Restaurants, Cafés and Outdoor dining
- Gallery Café
Simple, fresh food and al fresco dining in contemporary surroundings - Edinburgh Larder
A friendly Old Town cafe serving tasty food to sit in or takeaway - Angels With Bagpipes
Angels with Bagpipes articulates the natural union of Scottish and Italian sourcing and gastronomy - Tapa Bakehouse
Tapa serves delicious cakes and coffee making it one of the best cafes in Scotland
Earthy Canonmills
1–6 Canonmills Bridge,
Edinburgh,
EH3 5LF
With two popular food markets and a thriving café under their belt already, the Earthy empire is set for further expansion in April 2012 with the arrival of their new Canonmills enterprise. As well as another store, the site (formerly Dionika) will also…
Favorit
19–20 Teviot Place,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2QZ
Favorit is a late night diner for the young and hip and – most importantly – for those with the munchies. Black and white chequered tiles, retro tables and benches and a large, red neon Favorit sign set the scene. All that's missing is Pulp Fiction's…
The Treehouse
44 Leven Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9LJ
Its enviable location on the corner of Bruntsfield Links makes the Treehouse a perfect impromptu picnic provider on a summery day, although eating in is no bad choice either. The interior has a slightly offbeat, kooky charm about it – from the vintage…
Cafezique
66 Hyndland Street,
Glasgow,
G11 5PT
Fun, unpretentious, quality, value and, tasty are the adjectives which apply to cafezique. Service is informal, but friendly and attentive in this quirky laid back bar/restauraunt. Nibbly things include great olives and delicious cheese fondue…
Angels With Bagpipes
343 High Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1PW
Don’t let the High Street buskers put you off. Through the back in the restaurant you won’t hear them. Instead, the smart sophisticated décor and modern tableware sets off an approach to Scottish ingredients that acknowledges centuries of continental…
Centotre
103 George Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 3ES
Centotre manages to pull off a neat trick. Despite the austere, ex-bank interior, from those lost days when financial edifices were akin to cathedrals, it still manages to maintain a feeling of warmth and intimacy in the evenings or bright and breezy…
Sideways
141 Elderslie Street,
Glasgow,
G3 7AW
This café-bistro may be in an area short on dining options – unless you fancy a curry – but that is to its great credit, offering an attractive, laid-back and really rather cool neighbourhood eatery for a bite and a drink. The menu blends brunch…
Tinderbox
118 Ingram Street,
Glasgow,
G1 1EJ
Tinderbox’s original Byres Road coffeshop café opened in 1998 but the interior still feels contemporary and enticing. No food is prepared on the premises though, with savoury options being either pre-prepared sandwiches or salad/noodle bowls. It’s an…
Wellington Coffee
33a George Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2HN
After a recent refurb, the focus at the Wellington Café is even more firmly on the best coffee they can coax from a bean. Panini and bacon rolls have gone; the food now consists simply of excellent daily delivered brownies, sizeable scones and tray…
The Gateway Restaurant
John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place,
Edinburgh,
EH3 5LR
Although lacking the panoramic views of its sister venue, the Terrace Café, the restaurant in the Botanics’ gleaming new John Hope Gateway enjoys a pleasant outlook over the Biodiversity Garden, especially from the lovely al fresco tables on its…
Glass & Thompson
2 Dundas Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 6HZ
Ask proprietor Russell Glass nicely and he might show you the copy of Alexander McCall Smith’s novel The Forgotten Affairs of Youth he keeps behind the counter, the one in which he and his café make a cameo appearance on page 173. It’s not an unlikely…
November
Princes Square, 48 Buchanan Street,
Glasgow,
G1 3JX
Situated right at the top of Princes Square, November is a light, airy cocktail bar and café which offers seating 'outside' on the balcony, looking down to the shops below, or under the interior's cupola. It offers a variety of dishes to tempt wearied…
Arcaffe
7 North Claremont Street,
Glasgow,
G3 7NR
Tucked into a side street joining nearby offices to Kelvingrove Park, Arcaffe is an unassuming and friendly little Italian bistro, with tables on the pavement outside and large windows for catching the midday sun. Bustling with a mix of young families…
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 Hidden Lane Tearoom
8 Argyle Court, 1103 Argyle Street,
Glasgow,
G3 8ND
Tucked down a cobbled lane off Argyle Street, the Hidden Lane Tearoom is one of those rare places where everything comes together seamlessly. The décor is shabby chic – all duck-egg blue highlights, floral bunting, artfully mismatched furniture and…
Kilimanjaro Coffee
104 Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9EJ
Bang in the middle of studentville, Kilimanjaro has a laid-back vibe, conducive to whiling away an afternoon reading and nattering or making a start on that essay. The chunky tables, worn wooden chairs and leather sofas are comfy and inviting and the…
Piece
1056 Argyle Street,
Glasgow,
G3 8LY
How enthusiastic is it possible to be about the humble sandwich? A visit to Piece reveals the answer: hugely. From the jokey pavement chalkboard to the quick-fire banter from busy staff and the pumping dub and reggae, the ethos is to get customers…
Grand Cru
79 Hanover Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1EE
Theatrically chic, Grand Cru is an energising venue for an upbeat evening meal. Though the large bar is devoted to drinkers, a separate dining area is juxtaposed comfortably enough to give you some space to enjoy your food. For a less noisy seat, though…
Boaters Café
Rouken Glen Park,
Glasgow,
G46 7UG
Boaters Café is well known to the residents of Giffnock and Newton Mearns but less so to those outside Glasgow's southern suburbs. Situated by the boating pond at the edge of the rolling green expanses of Rouken Glen Park, it's an especially popular…
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…
Earthy Market Café
33–41 Ratcliffe Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH9 1SX
With reclaimed wood panelling and rustic hues, this converted warehouse could easily be the set for a new Channel 4 cookery show (you half-expect to see Jamie or Hugh pottering about). Thankfully though, like the food market upstairs, the style doesn’t…
Tinderbox
189 Byres Road,
Glasgow,
G12 8TS
Tinderbox’s original Byres Road coffeshop café opened in 1998 but the interior still feels contemporary and enticing. No food is prepared on the premises though, with savoury options being either pre-prepared sandwiches or salad/noodle bowls. It’s an…
University Café
87 Byres Road,
Glasgow,
G11 5HN
Established in 1918, the University Café is a Byres Road institution, serving fish suppers, fry-ups and homemade lasagne for nearly a century. Inside, the décor is practically unchanged since opening, original wood panelled walls, narrow formica tables…
Urban Angel
1 Forth Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3JX
Seasonal, local and organic are the buzz words for these bright, informal, modern bistros. A high proportion of the menu is made up of daily specials making the most of what produce is best that day. A nourishing parsnip soup is enlivened with mustard…
Café Marlayne
13 Antigua Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3NH
Longevity is not something always associated with Edinburgh’s French restaurants. That Café Marlayne has stuck around for a decade is testament to its ability to consistently please an eclectic range of diners. Tucked just north of George Street the…
