Restaurants, Arts venues and Pre-theatre menu
Tower Restaurant
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1JF
For the best view in the Southside, try the roof terrace of the Tower, looking over to the Castle. Inside, the National Museum’s restaurant has dark, glossy tables and a modern take on food. Like the crisp fish finger which really tastes of crab.
Zucca
15–17 Grindlay Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9AX
Adjoining the Royal Lyceum, Zucca is an obvious target for pre or post-theatre diners, with the ground floor café serving sandwiches and deli snacks until late, and the upstairs dining room offering hearty dishes which fuse Italian and Scottish flavours…
The Top Deck @ The Ferry
The Ferry, Anderston Quay,
Glasgow,
G3 8BX
A popular venue for gigs and club nights, this floating Glasgow institution does a good line in lunches and early dinners before the entertainment begins. There is a certain indefinable pleasure in eating on water, and when the sun shines on the outdoor…
Café Cossachok
Trongate 103, 10 King Street,
Glasgow,
G1 5QP
It may sound like a cliché, but there is quite literally nowhere like Café Cossachok, the ‘first and only authentic Russian Restaurant’ in Scotland. Despite having opened in 1998, on entering there is still the feeling of discovering a rare…
Café Source
1 St Andrew's Square,
Glasgow,
G1 5PP
This large space beneath the St Andrew’s In The Square church has been sensitively designed to accommodate quiet meals in the leather booths while catering comfortably for families and large parties. Black and white photographs of musicians are a nod to…
The Arches Café Bar & Restaurant
253 Argyle Street,
Glasgow,
G2 8DL
In the Arches’ subterranean dining room, regularly changing installations – often by local artists – provide the backdrop to interesting, well-executed food. An appetising menu includes adventurous options such as deep-fried baby octopus and wood…
The Brasserie at Òran Mór
731–735 Great Western Road,
Glasgow,
G12 8QX
Òran Mór – a multi-space arts and social venue formed from a grand old church at the top of Byres Road – is something of a hub in the cultural life of Glasgow’s West End. Hidden below the busy main bar, though, the Brasserie feels like something of an…
The Green Room
Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street,
Glasgow,
G2 3NY
Eating at the Green Room is a rare treat – quite literally as it is only open on performance days. Attached to the Royal Concert Hall (with direct access to the auditorium for concert-goers), the restaurant’s limited and unpredictable opening hours mean…
The Pipers' Tryst
The National Piping Centre, 30–34 McPhater Street,
Glasgow,
G4 0HW
Attached to the National Piping Centre in Cowcaddens, the Pipers’ Tryst maintains an authentically Scottish identity without descending into shortbread-tin tweeness. The dining room is a relaxed, informal space, with scrubbed wooden tables, dark leather…
