I’m meeting a friend in Edinburgh for a few days, and would love some restaurant advice. Nothing fancy or expensive, but I’d love to find a couple of places with great food in a casual atmosphere. I love Middle Eastern food, and wondered about Baba. And she is under the impression that British good is not good, so I’d love to take her to a modern British place, maybe a gastropub. I’m staying right near the Royal Mile, she’ll be in the West End. Any suggestions? Thanks very much in advance.
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Caveat: I’ve really not been out that much since the pandemic.
For Gastropubs you could try The Scran and Scallie. It’s in Stockbridge, which is in neither of your neighbourhoods, but you could enjoy a walk on the Water of Leith to or from there. But maybe expensive.
You could also try The Outsider restaurant on George IV Bridge. It’s a nice set up and there are some good views.
For regular pub (but if the weather’s nice you can sit outside on the water there is Teutcher’s Landing in Leith. Not expensive.
I don’t know if The Cloisters is serving food (they did pre-pandemic) but it would be a nice place to visit for a drink. (It’s in Tollcross).
A bistro on Dalry might fit the brief for close to West End. It’s called First Coast and it’s really nice. They change their menu every week.
(So far with the exception of the Outsider I’m avoiding the Royal Mile, but usually because I avoid that area if I can at all.)
I’m trying to remember if I’ve had any Middle Eastern food here that sticks with me. I’m sure there’s good stuff, I’m just blanking. I’d love to try Baba myself. But if you’re willing to go South Asian, there’s Dishroom and Mother India.
I’ll continued to have a think.
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You might check out The Bon Vivant in New Town. I’ve only been for lunch but the food was very good and they have great cocktails. And a plus one for Dishoom.
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The pub is owned by Michelin starred chef, Tom Kitchin. His flagship restaurant, The Kitchin, is one of my favourite restaurants in the UK. If his committment to local produce has carried through to the pub, then it should be a winner.
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I’m about to make dinner, but wanted to immediately thank you all for this great intel. Hoping to have a chance to look these places over tomorrow. I’m grateful for your help!
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Friend of mine was just there for dinner and had only good things to say about it.
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Bon Vivant or Dishoom?
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Bon Vivant.
But I can vouch for Dishoom.
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Thanks so much to all of you for your input. For various reasons we didn’t make it to any of the places you suggested, and I’m sorry for that. We did have two good meals that I wanted to mention in case someone else comes here looking for suggestions. We had a nice meal at Baba. It wasn’t the best Lebanese meal I’ve had, but it was very good, and the setting is wonderful. And I had a fantastic glass of Lebanese red, a cab mix. We did a ton of small plates, and they were great about bringing my friend her GF bread. We also ate at El Cartel, which is in the same restaurant group as Bon Vivant. I was skeptical. I’ve never found that TexMex translates well out of North America. But this was really good! Special shout out to the duck confit tacos. Very relaxed setting, friendly service, terrific margaritas. I had a great trip.
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