Experience rustic, family style cooking at award-winning French restaurant La Garrigue. Sample the tastes of Languedoc at one of the most authentic restaurants in Edinburgh (Hitlisted in The List Eating & Drinking Guide 2012) or visit our fantastic little bistro in Leith.
Restaurants, Bistros & brasseries, Budget and "Edinburgh"
- Pink Olive
Pink Olive provides honest, unfussy, real food with relaxed friendly service that will appeals to all. - Amicus Apple
Delicious food and mouthwatering cocktails in an enchanting atmosphere - Whighams Wine Cellars
Whighams is one of Edinburgh's leading wine bars and restaurants - The Boat House
Fresh local seafood with world class views!
The Bon Vivant
55 Thistle Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1DY
With its Gallic flair for gluttony and enough wine on hand to raise the level of the Loire, this Thistle Street bar is aptly named. Oenophiles will be bowled over by a menu that offers some 42 wines, by the glass alone, and – if you really want to show…
The Basement Bar and Restaurant
10–12a Broughton Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3RH
Situated below street level, this bar looks like the sort of place American sitcom characters would head for after a hard day’s mirth-making, thanks to the obligatory neon sign, mustard-coloured walls and staff dressed in Hawaiian shirts. It could be…
The Apartment Bistro
7–13 Barclay Place,
Edinburgh,
EH10 4HW
The Apartment has been going strong since 1999, and its 2010 refurb seems to have rebooted things nicely. Here, ‘modern bistro’ means seasonality and an evolving menu, as evidenced by a neat little daily set menu, plus specials. A starter of pork…
Blue Moon Café
1 Barony Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 6PD
On a corner off Broughton Street this gay-friendly diner serves up simple hearty food at reasonable prices. Lunch is a particularly good deal with main courses all under £6. Daily specials include a couple of soups, which might be a velvety smooth leek…
1780
167 Rose Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 4LS
Formerly known as the Bad Ass Bistro, this Rose Street pub has a dusky but snug interior, with walls peopled with iconic photos of the twentieth century’s good and great, making for a slightly clichéd yet classic pub vibe. Although 1780 seems to be in…
Bar 50
50 Blackfriars Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1NE
Set inside a shiny modern hostel and marketing itself squarely at its backpacker residents and the students from the halls next door, Bar 50 is the kind of place it’s easy to walk past. While not exactly a hidden gem, its location and focus on cheap…
The Boat House
22 High Street,
South Queensferry,
City of Edinburgh,
EH30 9PP
The undisputed gem in South Queensferry’s culinary crown, The Boat House has great Rail Bridge views, relaxed surrounds and a confident, creative pair of hands in the kitchen. Split into two parts – with a newly renovated seating area upstairs sans…
Metropole
33 Newington Road,
Edinburgh,
EH9 1QR
Taken over recently by the folks who make Canonmills’ Circle Café go round so nicely, the improvements at Metropole are clear. Always a pleasant, airy space, the mix and match floral crockery remains, as do the diner-style booths, though they’ve been…
The Dogs
110 Hanover Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1DR
A dark wooden staircase flanked by statues of the owner’s dogs takes you up to two atmospheric Georgian dining rooms. Low lit by candles, the restaurant is simply furnished with old-school wooden tables and chairs, and of course pictures of those dogs.
Elliot's Restaurant
Apex Hotel, Waterloo Place, 23–27 Waterloo Place,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3BH
Competing with hundreds of bars and eateries, it’s a hard-knock life for hotel restaurants in Edinburgh. Elliot’s, part of the Apex chain’s Waterloo Place hotel, does its best to keep guests in and even tempt the locals along with some smart deals…
Home Bistro
41 West Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9DB
Quite why owners Richard Logan and Rowland Thomson chose to homage the seventies with their charming bistro isn’t clear, though the wallpaper, trio of flying ducks and elongated wooden antelopes are endearingly quirky. But the nostalgia ends right where…
Teuchters Landing
1c Dock Place,
Edinburgh,
EH6 6LU
The pub sister of the A Room In… chain of restaurants, both Teuchters are directly connected to the Leith and West End branches of the restaurant. As if offering a frankly stunning range of alcohol (over 90 single malts in Teuchters; a wealth of…
Rick’s
55a Frederick Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1LH
A stalwart of Edinburgh’s style bar scene for over a decade, Rick’s is gently re-inventing itself with accessible, casual dining at its heart. The space works well, divided by banquettes and wood panels into lots of cosy nooks and crannies, all…
Smoke Stack
53–55 Broughton Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3RJ
A meat-lovers’ mecca since 1996, Smoke Stack reinforces its menu’s focus on beef with its spartan interior, the deep-crimson walls visually echoing the shade of a quiveringly rare fillet steak. While there are salads, fajitas and a few vegetarian…
Toast
146 Marchmont Road,
Edinburgh,
EH9 1AQ
Marchmont's residents have been withholding information from the rest of the city: they have jealously guarded the fact that Toast, tucked up at the top of Marchmont Road, is such a delight. It's understandable, given that queues for seats in the small…
Indigo Yard
7 Charlotte Lane,
Edinburgh,
EH2 4QZ
While not as conspicuously trendy as some of its West End neighbours, Indigo Yard’s exposed walls and unusual shape create a cosy, cave-like feel – although at weekends it can be cramped. It’s a popular spot for a tipple, with 15 beers on tap, another…
Iris
47a Thistle Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1DY
It’s hard to leave Thistle Street without eating a great meal somewhere, but Iris easily holds its own in this competitive neighbourhood in which every square foot of restaurant space is put to work. Here, however, soft panelling and carpeting in a…
Maxies Bistro and Wine Bar
5b Johnston Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2PW
An up-to-date review of Maxies will appear here shortly …
Tigerlily
125 George Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 4JN
Tigerlily is the flagship venue for the Montpelier Group, a set of well-liked, bold restaurants and bars in the city, centred around this boutique hotel, restaurant and bar on George Street. The restaurant layout is charmingly haphazard, with mismatched…
19a West Register Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2AA
While the food may not claim as much focus as the music, events and super-smashing cocktail list in the sexy, sultry and edgy Voodoo Rooms, it's more than just an afterthought. Tucked beside the main bar, a small, black linen and leather restaurant…
Amicus Apple
17 Frederick Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2EY
Although you may expect to pay a premium for food at a cocktail bar betwixt George Street and the Castle, Amicus Apple manages to buck the trend. On weekdays it offers 2-for-1 meals for those who book online and with the recent introduction of a £5…
Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury Road,
Edinburgh,
EH16 5AA
Tucked under the Salisbury Hotel in the quieter reaches of Edinburgh’s southside, Café Cassis makes good use of its semi-basement situation. Beyond the tight entranceway, the interior is warmly lit, welcoming and relaxed, and backs onto a…
Reds
254 Portobello High Street,
Edinburgh,
EH15 2AT
The sign reading ‘Six buggy limit’ says it all. If you live in Portobello and have small children, chances are you’ll know Reds and its large, soft cage – sorry, play frame – in the back room, where your offspring can slide and scamper while you eat or…
Good Seed Bistro
101/102 Dalry Road,
Edinburgh,
EH11 2DW
With terracotta flagstones, dark red walls and dim lighting there’s a definite Mediterranean feel to the surroundings at Good Seed, in keeping with the food. It’s one of a clutch of good restaurants now established in an area that was long…
Katie's Diner
12 Barclay Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH10 4HP
Katie’s Diner, Kate and Geoff Ness’s friendly neighbourhood eatery, has been satisfying Bruntsfield locals for more than a decade now and it’s easy to see why: its small but welcoming interior, filled with an eclectic mix of bric-a-brac and photos of…




