Surprise and sadness fell over the Edinburgh restaurant scene last week with the news of the closure of Andrew and Lisa Radford’s Atrium and blue restaurants in Saltire Court, above the Traverse Theatre. From stylish, avant-garde beginnings 18 years ago…

Point Hotel's stylish new monthly pop-up Sky Bar opens in the Penthouse suite

Lounge with the best views, live music and expensive drinks

No, not the shoogly restaurant on a crane that cranked up the hype during the Festival last summer, but a penthouse suite in the recently re-energised Point Hotel that turns into a pop-up lounge bar on the last Thursday of every month. At the top of the…

A guide to some of the best restaurants in Edinburgh

The Scottish capital has some of the best restaurants for Scottish cuisine

Some visitors may come to Scotland with a sense of dread that they’ll be force-fed salty porridge or be obliged to eat everything deep fried in fat. It’s true that the more adventurous may well encounter food here they’re unlikely to find elsewhere…

Where to explore the world of Scotch Whisky in Edinburgh

The best single-malt whisky tastings, tours and shops

The purpose of Scotch whisky is to give pleasure,’ says Charles MacLean in his Whiskypedia: A Gazetteer of Scotch Whisky, and Edinburgh is the place to pursue this principle. You can literally immerse yourself in a whisky barrel at the Scotch Whisky…

Ubiquitous Chip chef Ian Brown strikes out on his own

New venture always fully booked despite the economic climate

Aestled in an affluent Southside enclave, Ian Brown Food and Drink is a small and thoughtfully formed new restaurant. Inside the refurbished former Greek restaurant, wooden topped tables are arranged in a close and cosy fashion. Scottish landscapes and…

Farmers’ markets in Edinburgh offer the best Scottish foods

Do as the locals do and head to Edinburgh’s weekly farmers’ market

Farmers’ markets have been held in Scotland for over ten years, and have become a mainstay of any serious foodie’s calendar. Edinburgh farmers’ market, in the shadow of the castle, is so popular it takes place every Saturday, allowing locals to make it…

Modern day Leith is now home to Michelin-starred restaurants

Port outside Edinburgh shakes off long-held seedy reputation

Vibrant, colourful Leith has shaken off its long-held seedy reputation in recent years to establish itself as an area of stylish urban regeneration and a must-visit destination for foodies. A world away from the seamy side of Edinburgh life…

Top five Michelin-starred restaurants in Edinburgh

The Kitchin, Martin Wishart, The Plumed Horse, Number One and 21212

1: The Kitchin The menu here reflects chef/owner Tom Kitchin’s passion for locally-sourced Scottish produce with French interpretations. One of Edinburgh’s A-list restaurants, it won its accolade just six months after opening in the summer of 2006…

Pho Vietnam House - Restaurant review

Vietnamese cuisine represented well in west-end of Edinburgh

Vietnamese cuisine is hallowed by returning backpackers and adventurous tourists, but it’s poorly represented locally compared to other Far Eastern cuisines. David Pollock found a tiny outpost in western Edinburgh

Some simple suggestions for a special Valentine's in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Poetry, song, food and hotel break options for February 14th 2011

Special Valentine-themed events seem to fall around but not on the day in question this year: Club Noir (O2 Academy, Glasgow, Sun 11 Feb, below) have their sexy burlesque-y Valentines Masked Ball slightly early, while Aidan Moffat hosts his Valentine’s…

The best free and cheap things to do in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Visit a library, go for a walk, bake a cake or see some cheap theatre

Beat the January blues with these guaranteed pick-me-ups, suggested by our writers and some friends of The List. They’re all free, or cost just a few quid, so you’ll come out of winter with your bank balance intact and a smile on your face

The best places for hot chocolate in Glasgow and Edinburgh

The cafes and chocolatiers who serve up the sweet stuff

Temper Chocolates 148 Woodside Terrace Lane, Charing Cross, 07886 215209 This tiny café-cum-shop-cum-factory makes for a pilgrimage for hot chocolate lovers. Chocolatier Kirsty Shepheard’s own blend of 70 per cent organic dark chocolate with chilli…

Glasgow curry house Green Chilli Café explores pot-style home cooking

Succinct menu is dominated by Indian tapas or small plates

Glasgow does love a curry. Recently crowned Curry Capital of Britain for a record fourth time, the city’s passion for the spice has yielded a long and illustrious history of curry houses. What began with Green Gates and Taj Mahal in the 1950s, exploded…

How to learn Indian cookery from the comfort of your own kitchen

Rachna Deer of Ladyfingers Cooking in Glasgow comes round your house to teach you

Everyone’s got one. The book you’re going to write, the film you’re going to make, the restaurant you’re going to open. And round about the beginning of January, you might think about actually doing it – briefly, for a couple of weeks. Maybe you even…

Edinburgh restaurant Café Marlayne relocates second branch to top of Leith Walk

One of Edinburgh’s much-loved French restaurants has relocated its second branch to a radically diff

If you’re familiar with Café Marlayne’s cosy Thistle Street restaurant, the barn-like proportions of their latest venture on Antigua Street may come as a surprise. High, white-washed walls, supersized glitterball and bold Ikea lampshades mean the new…

Lunch hour legends - the best soup and sandwich outlets in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Looking for food recommendations from your lunchtime eating habits

We're looking for nominations for the best lunchtime soup and sandwich bars around Glasgow and Edinburgh for a special food & drink feature appearing here soon. We're relying on your in-depth knowledge of the eateries around your workplace that you…

Café No 9 - New Edinburgh café off Leith Walk steps out usual gay hub

‘I think people are a bit sick of big chains and their coffee is a bit rubbish sometimes too . . .’

For a new LGBT café owner in Edinburgh, straying away from the pink-tinged pavements of Broughton Street may be a bold move, but one which Innes Drummond believes is necessary. Drummond’s venture Café No 9 recently opened in Croall Place off Leith…