Restaurants, Far East, BYOB

Newly extended at the end of 2012, Pho Vietnam House remains small but by no means cramped, with plenty of elbow room and a multi-coloured interior that has more than a hint of chilled-out beach hut to it. Owner Jodie Nguyen sweeps efficiently between…

Shilla is the sole Korean restaurant in Glasgow and the sister venue to the Edinburgh venture of the same name. This small unassuming space is located in the perennially up-and-coming cool neighbourhood of Finneston. A handful of tightly packed beech…

Going to Miso and Sushi is like going back in time. The décor can't have changed in years. Glaring lights preside over a corridor of booths lined with wood and ancient flock wallpaper. It's in desperate need of a spruce up. However, if there's no love…

Worth seeking out at the top of Renfrew Street, Thai Lemongrass offers an oasis of calm from the hustle and bustle of City Centre life. Dark wood and warming gold dominate the intimate space with luxury red-upholstered booths, canopied with heavy…

Kampong Ah Lee Malaysian Delight is a compact, canteen-style restaurant serving authentic Malaysian food in basic but comfortable surroundings. Its small shop front may be easy to miss, but it remains well known and popular with students seeking an…

A marriage of Scottish and Thai cuisine might seem a doomed alliance, and some of the menu options sound more like a drunken scramble around the kitchen than haute cuisine (lasagne chicken curry, anybody?), but don’t be fooled – this contemporary outfit…

Bonsai Bar Bistro provides a clear rebuttal to the notion that Japanese cuisine in the UK is expensive and exclusive. The small but perfectly formed restaurant is known for its welcoming atmosphere and has a wide-ranging menu that offers something for…

Sandwiched as it is between two of the capital’s foremost arts venues, the Usher Hall and the Lyceum Theatre, this smallish concern will never lack for footfall. Pleasant and unobtrusive staff, gold-accented décor and soft lighting on small tables…

Perched atop the rise of Bruntsfield Place, Thai Lemongrass is a solid bet for those who like Far Eastern fare dispensed with a liberal spoon. The large glass-fronted space is rather draughty and could feel lacking in privacy if you’re after a venue for…

Absolute Thai is an unassuming treasure. On stepping through the curtained doorway, diners feel sequestered from the outside world. The restaurant may be small, but the limited space makes for a feeling of cosy intimacy with small touches of kitsch…

Entering from the grey Georgian slope of North Castle Street, the immediate impression fostered by the distractingly named Time 4 Thai is that of a well-turned-out place. The designers pursued a purple theme, with folded plum napkins, mauve chairs and a…

Veteran restaurateur Bill Parkinson has been in the business for 46 years and it shows. Service is a speciality: he wants people to relax while they eat. If you’re enjoying his pre-theatre menu before heading across the road to the Playhouse you might…

Owner Jing Si promises real Chinese cooking at Hong Fu Noodle Bar. The recently revamped menu has some genuinely unusual dishes, with Szechuan and Northern Chinese influences predominating. Gone are the ubiquitous prawn toast and chow mein, to be…

An inconspicuous door and narrow staircase lead you down to the four small, connected stone–walled rooms that form Shilla, which is clearly popular with Edinburgh’s Eastern Asian community who seem to take precedence with the serving staff. You’ll…

Sporting a fresh lick of paint and a new menu, Sing Thai sits at the top of a small flight of steps in Stockbridge’s cosmopolitan St. Stephen’s Street. Run by a husband and wife team, this cosy restaurant has built up a strong reputation with locals for…

Down in a West End basement, Songkran is in its tenth year of serving local professionals and those patrons who look hard enough to find it. The small venue maintains a very personal operation through staff that make that extra effort and does a brisk…

Thai Siam's unprepossessing exterior in trendy Finnieston disguises a warm and relaxing interior with a neutral colour scheme and Buddha artworks bedecking the walls. The Thai staff maintain a healthy banter with customers, while the cuisine is adapted…