Restaurants

A big, friendly bear of a place, the Trades House Bar is all tiled floors, stained glass windows and ornate cornicing, the large space being paradoxically cosy thanks to a number of separate snugs huddled in its corners. Populated by Dundonians of every…

The Treehouse Café, facing Bruntsfield Links, feels bright, summery and welcoming to anybody breezing in from Leven Street for a sit-in breakfast or lunch, or a take-away picnic on the Meadows. The eco-retro décor of cheerful pot plants and vintage…

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…

The ten-mile trip from Aberdeen up the A92 to Newburgh is well worth it if your destination is the Udny Arms. A friendly, traditional hotel, its restaurant is a local institution. Overlooking the river Ythan, the split-level restaurant has a genteel…

Balfour’s diehards might be bamboozled when confronted by the enigmatic grey façade that has appeared on this erstwhile drinking den, but there’s no doubt that Leith Walk’s latest addition will soon attract an equally loyal – if somewhat different…

Yeni occupies premises which were formerly home to the popular Nargile and is run by the same husband and wife team, Ruya Iridag and Stuart Anderson. The menu still shows predominantly Turkish influences, but the format has been updated – as has the…

Snuggled on Perth Road in the West End, Agacan is named after its flamboyant owner, and the idiosyncratic wee place is rammed with the man’s oddball artworks, the open kitchen acting as a stage for him to perform on most nights as well. The food is…

With a name like Angels with Bagpipes and a location opposite St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile, this restaurant is a tourist magnet. The upstairs area is compact with a pretty Edinburgh street view – but fear not, there is extra room on the lower…

This stylish Indian restaurant, with its exotic colours, is pure Bollywood as is owner Asha Bhosle, the most recorded singer in the world. In recent years, she has turned her passion for home cooked Indian food into a successful business, recently…

The founder may have retired two years ago, but new management are sticking to the Baked Potato Shop’s thirty-year mission to provide the ‘hottest tattie in town’. Proving hot doesn’t always mean beefy, they’re entirely veggie and vegan to the point of…

Proud to call itself Edinburgh’s first Lebanese restaurant, Beirut offers some of the best-value lunch deals in town. Its keen pricing and reasonable BYOB charges make it an attractive option for anyone looking for interesting food without breaking open…

The Bellevue name has returned to its former site on the corner of Broughton Street and London Road after 12 years as Mezz. The decor won't win any originality awards: in contemporary pub style there's some exposed brick here, chunky wooden tables…

Bijou came under new ownership in 2011 but both head chef Alastair Berry and the quirky but useful menu formula of offering most items in bijou, medium or large size have remained. The low-key interior features a sprinkling of café-style tables, a small…