Restaurants, French

Located directly opposite The Royal Opera House in a beautiful Grade II listed building, Chez Gérard in Covent Garden is a bustling 1930s-style conservatory restaurant, with a beautiful open air terrace overlooking the Covent Garden Piazza.

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…

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…

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…

Of course, you can melt the credit card with the tasting or seasonal menus at this ultra-slick Leith restaurant, but Tom Kitchin has also brought his Michelin-starred brand of fine dining to a refreshingly wide audience of food lovers. A set lunch menu…

Dress up for a night out at this bistro, situated in the luxury Hotel du Vin. A premiere address since it opened in 2006, the atmosphere is as refined and sophisticated as the menu. If you are feeling flash and want to experience the range of skills…

Though a little removed from the main Shawlands dining strip the value of the food along with the decidedly relaxed and jovial atmosphere at this unassuming corner pub and bistro make it worth the venture. New owner Graham Sutherland, who also has the…

Le Marché Français markets its wares from a handsome Victorian shop frontage close to Haymarket station. This combined deli, cafe and restaurant promises a taste of French food throughout the day, in a laidback, rustic style that deliberately contrasts…

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…

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…

With a combination of delicious food, great wines and a real ambience, Café Rouge has embodied the style and je ne sais quoi of French dining since it opened way back in 1989. Now with over 90 sites across the country it's just the place to mull over…

It’s named after a French Alps off-piste ski run, but La Vallée Blanche is very much on the beaten track, with an excellent first-floor location above the summit of Byres Road. An eye-catchingly good value lunch/pre-theatre deal steers a steady stream…

Tucked away behind the King's Theatre, this brasserie has been on the city restaurant scene for 20 years. The layout includes a long, thin bar with an open kitchen, a blackboard showing specials, quirky artworks and candles flickering on black tables.

Billing 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…

With a combination of delicious food, great wines and a real ambience, Café Rouge has embodied the style and je ne sais quoi of French dining since it opened way back in 1989. Now with over 90 sites across the country it's just the place to mull over…

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…

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…

With a combination of delicious food, great wines and a real ambience, Café Rouge has embodied the style and je ne sais quoi of French dining since it opened way back in 1989. Now with over 90 sites across the country it's just the place to mull over…