Restaurants, French within 5 miles of Edinburgh

*2Billing itself boldly as ‘Edinburgh’s most exciting eatery’, B’est has a lot to live up to, and somewhat inevitably falls short of its claim. Paintings of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe and stencilled words en Français say ‘this is a French…

The name 21212 derives from its unusual menu concept, offering two choices for starter, main and dessert interspersed with soup and cheese (you can choose to have three, four or five courses). However, what’s truly original is chef Paul Kitching’s style…

There are two Café Marlaynes: the bijou Thistle Street restaurant and the contrastingly informal Antigua Street branch, which is split into compact café and large dining room. The café does a standard line in coffee, croissants and chat, laptops and…

Hotel du Vin has always sought to rise above its peers in the often-dubious chain-hotel restaurant business. Here, snuggled between the National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh University’s central campus, it succeeds. Upon leaving the hectic churn of…

It's twenty years since the plain but distinctive red-and-yellow colour scheme of Pierre Victoire off-shoot Chez Jules first appeared in Edinburgh. Its comeback over the last couple of years – first on Hanover Street then, towards the end of 2010, a…

While Café Marlayne’s Antigua Street sibling plies the breakfast-through-dinner café-bistro trade, the Thistle Street branch is its ‘proper’ restaurant. It is bijou in both size and character, with tight tables, mirrored mosaics and a living-room feel…

For 16 years La P'tite Folie has been part of Edinburgh's dining scene, initially in the city-centre bustle of Frederick Street and joined, ten years ago, by the venue that has come to overshadow the original, set behind a quirky Tudor façade looking…

When you emerge as the offshoot of a fairly flawless Michelin-starred restaurant there is only one way to avoid playing second fiddle. And that is, of course, to win your own star, which is exactly what Castle Terrace did in 2011, less than a year after…

No story of Edinburgh's dining scene in the last two decades can be fully told without Pierre Victoire being mentioned. Through thick and thin, ups and downs, Pierre Levicky is still part of the scene; these days he's operating in relative seclusion at…

‘To do the honours of a table gracefully, is one of the outlines of a well-bred man.’ So says the rare 18th-century text from which Martin Wishart’s second Edinburgh venture takes its name, and both he and head chef Paul Tamburrini do the table proud…

The clue’s in the name, as Parisian-style prints and artefacts, cute lamp-lit tables and a counter hung with garlic and saucisson instantly transport you across the Channel. The owners import meats, cheeses, even butter and paper-wrapped sugar cubes…

To begin at the end – and a mighty fine end indeed, distinguished by desserts as delightful on the eye as the spoon. A vibrant gingerbread mousse contrasts with sweet, crunchy ‘rocks’ of honeycomb, a thing of true beauty. Then nougat parfait, delicately…

For 16 years La P'tite Folie has been part of Edinburgh's dining scene, initially in the city-centre bustle of Frederick Street and joined, ten years ago, by the venue that has come to overshadow the original, set behind a quirky Tuor façade looking out…

It’s more than that Michelin star. Restaurant Martin Wishart has a certain caché. It is a place to propose, to woo, to seal the deal. If it’s on the expense account, lucky you. If not, buy the ticket, take the ride: choose a tasting menu, with…