Restaurants, Scottish, Outdoor dining, "Edinburgh"

Upstairs from the Abbotsford pub is this ornate wood-panelled restaurant, which, looking out on to Rose Street, is ideally situated for hungry shoppers or, myth has it, a crèche for husbands abandoned by wives busy shopping in Jenners. The dining room…

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…

Down by the water in Leith sits this northerly branch of the city’s 'A Room In … ' bistros, its shore-side setting shown off by a dining room conservatory and outdoor tables should the sun deign to shine. Enter the restaurant through the cosy Teuchters…

A steady stream of casually dressed business travellers, tourists and locals pack into this tiny city centre restaurant to tuck into some excellent Aberdeen Angus steaks. Char-grilled fillet, sirloin and rib-eye have the depth of savoury flavour that…

Karen Higgins is that rare thing among Edinburgh restaurants: a female chef in charge of her own kitchen. It’s her food that attempts to brighten the rather gloomy dining room of this Comely Bank hotel. Take a squint at the short menu and it’s all…

Scotland makes superb whisky. Scotland is home to superb beef. Put the two together and it must work. It does. It’s called the Whiski Rooms. This popular restaurant may lie in the shadow of Edinburgh’s impossibly pretty castle, but this is certainly no…

The Magnum is a cosy pub in the New Town, complete with fairy lights adorning the windows, which makes it feel like Christmas all year round. With regulars mixing with tourists who have headed in to sample Scottish produce, there is an option to mix and…

Signature, the restaurant at the Ballantrae Albany Hotel, has its official launch planned for June 2011 when they’ll unveil their patio and beer garden in time for the famous Edinburgh summer weather. In the meantime, diners can enjoy the stylish…

Earthy: the name itself reeks of honest-to-goodness wholesomeness and this charmingly decorated Canonmills restaurant certainly delivers on that promise. The place feels rather like a Womble has been brought in to decorate, with found objects and…

Edinburghers have gathered in the rather impressive Regency-style ‘convening rooms’ at 29 Waterloo Place since the early 19th century. These days, the high-ceilinged, cupola-lit main room attracts diners looking for the Howies brand of Scottish dining…

If you were ever in any doubt that this is a Scottish bar, a warm greeting from a rugged gent in a rugby-style shirt awaits. Surroundings are of a distinctly rustic and wooden nature while a piano sits desperately wanting to be played, all of which…

If you are a lover of both wine and jazz, then Whighams has pretty much got it covered. Their Sunday-night jams and monthly wine-tasting events are in with the West End bricks, occasions suitably enhanced by the bar’s candlelit cellar atmosphere. The…

As a young chef you could beaver away in a crowded kitchen being bossed around by someone else, hoping you’ll make it big one day. Or you could just boldly open your own restaurant and strike out alone in the heart of tourist Edinburgh. Which is what…

With its arrangements of thistles and heather, seats covered in tweed and menu full of the foods typically associated with Scotland it is not hard to see why this basement restaurant is popular with well-heeled tourists. The style is country lodge, with…

An up-to-date review of Maxies will appear here shortly …

Kyloe (meaning ‘cattle’) is looking to fill a niche in the Edinburgh restaurant scene, and that niche is meat, meat, meat. Cows are everywhere – the statue outside, the paintings on the wall, the cowhide furniture and the board that displays all the raw…

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…

Run by two talented chefs with impressive restaurant experience between them (including The Atrium, The Kitchin, The Outsider, Café St Honore and Falko), Gardener’s Cottage is a relatively new addition to Edinburgh dining. Be transported out of the city…