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616 places

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Waxy O'Connor's

44 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 1DH

The first thing you notice on entering Waxy O’Connor's is the sheer size of it. The different rooms and levels make it possible to find a cosy nook even when the pub is busy. Added to this, the wood interior gives a reassuringly traditional feel for an…

The Baked Potato Shop

56 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1PB

The founder may have retired two years ago, but new management are sticking to the Baked Potato Shop’s thirty-year mission to provide the ‘hottest tattie in town’. Proving hot doesn’t always mean beefy, they’re entirely veggie and vegan to the point of…

Banana Leaf

76B Old Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, G3 8RE

You’ve got to trust the food will speak over and above any impressions a style-free, humble interior may give. And trust you do, as seating and feeding hungry customers is a priority from a diner that began as and still is a takeaway. Having grown in…

Bell's Diner

7 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh, EH3 5AN

Now in its forty-first year, Bell’s Diner has an old-school charm and a resolutely lo-fi feel about it. Its red painted walls – hung with prints of Native American scenes – and simple wooden tables and chairs have remained unchanged for years, if not…

The Bon Vivant

55 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DY

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…

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Café Fish

15 North West Circus Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6SX

Remember that bit in Bedknobs and Broomsticks where everyone marvels at the fun times to be had at the bottom of the beautiful briny (shimmery shiny) sea? Café Fish is just like that. Except you get to eat your fellow guests at the piscine ball. And…

Café Gandolfi

64 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1NY

With its handsome interior, chunky Tim Stead furniture and globe lights, Café Gandolfi is the granddaddy of Merchant City bohemianism. Serving a mix of clientele from shoppers to concert-goers, it’s been dishing out high-end bistro food for more than 30…

Café India

29 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1LH

When restaurant entrepreneur Tony Hussain took over the long-established Café India in 2011, he kicked it up a few notches from typical Glasgow curryhouse to a classier joint, with a makeover to match. There are still aspects of the former – like the…

Café Marlayne

13 Antigua Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3NH

There are two Café Marlaynes: the bijou Thistle Street restaurant and the contrastingly informal Antigua Street branch, which is split into compact café and large dining room. The café does a standard line in coffee, croissants and chat, laptops and…

Cailin's Sushi

1136 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8TD

Holding a small, unassuming spot in Finnieston, owner Cailin Jiang offers sushi lovers a real treat, having mastered the holy trinity of service, taste and price. Whether you choose to pick fresh sushi from the chilled cabinet to takeaway or sit in at…

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The Cambridge Bar

20 Young Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4JB

Recently taken over and in the midst of a gradual improvement process at time of writing, the Cambridge lives somewhat in the shadow of its more famed counterpart the Oxford along the road, simply by dint of not being mentioned in a best-selling crime…

Circle Café

1 Brandon Terrace, Canonmills, Edinburgh, EH3 5AE

Circle Café is a stripped back, bare-brick former bakery, serving big breakfasts such as mounds of French toast (unusually using baguettes) with crispy bacon, as well as generously sized, well presented bistro fare including pies, sandwiches and a…

The Compass Bar

44 Queen Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH6 7EX

Prepare to be swept away by one of the best looking bars in Leith – and it's got stiff competition – because Compass is designed for dramatic effect, with two rooms opened out into one high-ceilinged corner unit, with blood-red walls, a bit of foliage…

Distill

1102–1106 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8TD

Until recently called the Ivy, Distill's new name hasn't changed it from being a haunt for the hip, with a young cool crowd attracted to a fashionable part of the city. The range of rums is the widest in Scotland and the house rum is the excellent…

Dusit

49a Thistle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DY

A perennial player in the mix of Edinburgh's top Thai restaurants, Dusit proves that consistency needn’t be dull, dishing up the same brand of polished, Thai fine dining in the heart of city for over a decade. Nestled on Thistle Street away from the…

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Fanny Trollope's

1066 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8LY

Don’t be put off by the nudge-nudge, wink-wink name – when it comes to food, there are lots of good things going on in this compact little neighbourhood bistro. With a reputation largely built through word-of-mouth, locals and tourists alike flock to…

The Hanging Bat

133 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AB

The Hanging Bat might sit on Lothian Road, but inside is a frontier of beer and hotdogs, like a trendy, wild but sumptuous cabin, somewhere smoky and spicy in the American south. A gilt-framed blackboard charts 20 innovative, ever-changing British beers…

Illegal Jack's

113-117 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AN

If a multinational fast food outlet woke up in heaven cleansed of all sin, it might be a bit like Illegal Jack’s. A glance through the plate-glass windows fronting Lothian Road reveals a cavernous interior with rows of tables and a brightly lit service…

The Italian Kitchen

64 Ingram Street, Glasgow, G1 1EX

It’s almost inconceivable that The Italian Kitchen has now been operating for a decade. Arriving to accolades – most notably for pizzas – the passage of time hasn’t brought a sense of complacency. Inside, the fortress-like wood-fired pizza oven is…

The Kilderkin

67 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8BT

From its location to its choice of pizza toppings, Kilderkin is slightly odd but pretty great. Initial impressions are of a slightly dodgy boozer, with its dim lighting, basic decor and unprepossessing exterior. Inside, however, you’ll find one of…

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Le Marché Français

9a West Maitland Street, Edinburgh, EH12 5DS

Le Marché Français markets its wares from a handsome Victorian shop frontage close to Haymarket station. This combined deli, cafe and restaurant promises a taste of French food throughout the day, in a laidback, rustic style that deliberately contrasts…

Offshore

3/5 Gibson Street, Glasgow, G12 8NU

It’s beginning to test the meaning of careworn slightly these days, but there’s still no café in Glasgow homelier than Offshore, nor even as homely. Hugging the corner of Gibson Street where it crosses the River Kelvin, with leafy views to the park…

The Original Mosque Kitchen and Café

Edinburgh Central Mosque, 50 Potterrow, Edinburgh, EH8 9BT

Debates over its actual ‘Originality’ still rage, with the (unconnected) Mosque Kitchen over the road claiming copyright, but the Original Mosque Kitchen remains a popular spot, still resolutely lo-fi, ladling curries from school dinner drums on to…

Piece

1056 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8LY

A superb gourmet sandwich selection makes this small, unobtrusive café one of the best places in Glasgow to grab a gorgeously crafted ‘piece’, as weegees would say. A few new additions include unlikely favourite the Smackdown – smoked peppered mackerel…

QuattroZero

40 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4RA

Opened late in 2012, the major draw at this modern diner-style restaurant is the wood-fired pizza oven and notably low prices. A rich and chunky chicken broth followed by pizza or pasta for under £6 to sit in at lunchtime is remarkable. Pizzas emerge…