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 and Far East
- Thai Lemongrass
An authentic Thai restaurant with two branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow - Amber Regent
Cantonese restaurant and cocktail bar - Rice Terraces
Friendly Filipino service and reasonably priced, authentic home cooking from our experienced Filipino chefs - Wudon
Not just noodles Sushi, wee plates, noodle broths, rice bowls & lots more.
Kampong Ah Lee Malaysian Delight
28 Clerk Street,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9HX
The feverish popularity of this canteen style Malaysian eatery with Edinburgh’s Asian student population is testament to its affordability and authenticity. The compact interior is an entirely unpretentious mix of basic seating, odd-coloured walls…
Thai Lemongrass
40–41 Bruntsfield Place,
Edinburgh,
EH10 4HJ
Thai Lemongrass is a twin operation with restaurants in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. At the capital’s branch in Bruntsfield, a golden Buddha on the wall is the focus of the calm, candle-lit dining room. Friendly staff lead guests to tables adorned with…
Thai Lemongrass
24 Renfrew Street,
Glasgow,
G2 3BW
To enter Thai Lemongrass is to step off a grubby street of buses and building work and into a little bit of zen, where ceiling fans slowly whirl and muzak never sounded so good. Exquisitely uniformed staff swiftly present Thai prawn crackers (infinitely…
Zen Kitchen
138 Dundas Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 5DQ
Zen kitchen serves up unique pan-Asian cuisine. The premises are bright and sleekly designed and the well-laid out menu outlines cooking times, spice levels and potential allergies as well as identifying the origin of each dish. The menu includes small…
Shilla
1138 Argyle Street,
Glasgow,
G3 8TD
Glasgow’s only Korean restaurant, Shilla, occupies a cosy corner on old Argyle street. With tightly packed tables and friendly staff the restaurant has a bustling yet welcoming atmosphere. The wide range of dishes, and their unfamiliar names can be a…
Time 4 Thai
45 North Castle Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 3BG
Subtle spotlights, purple flowers and leather banquettes create a refined atmosphere at Time 4 Thai on North Castle Street. A variety of luxurious menus are on offer, including three and four course lunches, banquet and à la carte. Meals are presented…
Sushiya
19 Dalry Road,
Edinburgh,
EH11 2BQ
Enter through a lime green door into a tiny, minimal and stylish sliver of Japan. Everything at Sushiya is neatly and prettily presented, from the chopstick rests and soy sauce pourers to the special sashimi set, a selection of 20 pieces of the day’s…
OKO Express
78 Queen Street,
Glasgow,
G1 3DN
Now under new ownership OKO has raised its game, with all dishes being fresher and better presented than ever, and when it comes to Japanese food that is imperative. The setting is typical for a sushi bar with cafeteria style bench seating that is good…
Leven's
30-32 Leven Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9LJ
With its shiny surfaces, colour-changing LED lighting and leather chairs, Leven’s could be any type of eatery on first appearances. It’s only on entering that the warm welcome and seductive sweety-spicy smells make it clear that this is a Thai…
Pho Vietnam House
3 Grove Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 8AF
Tucked away on a side street, family run Pho Vietnam House is Edinburgh's only Vietnamese restaurant. Eating here is a bit like having dinner in your best friend's living room: it's small and cosy and owner Jodie Nguyen will offer a warm greeting when…
Chang Thai Restaurant
29 Cockburn Street, 1 Craig's Close,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1BN
Down the wynd of stairs between Cockburn and Market streets is Chang Thai, a vibrant establishment serving delectable dishes. The subterranean setting is enlivened by a canopy of fake ivy on the ceiling, copper-coloured walls and smiling golden buddhas.
Opal Lounge
51 George Street, New Town,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2HT
This labyrinthine, subterranean bar/restaurant below George Street is a stylish venue for a meal, a quiet drink, or, very late in the day, a spot of clubbing. The mood is funky and très chic, with a motif of hot-pink and 1970s stylised flowers - the…
Miso & Sushi
46a Haymarket Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH12 5LA
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…
Bonsai Bar Bistro
46 West Richmond St,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9DZ
What Bonsai Bar Bistro lacks in size, it makes up for in atmosphere. Bustling and sociable, you’ll have some friendly banter with your waiter, and wind up in conversation with your neighbouring table. The menu, based on small dishes to share, invites a…
Spirit of Thai
44 Grindlay Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9AP
Strategically positioned near the Lyceum Theatre and Usher Hall, Spirit of Thai is well placed to make the most of the regular traffic to both venues. The décor is what you would expect of a traditional Thai restaurant, with golden Buddhas, muted…
Absolute Thai
22 Valleyfield Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9LR
The Tollcross area of Edinburgh isn’t short of Thai restaurants. Absolute Thai is hidden away down a side street but still stands out from the crowd through its unpretentious feel, reasonable prices and BYOB approach to booze. Since opening in 2009…
Dragon-i
311–313 Hope Street,
Glasgow,
G2 3PT
Both the sharp, minimalist surroundings and quasi-Asian menu serve to underline Dragon-i is anything but a traditional Chinese restaurant. There is an undoubted Scottish element running through the menu, with Stornoway black pudding accompanying crispy…
Rumours Kopitiam
21 Bath Street,
Glasgow,
G2 1HW
Bustling, and often full of students, this Malaysian café on Bath Street provides a great pit stop for groups on their way out. A kopitiam in Asia is traditionally a breakfast and tea or coffee shop (kopi being the Malay for coffee) although Rumours…
Dusit
49a Thistle Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1DY
For the past ten years, Dusit has been a strong contender for the best Thai food in town due to the owners’ aesthetic vision of the appearance and flavour of their dishes. Takeaway, à la carte and the ‘floating market’ menus are available, the last…
Songkran
24a Stafford Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 7BD
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…
Bar Soba
116–122 Byres Road,
Glasgow,
G12 8TB
The sister venue to the Mitchell Street venue of the same name, Soba opened on Byres Road in early 2012 and is described as a ‘Bar & Noodle Kitchen’. The bar aspect means that Soba offers a great selection of cocktails. They may not be cheap but…
Kuta
104 Bath Street,
Glasgow,
G2 2EN
Bar Kuta is the latest addition to the group of Glasgow venues operated by owner Alan Tomkins, an impressive array already including notables like Urban Bar & Brasserie and Booly Mardy’s. Kuta’s sleek contemporary interior certainly achieves it’s…
Sapporo Teppanyaki
2-6 Ingram Street,
Glasgow,
G1 1HA
The Merchant City plays host to the Glasgow branch of this three-strong UK chain. Popular with stags, hens, birthdays and works night outs, Sapporo Teppanyaki has a well-deserved reputation as a fun destination for parties. Large hotplates provide a…
Thai Pad
20 Leopold Place, London Road,
Edinburgh,
EH7 5LB
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…
Wau Cafe
27 Old Dumbarton Road,
Glasgow,
G3 8RD
Unlike the other Malaysian restaurants in Glasgow who include Chinese or Thai dishes on their menu, the Wau Café concentrates on Malaysian Malay food. The small informal café, with only room for a handful of tables, has a disproportionately extensive…
Bar Soba
11 Mitchell Lane,
Glasgow,
G1 3NU
One of the first restaurants in Glasgow to serve fashionable ‘fusion’ food, Bar Soba serves up a mix of Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese influenced dishes including the soba noodles that the restaurant’s name suggests. Bar Soba claims that its…
Hong Fu Noodle
3–7 Waterloo Place,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3BG
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…
Passorn
23–23a Brougham Place,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9JU
Tollcross’s Brougham Street boasts a variety of cuisines but Passorn is the lone Thai establishment and since 2009, has made a name for itself with its urban vibrancy and chic presentation. With a restaurant name meaning ‘angel’, there is a tone of…
Tang's
44 Candlemaker Row,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2QE
Tang’s stern exterior belies a warm heart. Amid the sleek lacquered wood interior, colourful silk screens and lampshades emit a welcoming glow. So venture inside, enjoy a cup of green tea, pop some edemame beans and let the charming staff guide you…
Thai Orchid
336 Argyle Street,
Glasgow,
G2 8LY
Thai Orchid with its deep purple lighting, the gently orchestral music and large photographs of Thailand, provides a welcome escape from Argyle Street. The clientele are largely out-of-towners on expenses, possibly from the business hotels nearby. There…
Wok and Wine
57a Frederick Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1LH
Tucked among the stylish venues of the New Town, Wok and Wine is one of Edinburgh’s most forward-thinking Chinese restaurants. Instead of employing tired clichés, its enthusiastic proprietor Stephanie Lo has taken a potentially awkward basement space…
Amber Regent
50 West Regent Street,
Glasgow,
G2 2RA
From the staffed cloakroom to the waiters effortlessly filleting fish at the table, the Amber Regent retains many of the characteristics of hospitality from a bygone era. This theme carries through to the furnishings with the restaurant’s adjoining…
Ho Wong
82 York Street,
Glasgow,
G2 8LE
In our era of austerity, restaurants have attempted to entice diners with an avalanche of mid-week, cut-price offers. On a gloomy Tuesday evening, Ho Wong is near capacity despite not offering a pre-theatre or discounted menu options. Considering Ho…
Oishii
176 Rose Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 4AB
Oishii is an apt moniker for this small and stylish sushi bar at the quieter end of Rose Street. The name translates as ‘delicious‘, a plaudit easily earned by the chef’s excellent hand rolls. The ebi te maki combines crispy tempura prawn, tiny baubles…
Phuket Pavilion
8 Union Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3LU
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…
Thai Orchid
5A Johnston Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2PW
Sitting in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and bang on the tourist trail, this busy Thai eatery is lined with dark wooden walls and muted colours yet feels open and light thanks to large and strategically placed mirrors. A giant painting of a smiling…
Thai Siam
1191 Argyle Street,
Glasgow,
G3 8TQ
Occupying a steadily gentrifying section of Argyle Street, Thai Siam is a neighbourhood favourite with a friendly atmosphere. The décor is a bit curry house circa 1990, plus large wall reliefs of the Buddha and the menu also appears to have stayed the…
Wagamama
1 Castle Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2DP
The long tables, big bowls of slurpy noodles, upbeat East Asian tempo and cool branding have been a prominent part of High Street eating in Britain for nearly 20 years. It had almost become an indictment that a city with Edinburgh's dining culture was…
China Blue
96 Renfield Street,
Glasgow,
G2 1NH
The darkened staircase leading to China Blue gives the impression of an out-dated karaoke bar, yet the authentic food is anything but a parody. The menu is separated into an opening section of familiar Westernised dishes and traditional Chinese dishes…
Port of Siam
3 Pier Place,
Edinburgh,
EH6 4LP
Given its position on Newhaven Waterfront and the proximity of Edinburgh fish market, it’s no surprise that Port of Siam’s menu has a distinct focus on fresh seafood. What does surprise however is the exciting fusion of Scottish and Thai ingredients. A…
Sampans
Holiday Inn Hotel, 132 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh,
EH12 6UA
Situated amidst the business-like functionality of the Holiday Inn, Sampans makes a fair stab at transcending its bland surrounds. The smart restaurant area, set apart from the rest of the hotel, is full of tasteful Oriental touches such as…
Shilla
13b Dundas Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 6QG
Reached by a long, steep staircase, Korean restaurant Shilla occupies a sprawling, maze-like New Town basement, divided into many small dining rooms. It feels a bit like being in an underground grotto, a curious one complete with murals of people and…
Sing Thai
42 St Stephen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 5AL
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…
Wudon
535 Great Western Road,
Glasgow,
G12 8HN
Wudon is a family-run enterprise on Great Western Road headed up by the Wu sisters and offering a mix of Chinese and Japanese dishes with nods to Thai and Indonesian cuisine. The website boasts that the restaurant is about ‘more than just noodles’ and…
Yes Sushi
89 Hanover Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1EE
Centrally located Yes Sushi attracts a mix of city folk and visitors. The pleasant red and black interior is generic Japanese (paper lanterns, drawings of geishas etc.) and yet the place has a decidedly Chinese undertone. The hotpot and sushi…
ArtCafe Morita
204 Canongate,
Edinburgh,
EH8 8DQ
Positioned halfway down the Royal Mile, ArtCafe Morita combines traditional café, Japanese fast food outlet and ambitious gallery space. Proprietor Kozo Hoshino is the custodian of a large private art collection, the Victor Murphy Trust, from which he…
