Restaurants, Far East

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…

Rumours Kopitiam seems to have it all – a great location on a busy Bath Street corner, tasty Malay dishes and more than reasonable pricing. All this ensures that even on a wet weekday night, punters will steadily stream through the door. Sure, the…

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…

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 perennial player in the mix of Edinburgh's top Thai restaurants, Dusit proves that consistency needn’t be dull, dishing up the same brand of polished, Thai fine dining in the heart of city for over a decade. Nestled on Thistle Street away from the…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Barely noticeable amid newsagents and fast food joints, taking the narrow staircase up to China Blue really pays off. The restaurant has a simple bistro appearance with gingham oil cloths and blue light framing the windows, but it offers authentic…

Located bang in the middle of Glasgow’s nightlife scene, Nanakusa offers a funky, bright and open-plan space to relax away from the revelling crowds. Most diners on the bench-style seating are under forty all looking for authentic tasting food in cool…

Yo! Sushi shares a fourth floor location with Harvey Nichols’ up-market brasserie and food market. Diners gather round to watch industrious sushi chefs conjure up miniature plates of magic for the revolving conveyor belt. The eight colour-coded plates…

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…

The west end outfit of Bar Soba is a more student-oriented affair than its arguably more stylish city centre sister. Exposed brick scrawled with Asian graffiti adorns the walls, while a large wooden block table with matching high stools runs the length…

The stylish City Centre branch of Bar Soba attracts a cosmopolitan mix of shoppers sipping wine, pre-clubbers enjoying unusual cocktails and diners looking for contemporary Asian food. All rub shoulders with ease as the bar area, with subdued lighting…

Sushiya is Edinburgh’s bite-sized taste of Tokyo, as tiny, bright and inviting as the futo maki sushi. With only 25 covers it is undeniably small, but the stylish, minimalist interior keeps the feel spacious even when it’s busy and there’s a steady…

Quicker than you can say 'tablet computer', there's a grimly punning new restaurant, Thai Pad, on the scene. It is, in fact, a new incarnation of the fairly short-lived Love You Long Thai restaurant in the basement of the Richmond House Hotel on London…

At the fringes of the city centre, Ho Wong is a legendary Glasgow establishment. Its immaculately presented dining room is positioned beyond the bar area but feels miles away from the busy thoroughfares nearby. The restaurant is relaxed and filled with…