Restaurants

The best restaurants in Edinburgh and Glasgow for cheap eating in January

Dining out options that won't break the bank

9 Jan 2012

EDINBURGH The Mosque Kitchen Now relocated from its former al fresco spot outside Edinburgh’s mosque, the café-style Mosque Kitchen still serves a fine range of halal meat and vegetable curries in no-fuss polystyrene dishes for under £5 including…

Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle: Alternative Christmas dining options

Two iconic venues now taking bookings for your Christmas meal

23 Nov 2011

Stuck for somewhere decent to have your Christmas lunch? Need a venue that’ll please a range of tastes but won’t be another run-of-the-mill pub grub standby in the city centre? Have you considered going for something a bit more... iconic?

Restaurant review: Tanjore

Tamil restaurant's menu uplifted by fresh, appealing food

24 Aug 2011

Regional cuisine isn’t just the preserve of Tuscany or Andalucia, as Donald Reid finds in an engaging new Tamil restaurant in Edinburgh. It isn’t hard to find an Indian restaurant in Edinburgh or Glasgow, but it can be hard to find one with a…

Restaurant review: The Honours

Superbly engineered Edinburgh brasserie from Martin Wishart team

10 Aug 2011

Despite downturns and austerity times Martin Wishart and partner chef Paul Tamburrini have opened the doors on a glittering, superbly engineered brasserie, as Donald Reid reports In a city packed with restaurants and a respectable array of upmarket…

Restaurant review: Glasgow's Riverside Museum café

Stunning setting but uninspiring food

3 Aug 2011

Dining out in with a view of the Clyde is so rare that the new Riverside Museum’s café is an attraction in itself – let alone for the spectacular building housing the expanded collection of the old Museum of Transport. Zaha Hadid’s realised design…

Restaurant review - Limelight Bar and Grill

A Victorian building that once housed the city’s first power station

28 Jun 2011

Much has changed for Glasgow in the last century. It lost claim to being the UK’s second city as the Clyde’s tide of industry became a trickle, yet successfully reinvented itself as a place of culture and commerce (OK, shopping). Encapsulating this…

Red Squirrel takes perfected beer ‘n’ burgers formula to west Edinburgh

Owners of Holyrood 9a open new premises on Lothian Road

28 Jun 2011

Red Squirrel 21 Lothian Road, West End, Edinburgh, EH1 2DJ 0131 229 9933, redsquirreledinburgh.co.uk Daiy 10am–late; food is served until 9pm. Ave. price two-course meal: £10 (lunch/dinner) What many folk discovered and liked about Old Town bar…

Edinburgh's Porto & Fi opens new premises on the Mound

New café-bistro on the Mound makes the most of a great location

30 May 2011

It’s a nice spot – for a former mortgage office of the Bank of Scotland. Just off the Royal Mile, with its views over the New Town and beyond, you can imagine over-stretched buyers being given a tantalising vision of Edinburgh below, Last Temptation…

A guide to the pop-up and alternative dining scenes in Glasgow and Edinburgh

The guerrilla restaurants in people's front rooms

5 May 2011

The List’s annual Eating & Drinking Guide – as comprehensive as it is – does overlook some interesting dining options in Scotland: those that take place irregularly, or in unusual places – often somewhere as informal as someone’s living room. There are…

Martin Wishart - Interview transcript

The Scottish chef on his new restaurant and 10 years on from Edinburgh's first Michelin star

1 Apr 2011

Tell me a bit about the new place. It was owned by the Murray Group, and fortunately enough we’ve secured the property in North Castle Street. It will sit 75 covers in one sitting and there will be dining at the bar as well. Team wise we’ve got Paul…

Edinburgh's Hawke and Hunter unveils new signature restaurant

Polished, relaxed, and the food is absolutely fabulous

7 Mar 2011

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

7 Mar 2011

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…

A guide to the best cheese shops in Edinburgh

The finest purveyors of Strathdon Blue, Dunlop Cheddar and many more Scottish cheeses

16 Feb 2011

In the popular parlour game of ‘if you had to give something up for life, what would it be?’ (Strictly Come Dancing or X Factor, partner or friends, stilettos or trainers), many have foundered over the choice between cheese or orgasms. You think it’s an…

Ubiquitous Chip chef Ian Brown strikes out on his own

New venture always fully booked despite the economic climate

16 Feb 2011

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…

Top five Michelin-starred restaurants in Edinburgh

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

16 Feb 2011

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…

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

Succinct menu is dominated by Indian tapas or small plates

19 Jan 2011

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…

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

12 Jan 2011

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…

Glasgow's An Lochan has heaps of wintry and Scottish comforters

Restaurant review

19 Nov 2010

This season, winter heartiness is what you get at An Lochan. The restaurant is not a new feature of the West End, but new to the premises are the team from Blas (pron. blass, from the Gaelic for flavour), formerly at Kelvingrove. In essence the…

Edinburgh's Port of Siam restaurant makes most of Newhaven harbourside location

Restaurant review

8 Oct 2010

For nautical nourishment in Edinburgh you traditionally embark for Leith: it is the city port, after all. But even those bars and restaurants with any proximity to water really only have the Water of Leith on view, with its serene swans and the odd…

The landmark chefs and restaurants from the last 25 years of Scottish food culture

25 years of The List

23 Sep 2010

If there’s one thing that no city can do without it’s good food. Carine Seitz and Jay Thundercliffe showcase the chefs and restaurants who have made their mark over the last 25 years

Glasgow's Corinthian reopens and Indaba arrives in Edinburgh

Edinburgh and Glasgow food news: September 2010

10 Sep 2010

With the dishes still piled up beside the sink after the Festival, parts of Edinburgh’s restaurant scene have undoubtedly been buoyed up by the unique annual surge of customers. Have no doubt, operators in other cities look on with envy. Among the new…

Bia Bistrot showcases impressive dynamic influences and innovation

Restaurant review

10 Sep 2010

A bit of Irish, a bit of French, a bit of Spanish and a good dose of local Scottish. Carine Seitz visits a new restaurant that’s proof of the dynamic influences at work in Edinburgh’s dining scene

Horn of Africa - Restaurant review

7 Jul 2010

The Horn of Africa – named, not after the vuvuzela, but Somalia’s coastline – has been set up to provide low-cost, healthy and familiar food to the growing Somali population in Glasgow. There is not yet a menu so you take pot luck and eat what’s…

Ooud Kitchen brings flavours of Palestine to Edinburgh

29 Apr 2010

Inspired by owner Mohammed Aboleyah’s Palestinian roots and the culture and food of the Levant, Ooud Kitchen has the potential to be brilliant. The food is simple, authentic and delicious: think flatbreads (safeea) spread with grilled vegetable salsa…

The List Eating and Drinking Guide 2010 - out now

28 Apr 2010

This year’s Eating & Drinking Guide has 113 new entries, which is more than one opening per week in both Glasgow and Edinburgh over the last 12 months. Not bad going for the worst recession in memory. And they keep on coming. Just to give you a…

Valentine's Day: Restaurants

18 Feb 2010

Love is a many-flavoured thing, and not all couples are looking for the same Valentine’s experience. Donald Reid suggests a handful of choice tables for lovers of all persuasions...

Karen’s Unicorn, Metropolitain and Mimi’s Kitchen amongst recent Glasgow and Edinburgh restaurant openings

3 Feb 2010

Karen’s Unicorn 8b Abercromby Place, New Town, 0131 476 2602, £13 (lunch/dinner) Having taken over the running of the long-standing Unicorn Inn at the quieter end of St Stephen Street, Karen’s Unicorn opened a second venue in late 2009 in the prominent…

Hungarian, East African, Russian and Brazilian flavours explode throughout Scotland

20 Jan 2010

The latest draft of new or imminent restaurants around Edinburgh and Glasgow promise flavours rarely encountered in these parts. Glasgow has Nur Egyptian restaurant and Botego du Brazil (from the owners of Classic Grand), along with two new African…

Restaurant review - pickledgreen

7 Jan 2010

Rose Street is a right hotch-potch when it comes to its eating and drinking scene: from bland chain restaurants to venerable old boozers, unadorned Japanese noodle-bars to buzzy seafood bistros. Into this unlikely setting, and fired with the optimism…

Royal Scottish Automobile Club renovation continues

4 Nov 2009

The massive renovation of the former Royal Scottish Automobile Club on Blythswood Square in Glasgow is reaching completion with the opening of the first batch of rooms and the hotel’s 120-seater restaurant and cocktail bar. Part of the Town House…

Ripe Time - L’Artichaut

24 Sep 2009

France isn’t a country known for its abundant vege sympathy, with non-meat-eaters often having to make do with a half-hearted omelette, a green salad or frîtes for every meal. But in a way the concept of a vege French restaurant shouldn’t seem so…

Velvet Elvis & Amore Dogs

How to beat the neighbours as a restaurateur

6 Aug 2009

As a restaurateur you’re always interested in what’s going on around you. Who’s busy, who’s not, who’s hiring, who’s lost their chef. When Allan Mawn opened up Pintxos two years ago he had no such issues. He was so far west along Dumbarton Road there…

Food news - Bakehouse Co, The Holyrood 9A and Cocoa Black

6 Aug 2009

There is always a rash of new places flinging their doors open in time for Edinburgh’s festival season, and this year is no different. One prominent newcomer to Victoria Street is a second branch of Broughton Street’s Bakehouse Co. Retaining some of the…

The Taste Of Bordeaux's Bar à Vin In Edinburgh

20 May 2009

Bordeaux – the wine, the châteaux and the region – has something wonderful in store on all counts. Summer means barbecues; long, leisurely, wine-filled “pique-niques” that stretch from noon until evening; and of course, holidays. An 18th century…

Café Bayan - Falling into steppe

14 May 2009

Entering Café Bayan, your eye is drawn to an enormous, mauve-toned mural depicting Scottish and Russian luminaries. In the Scots corner, Burns; in the Russian corner, Pushkin and Tchaikovsky; and, floating incongruously between the two, a tiny depiction…

List Eating & Drinking Guide 2009 launched

14 May 2009

The launch event for the 16th annual List Eating & Drinking Guide celebrated the year’s finest dining experiences on offer in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The event, at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts, saw four excellent restaurants receive Eating…

Familiar Eating: Three places on first name terms

19 Mar 2009

Guy’s 24 Candleriggs, Glasgow, 0141 552 1114, www.guysrestaurant.co.uk Guy Cowan spent time travelling the world cooking for film stars before settling back home in Glasgow with this friendly and assured venue in the Merchant City. Accumulated…

Neat diners around town & beyond

5 Mar 2009

The Wee Curry Shop 7 Buccleuch Street, Glasgow 0141 353 0777, www.motherindia.co.uk For over a decade this Garnethill dining room has been one of Glasgow’s best loved little eating spots, with just 25 covers but a big reputation for simple, fresh…

The Bollywood Lounge & Indian Restaurant

Movie smoothie

30 Oct 2008

The gaudy glamour of the Indian film industry seems a parallel universe away as you button up on a dreich Glasgow night and stride past Sauchiehall Street's greasy takeaways and booze-addled hordes down by Charing Cross. Yet, just on the other side of…

Changing places

2 Oct 2008

When a restaurant location starts to see a few different tenants in a short span of time it gets a bit of a reputation. ‘Bad site,’ many will mutter. Not necessarily true, however. Of course some locations are harder work, but also in play are things…

Food for thought

2 Oct 2008

There is surely never a better reason to indulge than when it’s for charity, a mindset many Scottish restaurants will be hoping for this month. For the whole of October, a selection of eateries in Edinburgh will join hundreds of restaurants, gastropubs…

Cail Bruich West

Gael force

4 Sep 2008

No one quite expected the Gaelic renaissance to include food. Fiona Anderson took along her phrasebook for a meal in Glasgow's West End.

Take three: Outposts of the Gaeltacht

4 Sep 2008

Three top restaurants with Gaelic names.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society restaurant now open to non-members

8 May 2008

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has opened the doors of the Dining Room at 28 Queen Street to non-members, with food courtesy of chef James Freeman.

Shake up on Edinburgh's Shore dining scene

25 Feb 2008

The Shore Bar and Restaurant in Leith has been taken over by the team behind near-neighbours Fishers, who hope to revive one of the district's more venerable eating, drinking and music spots. Fishers-trained chefs Jenny Daly and Martin Laurentowicz have…

Chop Chop dumplings set for supermarket sales

25 Feb 2008

Edinburgh restaurateur Roy King, who runs Chop Chop, has announced that the dumplings for which they are famous are now being produced for sale in Sainsbury's. He insisted on maintaining his policy of 'fresh ingredients only and no pre-cooking…

Eat - No 1 Sushi Bar

17 Jan 2008

THE MEAL Stories of fine Scottish wild salmon being caught, frozen and flown to high end restaurants in Japan are closer to the truth than you might think. Why then does sushi remain such niche cuisine in this country? In Scotland, Japanese…

Wedgwood the Restaurant - review

13 Dec 2007

Edinburgh is a tourist city, and for restaurants that’s both a blessing and a curse. Tourists are hundreds of thousands of extra diners appearing at their collective door each year; look too closely to them, however, and you’ll be disparaged for…

Ramsay joins French rival as world’s most Michelin-starred chef

10 Oct 2007

Gordon Ramsay has joined French counterpart Alain Ducasse to be named the most Michelin-starred chef in the world. Just weeks after critics claimed the Scottish chef had ‘gone off the boil’; Ramsay was awarded two Michelin stars for his new…

Eat - The Italian Job

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

Earlier this year I was employed to eat. And no, I wasn’t cramming pies into my face, a guinea pig for Greggs; I was hired to dine at some of the best restaurants in Scotland. You’re probably thinking, ‘bully for you’, but with a few more four-letter…

Life & Style - Eating & Drinking Guide sneak preview

A taste of things to come

10 Apr 2007

The 14th edition of our annual Eating & Drinking Guide will be given away free with the next issue of The List. Here we offer a small sample of what to expect from more than 800 completely revised entries, excerpting reviews of some of the most…