Restaurants, Arts venues

43 places

Sorted by popularity

The Edwardian Kitchen Restaurant

Pollok House, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, G43 1AT

Eating at the 18th-century estate house in glorious Pollok Country Park is like being invited for lunch at Downton Abbey. Sitting downstairs in the old kitchen, surrounded by artefacts –- including copper pans and an original cast-iron stove – of the…

The Gateway Restaurant

John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR

There's a tranquil feel to the Gateway Restaurant located upstairs in the John Hope Gateway Centre, a biodiversity and information centre in Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens. Set in a long, bright room, the lovely interior features leaf-green ceilings…

Café Modern One

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR

Indoors and out, Café Modern One is heaving with art-lovers, tourists and locals alike. The gallery is in a glorious setting, with the neat sculpture and herb garden round the back providing an ideal spot for outside lounging. The simple menu offers…

The Grosvenor Café

The Grosvenor Theatre, Ashton Lane, Glasgow, G12 8SJ

Set in a stylish venue with a touch of grandeur, the Grosvenor Café is a fixture for socializing along the ever-popular run of bars down Ashton lane. Originally part of the classic cinema still running downstairs, there’s a suitably luxurious feeling in…

The Hidden Lane Tearoom

8 Argyle Court, 1103 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8ND

The Hidden Lane Tearoom is hidden only in name. Despite being just a couple of years old, it has clearly established a serious following, which means that at weekends, it can often get pretty busy – despite having two levels. Somehow though, owner…

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The Scottish Café

National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

Nestled in the basement of the National Gallery of Scotland, the Scottish Café and Restaurant exudes professionalism from start to finish. Husband and wife team Victor and Carina Contini run a tight ship for a good mix of tourists and locals. Smart…

Café at the Palace

Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, EH8 8DX

Situated next door to Holyrood Palace, this café is the obvious place to grab a sandwich or hearty bowl of soup after visiting the Queen’s Gallery and Palace, or after an invigorating trek round Arthur’s Seat or tour of the Scottish Parliament. With…

Terrace Café

Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR

The hilltop Terrace Café in Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens has an unparalleled view of the city's skyline. The inviting outdoor tables make it an obvious place for an alfresco lunch in fine weather. Inside, small tables are placed near long windows…

Zucca

15–17 Grindlay Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9AX

As veterans of the Edinburgh restaurant scene, Zucca’s owners know the importance of playing to their strengths. That means keeping theatre goers happy with snacks from a restricted menu in the downstairs bar while the restaurant upstairs focuses on…

Tower Restaurant

National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF

Even on a clear day, it’s not quite possible to see the other two restaurants that make up restaurateur James Thomson’s local trilogy. What you can see through this one’s floor-to-ceiling windows – and most spectacularly from its fifth-floor terrace…

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Tron Theatre

63 Trongate, Glasgow, G1 5HB

Glasgow’s uncanny ability to re-invent itself is perfectly illustrated in the Tron building and its 500 years of history. It is now a modern and vibrant cultural space but signs of its past are much in evidence, from the original steeple itself to the…

The Arches Café Bar & Restaurant

253 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G2 8DL

The question that springs to mind on entering the Arches underneath the Heilanman’s Umbrella does not concern its myriad of titles – bar, nightclub, theatre, live music venue, restaurant – but why one of the most relaxing spaces to drink and eat in…

The Burrell Café

The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Rd, Glasgow, G43 1AT

Celebrating its 30th birthday this year, the Burrell Collection is known for its potpourri of sculpture, paintings, tapestries, furniture, weapons and other artefacts – not forgetting its several Romanesque doorways. The building is L-shaped in plan…

Café Lucia

Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9FT

There's a light Parisian motif to this eatery attached to the Festival Theatre (and associated with Nicholson Street's Ten Hill Place Hotel). Long windows provide ample people-watching opportunities and the cheerful apple-red interior makes it a…

Café Modern Two

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two, 73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS

Entering the stately Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two by its Georgian façade ensures a real sense of occasion. In contrast to its fellow venue across the way, Café Modern Two provides friendly, unruffled table service for its varied…

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Café Source

1 St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, G1 5PP

Church conversions don’t come much classier than this chic and spacious bistro tucked beneath the St Andrews on the Square building. Moody glowing booths, dark leather seating and copper lined pillars break the large room into intimate zones while a…

Henderson's Vegetarian Restaurant

94 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DR

This subterranean restaurant is the place for the original Henderson’s experience, with a diverse clientele as loyal as you’d expect for somewhere with fifty years of history behind it. It’s boho, but also surprisingly sophisticated of an evening, when…

KG Café

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove Park, Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AG

The grand entrance to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was always intended to face onto the eponymous park and it is an urban myth that it was built back-to-front. The tradition of confusion continues inside the country’s most popular attraction these…

The Storytelling Café

Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR

The best seat in the Storytelling Cafe is by the horizontal window overlooking the Royal Mile. With a mid-size theatre on the premises and an emphasis on history and oral tradition, this multi-genre venue offers crafts and storytelling workshops as well…

Art Lover's Café

House for an Art Lover, Bellahouston Park, 10 Dumbreck Road, Glasgow, G41 5BW

Not just for art lovers and ladies who lunch, this is fine dining at reasonable prices in a unique and aesthetically appealing setting. The house may be a 1990s baby itself but the original Mackintosh design is from the first year of the last century.

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Buchanans Bistro

Woodend Barn, Burn o' Bennie, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, AB31 5QA

Set in a bright, large and pleasantly laid out extension to Royal Deeside's primary arts space, this new café-bistro is run by highly respected local cooks and caterers Val and Calum Buchanan. Dishes are at once informal and expertly constructed…

Cafe Hub

Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE

Sitting atop the Royal Mile, and home to the International Festival box office, it is not surprising Cafe Hub is popular with tourists. Recently it has also been trying to attract locals with a mix of takeaway deals and increased emphasis on their own…

Café Portrait

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JD

Traditional and contemporary visions blend peacefully at the National Portrait Gallery's ground-level cafe. Large windows and high spotlights illuminate portraits of Scottish greats like Alex Ferguson and John Byrne. A small blue dining room off to the…

Filmhouse Café Bar

88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ

An Edinburgh cultural institution, this independent cinema gem incorporates a popular cafe-bar, which enjoys the pleasant ebb and flow of cineastes, or those just out for a quick bite with friends or colleagues. Fast-moving and often busy, this is…

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…