Outdoor dining

Floor-shaking stamping, plaintive strains of Spanish guitar and passionate cries of ‘ole!’ might well accompany your meal at La Sal, thanks to regular performances from Alba Flamenca, the dance school next door to the restaurant. Formerly known as El…

The gem in South Queensferry’s culinary crown, The Boat House has great views, relaxed surrounds and a confident, creative pair of hands in the kitchen. Split into two main areas, with a cocktail bar thrown in for good measure, the bistro and restaurant…

The industrial metal interior is suitably on trend for the Edinburgh outpost of this headline-grabbing brewery. More radical though is the proud proclamation of ‘no football, shots or Stella’. A bar that sees serving good beer as its primary function is…

You can now pop in for the same Café Truva Mediterranean menu at three branches across Edinburgh. Leith, Lady Lawson Street and Canongate are all serving Turkish plates, a wide range of cakes and your usual café panini list against a varyingly elaborate…

Combining Old Town cellar with deliberately worn industrial touches, this is one of the city centre’s better looking bars. Coombed stones walls and low lighting make for an atmospherically louche hangout slightly at odds with the pumping bass on the…

With a colourful history and formidable reputation, the Canny Man remains a truly unique institution – how many pubs do you know that sell Salmanazars (nine-litre bottles) of champagne? Service from impeccably dressed staff is frequently charming but…

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…

In the 18 years since Glass & Thompson opened, it has adapted to keep pace with Edinburgh’s evolving café landscape. The latest change is a slimmed-down menu, although it still includes perennial favourites of regulars and those taking time out from…

Boasting the title 'Edinburgh's smallest and friendliest pub', this is, quite literally, halfway up Fleshmarket Close, between the bustle of Cockburn Street and Waverley Station, and is a buzzy little enclave encapsulating all that is right about a pub.

Meaning ‘home’ in Swedish, Hemma is the latest addition to Mike and Anna Christopherson’s string of Scandinavian style bars. And with its soft furnishings and quirky interiors, it does indeed have a laidback, homely atmosphere, despite the modern feel…

{hb} has all the atmosphere of a club, yet bizarrely lacks books. But don’t feel short-changed – the menus have clever wordplay a-plenty to get literary tongues wagging. Enjoy a brunch, things involving eggs, connoisseur sandwiches, meaty stews and…

Dress up for a night out at this bistro, situated in the luxury Hotel du Vin. A premiere address since it opened in 2006, the atmosphere is as refined and sophisticated as the menu. If you are feeling flash and want to experience the range of skills…

Situated in a prime spot close to Central Station and the financial district, Kudos is the ideal venue for office staff looking for a quick pit-stop at lunchtime. The bar’s express lunch menu, containing favourites such as battered haddock and macaroni…

MJ’s gold-embossed frontage justifiably claims that it is a brasserie. It also has an appropriately Scottish twist and a daytime alter ego as a popular café. Customers are offered a cocooning and enjoyable experience, for which they usually return.

Though a little removed from the main Shawlands dining strip the value of the food along with the decidedly relaxed and jovial atmosphere at this unassuming corner pub and bistro make it worth the venture. New owner Graham Sutherland, who also has the…

Named after the famous ‘Glasgow Glutton’, Robert Hall, who made a living from eating contests, this restaurant and bar (with four hotel rooms) is tucked down one of the Merchant City’s quieter streets. You enter through the cosy bar with a glowing open…

Now firmly established after its rebirth from the Liquid Ship, this revamped bar is ideal for weekend and post-work socialising. The menu is a considered improvement on the predecessor's which felt like an afterthought – now there are even cheese and…

Descending the barely noticeable stairway into the fun-loving Hawaiian tiki bar is like stepping into another era. Kitsch 1950s memorabilia line the walls while palm trees and wicker furniture dominate the compact drinking area. Cocktails are the name…

The Treehouse Café, facing Bruntsfield Links, feels bright, summery and welcoming to anybody breezing in from Leven Street for a sit-in breakfast or lunch, or a take-away picnic on the Meadows. The eco-retro décor of cheerful pot plants and vintage…

This café doesn't wear its USA theme lightly, with a yellow taxi and NYPD cruiser usually sat outside for diners on the al fresco tables to admire plus Americana draped around the tight space inside. It's all about the breakfasts and brunches here…

Located in an old tobacco merchant’s house on the periphery of the Merchant City, Babbity Bowster is a pleasantly secluded place for a drink and some good food, particularly in the beer garden if the sun is shining on this evocative street. Babbity…

Despite new owners and a bit of a revamp in 2009 it remains business as usual with Bar Kohl continuing to serve over 50 flavours of vodka, as it has done since first opening in 1993. Exposed brick walls, chalk boards and standard wooden pub tables no…