Restaurants, The LIST Card and Pre-theatre menu
- Guy's Restaurant & Bar
From sushi to steak pie the menu is as eclectic, but the guiding philosophy in Guy's is to create food people want to eat - Centotre
Centotre serves food made from locally sourced ingredients in a great location - Valvona & Crolla VinCaffé
Classic Italian cooking using the finest ingredients and a tasting list of over 50 wines by the glass - Petit Paris
Authentic French flavours and cheerful décor make this enjoyable place to eat!
Monteiths
57–61 High Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1SR
Monteiths’ discreet menu board at the head of one of the Royal Mile’s darker closes is easily missed. But don’t, because this subterranean bar and restaurant’s low-key Scottish style is a welcome antidote to the energetic tartanry to be found nearby.
Tinto Tapas Bar
138 Battlefield Road,
Glasgow,
G42 9JT
This Southside neighbourhood treasure feels exactly like a rustic and cosy local tapas bar should. Dark wooden tables sit against a backdrop of regional Spanish wines, beers, liqueurs and knick-knacks, while a leg of Iberico ham lies ready to be carved.
Iglu
2b Jamaica Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 6HH
For all that it is tucked at the far end of a side-street, Iglu has established an enviable profile, priding itself on serving seasonal, locally-sourced, organic and wild foods in the cosy upstairs restaurant and downstairs bar area. Proving high…
Centotre
103 George Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 3ES
Centotre manages to pull off a neat trick. Despite the austere, ex-bank interior, from those lost days when financial edifices were akin to cathedrals, it still manages to maintain a feeling of warmth and intimacy in the evenings or bright and breezy…
The Dining Room
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 28 Queen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1JX
While a fantastic selection of spirits is the focus in the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Scotland’s famous members’ bar, the food is definitely the star in the Dining Room, its upscale restaurant. A handful of tables in a light Georgian drawing room with…
Guy's Restaurant & Bar
24 Candleriggs, Merchant City,
Glasgow,
G1 1LD
It's almost certainly worth booking at this well-established Merchant City favourite. At the end of the bar, the dining area is bright and buzzy, with some of the tables quite close together – more suited to social rather than intimate dining. Service…
The Bothy
11 Ruthven Lane,
Glasgow,
G12 9BG
The Bothy enjoys an unusual location hidden amongst the quirky businesses of Ruthven Lane off Byres Road. That’s about the extent of any Bohemian pretensions though – once inside, it’s a slick, efficient member of the G1 Group and one of five Bothies…
Petit Paris
38–40 Grassmarket,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2JU
Cheek by jowl in the middle of the traffic-eased Grassmarket, Petit Paris uses all available spaces to fit check-clothed tables into its lively, friendly venue. More enthusiastically French than many of its competitors, a genuine welcome greets each…
Urban Angel
1 Forth Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3JX
Seasonal, local and organic are the buzz words for these bright, informal, modern bistros. A high proportion of the menu is made up of daily specials making the most of what produce is best that day. A nourishing parsnip soup is enlivened with mustard…
Arta
The Old Cheesemarket, 62 Albion Street,
Glasgow,
G1 1PA
In Glasgow’s trendy Merchant City the competition among restaurants to attract discerning diners is high. Artà stands out architecturally. Once the location of a medieval cheese market this listed building was developed Baroque style in 2000 into a…
North Bridge Brasserie
20 North Bridge,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1YT
If you wish a little 19th-century grandeur with your dinner, the North Bridge Brasserie will fit the bill. Now a hotel but originally the home of the Scotsman newspaper, dark wood panelling and marble columns give a period feel, while the adjacent bar…
Creelers
3 Hunter Square,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1QW
Creelers’ proprietor, Tim James, started work as a fisherman a quarter of a century ago and he and his wife Fran are co-founders of the Arran Smokehouse and regularly sell fresh fish and seafood at local farmers' markets. With such a pedigree you’d…
Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant
14/14a Brougham Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9JH
It’s rare in Edinburgh to find Indian restaurants with regional specificity, so Mezbaan is welcome in introducing flavours from the country’s south, especially since it has one of Britain’s best South Asian chefs at the helm. Coconut is a prominent…
The Terrace Brasserie
Royal Terrace Hotel, 18–22 Royal Terrace,
Edinburgh,
EH7 5AQ
Situated on one of the grandest Georgian streets in Edinburgh is the dining-room of the Royal Terrace Hotel. The concise menu features some interesting ideas that lift it above the usual brasserie fare. For starters the soft sweetness of the scallops is…
Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè
11 Multrees Walk,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3DQ
Valvona & Crolla’s Vincaffe is only a short distance but several years away from the densely packed cornucopia of the family-run business’s original branch on Elm Row. With a bright, contemporary décor, evenly spaced, white dressed tables and a bank…
Iris
47a Thistle Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1DY
It’s hard to leave Thistle Street without eating a great meal somewhere, but Iris easily holds its own in this competitive neighbourhood in which every square foot of restaurant space is put to work. Here, however, soft panelling and carpeting in a…
The Voodoo Rooms
19a West Register Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2AA
While the food may not claim as much focus as the music, events and super-smashing cocktail list in the sexy, sultry and edgy Voodoo Rooms, it's more than just an afterthought. Tucked beside the main bar, a small, black linen and leather restaurant…
Zucca
15–17 Grindlay Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9AX
Adjoining the Royal Lyceum, Zucca is an obvious target for pre or post-theatre diners, with the ground floor café serving sandwiches and deli snacks until late, and the upstairs dining room offering hearty dishes which fuse Italian and Scottish flavours…
Charcoals
26A Renfield Street,
Glasgow,
G2 1LU
Situated on one of the city's busiest traffic streets, it would be easy to mistake Charcoals for just another takeaway, but its restaurant is surprisingly cosy. Under new management since January 2011, staff explain details of the menu as they flit…
Gamba
225a West George Street,
Glasgow,
G2 2ND
The sign of a good fish restaurant is how well the front and back of house work in close synchronicity. Gamba has that instinctive, almost telepathic communication between cook and floor staff meaning everyone is alert to the unique properties of your…
Merrylee Road Bar and Kitchen
128 Merrylee Road,
Glasgow,
G44 3DL
Candles, soft lighting and a piano player give this neighbourhood brasserie something of a posh hotel lobby atmosphere. The service is warm and informal though, and a mainly local and family clientele mean the place is actually quite relaxed. The menu…
Darcy's
The Courtyard, Princes Square,
Glasgow,
G1 3JN
After a refit last winter, Darcy’s has a modern French bistro feel, black and white pictures of Parisian street life on the walls, with brushed-steel detailing evoking a bit of New York too. Wine glasses hang above the bar, twinkling under the…
9 Cellars Thali
1–3 York Place,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3EB
Don’t judge this restaurant by the glowing photographs of food in the window display. To get an idea, just speak to chef and owner Phool Thakur, who’ll tell you of his history cooking in some fine establishments in India, and now serves much more than…
La Bagatelle
22a Brougham Place,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9JU
When La Bagatelle first flung open its doors with a distinctly Gallic shrug of its Francophile shoulders 15 years ago it was a welcome addition to a limited selection of French restaurants in Edinburgh. Times have moved on with a plethora of French…
Suruchi
14a Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9DH
Sitting directly opposite the Festival Theatre, Suruchi will always attract late-night diners and pre-theatre bargain hunters. The real challenge is to inspire regulars in this highly competitive neck of the woods. The owners seem alive to criticism of…
