Bistros & brasseries, Budget, "Edinburgh"

Bijou came under new ownership in 2011 but both head chef Alastair Berry and the quirky but useful menu formula of offering most items in bijou, medium or large size have remained. The low-key interior features a sprinkling of café-style tables, a small…

Tucked in among the gastropubs and fish restaurants of The Shore, Diner 7 offers something a bit different – namely well-cooked and presented steaks and burgers in an easy-going and unpretentious low-lit diner. Snuggled up in a booth with a bottle of…

Tucked away down a West End lane, the potentially secret Sygn deserves a wide audience. An appealing but not overtly flamboyant retro-chic interior includes a private party area for your own shindig, with service that is positively chummy. ‘I Heart…

This split-level space is an exercise in sleek, functional mid-century modernism – a combination of whitewashed walls, wood, glass and metal proving perennially popular with Edinburgh’s trendier denizens. A prime Old Town location draws in a steady…

Fashionable Indigo Yard in Edinburgh’s West End packs in crowds of after-work drinkers in power suits and clean city Barbours, unwinding over cocktails, champagne, chilled pints and wines in showy shaped glasses. Food-wise, there's a customer-pulling…

With only the odd model ship hinting at its original function as a seaman's mission (and thankfully nothing to indicate another past incarnation as a house of ill-repute), the Mal instead exudes a distinctly Parisian feel, dressed in rich, dark hues and…

Veteran restaurateur David Ramsden launched The Dogs in 2008 to an audience hungry for what he would come up with next. The other spin-offs in what became a mini-empire have come and gone but the original has remained and is still undeniably popular.

Anyone with an interest in Scotland’s liquid refreshments should visit one of the two Teuchters, both of which offer an encyclopaedic selection of the country’s whiskies and beers. The Leith version has the added attraction of being housed in a cosy…

Whether it’s a three-course meal you’re after, or just a quick cocktail, the Bon Vivant, with its elegant yet relaxed atmosphere, provides a fitting venue for most occasions. Although the current cocktail list is only a glimpse of what is to come, the…

The flagship venue of the Montpelier Group, Tigerlily is boutique hotel, bar, restaurant and club rolled into one. Its lavishly styled and maze-like interior includes internal courtyards (where smoking is permitted), private booths and a number of nooks…

To travel beyond the front desk of this neon-lit 1920s landmark you must first join Gala Casinos, surrender an ID, register your name and address and look into one of the many wall cameras for a photograph. Now free to roam, diners walk up the art deco…

One way to sum up the contrast between this Stockbridge version of the Bon Vivant and its Thistle Street sibling is that there are no weekend DJs but instead there is brunch. Such are the priorities beside the Water of Leith. Otherwise it follows a…

Given its neon signage and the staff’s long-standing penchant for Hawaiian shirts, the Basement has never been a byword for subtlety and sophistication, but instead is a slightly ironic slice of Miami teleported into a Scottish cellar. It’s clearly a…

Occupying a prime double shop front on Portobello's main drag, Skylark is just what the neighbourhood has been crying out for, since evening eating options are somewhat thin on the ground. A daytime café with toys, books, food and events for kids (check…

A shopping mall wouldn’t be everyone’s choice of an ideal dining experience, and slap bang in the middle of the main food court, Ocean Kitchen Bar & Grill isn’t the most atmospheric dining experience. However, if you’re lucky enough to get a seat by…

Hotel du Vin has always sought to rise above its peers in the often-dubious chain-hotel restaurant business. Here, snuggled between the National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh University’s central campus, it succeeds. Upon leaving the hectic churn of…