Cilantro in Edinburgh, City of

I was visiting Edinburgh from England and found this nice little restaurant on Google. I had the chicken Shatkora with keema nan and my brother in law had the chicken byriani. As an Asian person I highly rate this place. The food was so tasty. The restaurant is a bit tiny but everything else was on point. We visited on a Tuesday evening, moderately busy. Food waiting time wasn't that bad tbh.

Not a pleasant experience. Our food was nice, we had lamb madras & a curry. However, service was ridiculous. We could see 2 other tables complaining also about waiting times. It took 20 minutes for our order to even be taken, and the waitress wasn’t polite - basically told me I couldn’t handle the spice of madras, despite me telling her I’m okay with it! She repeated herself telling me still how spicy it was. And just an fyi, I’ve had it now, and it’s not that spicy! Besides that, my friend asked for a glass of water, not once, but 4 times until he got it! We were waiting on our food 30 minutes also.. would certainly not return! Majority of the tables in the restaurant looked as if they didn’t have a pleasant time - people asking could they order, when their food would arrive, how much longer etc.. just a bit of a disaster if you’re hungry especially. 2 stars as the food was good, but not worth the service if you ask me.

Our food was all delicious full of flavour and everything was freshly cooked to perfection

Delicious Indian food, not too hot. Everything freshly prepared, which can make the wait a bit longer, but it's totally worth it. No alcoholic drinks, but byob.

First time at the restaurant, was highly recommended. Lived up to all expectations. Raman went above and beyond with service and food. Would highly recommend, thanks Raman

We came from Canada and we had the best service from Raman. She made us feel so at home

Food was amazing, service was good the waiter was very friendly and helpful. The place is very small so need to be careful what your ordering as there is not much space on the tables. But I would definitely recommend going.

The food here is excellent, and the staff are incredibly welcoming. The menu offers a wide range of vegetarian-friendly options, with flavorful, well-balanced curries. The Paneer Jalfrezi and Saag Paneer were particularly delicious—rich, well-spiced, and cooked to perfection. A great spot for anyone looking for authentic Indian food.

This restaurant is local to me and the food is excellent, it only has a few tables so booking essential. The only problem is the service is very slow and the waiting staff do not always understand requests. The prices are very reasonable and it’s BYOB

I have previously given this 5 star but now had the balance tipped and time to revisit review. Of the Last three takeaways only 1 from 4 were great. Had been so good before, gave it more chances than should. Most recent no balance, one bland dish and one just heat no flavour. Won't be ordering from here again. The meats nice, they have just lost ability to do flavour.

Warm and friendly: we really enjoyed the sag paneer, the vegetable jalfreezie, the Peshwari naan, and the prompt service. Although we live close by, it's a new discovery for us, and we've been twice within one week. And what is more, will go again.

Absolute ripp off 5.00 for rice 5 bits off tiny chicken in the massala for 17.00 ..9.00 for a side vegetable and to top it off the place smelled poo the toilet is tiny situated in the tiny restaurant so you can literally smell everything when a person comes out ! Never again

A disappointment. Popadoms with no where near enough pickle or chutney. Murgh mango, a specialty dish, no sign of mango finished with cream and almonds. A 5 out of 10 at best.

Cozy small restaurant on Leith Walk. The staff are friendly and attentive. We had the lamb achari and chicken pasanda. The garlic naan was soft and tasty, but the curries were just ok.

Food was amazing. 100% would recommend

Delicious food, best curry I’ve had in a long time

Lovely food and great atmosphere. Staff very welcoming.

Delicious food and friendly staff

Phenomenal, cosy restaurant well deserving of its reviews and previous rewards. Group of three lifelong friends enjoying a milestone birthday meal together couldn't have had a happier time. The staff were attentive, and I really can't thank them enough for agreeing to bring out my dear friends birthday cake with candles to boot - not only that but they went the extra mile and played a happy birthday tune over the speakers. This was a special meal with faultless food with layers of flavour (here's looking at you Cilantro's Special Chili Chicken starter..!), and well received by the birthday girl. Thank you so much!

Don't trust the reviews - avoid. Turned up on a Saturday night and it was almost empty. It's tiny inside with cheap furniture and hard surfaces everywhere. Ordered a lamb vindaloo and a chicken jalfrezi. Took about an hour to come out of the kitchen, with a constant flow of people coming in and out to pick up takeaway orders, walking right past our table. We had to keep our jackets on it was that cold. The jalfrezi was OK but it was the worst vindaloo I've ever had - it tasted like eating hot chilli powder straight out of the packet, no sour and spicy taste like you would expect.

Were attracted by 4.8 star reviews but on arrival and having seen the place, should’ve turned around and went somewhere else as it seems they inflated their score on Google. Odd ambiance, no heating (apart from a tiny fan in the corner), cheap decor and ikea tableware - nothing wrong with that but they’re clearly going for a more expensive vibe which is just not matched either by the atmosphere, food or service. Speaking of food, we went for chicken and paneer curries - both contained barely any meat/cheese (counted 4 cubes of paneer in the curry, photo attached) and both tasted very sweet. Went for naans too which tasted very plain and unseasoned. Have had Indian plenty of times before and this is just not it for the asking price and how the restaurant is trying to position itself.

Experienced chef.. he puts magic in mutton dishes

Selected this "restaurant" based on reviews, obviously all posted by the owners. The cozy description turned out to be a broom cupboard with no ambience, poor service, tasteless food, and expensive. One to avoid at all costs!

Came up to Edinburgh for the weekend staying at the Village Hotel where they recommended heading over to Leith for dinner. It was a last minute thing so phoned to see if they could squeeze us in on a Saturday night which they could @8pm. On arrival I was, to be perfectly honest, a bit dismayed as the restaurant looked tiny and I was worried! We were early, so had to wait outside for a few minutes so used the time to nip over the road to buy some wine. Pretty much bang on 8pm we had our table albeit next to the door which was a bit cold, but she promised to move us as soon as she could and she did! I can honestly say, that my initial apprehension was completely un-founded, the food was absolutely fantastic, as was the service and was quite possibly the best Indian I have ever had. Definitely recommend this restaurant, but make sure you book in advance to avoid disappointment!

Bastante caro, pero creo que merece ser, el personal más agradable e incluso mejor comida! No puedo recomendar lo suficiente, un pequeño hallazgo encantador en Leith Walk.

First visit. Weather cold as was restaurant. Poppadoms and v small pickle tray ok nut at total cost of almost £5 way too expensive! Mushroom rice lovely but again, almost £5 for v small portion, again too expensive. Byob good. Naan dry and again nearly £5! We had poppadoms x 2. 2 starters and 2 mains. 1 rice and naan and bill was £70+ which I thought too expensive - especially £1.50 for about a soup spoon of lime pickle for 2! Some disappointing elements.

Restaurante v frío. Como byob esperaba factura barata. Nos preguntaron si queríamos poppadoms antes de empezar así que acordamos. V bandeja de pepinillo pequeño con cebolla, chutney de mango y pepinillo de lima. Todo bien. Me mezclé kebab que era un poco duro con un aderezo de yogur de aspecto triste. Tengo un poco de salsa de chile rojo que era mejor. Mi amigo tenía pakora estaba bien. Luego compartimos patia de langostinos y dopiaza de pollo y 1 arroz con setas y un naan de ajo. Pathia era muy agradable como lo era el arroz. No creía que la dopiaza estuviera bien y el ajo naan estaba seco. En general todo estaba bien, pero cuando vi Bill me sorprendió ver un costo de alrededor de £ 5 para poppadoms (en particular £ 1 . 50 para el pepinillo de lima solo - alrededor de una cuchara sopera de valor) , £ 5 para una porción de arroz y £ 5 para naan! Factura total más de £ 70 que era demasiado caro dada la ubicación, byob, etc. Pregunté por cargos de pepinillo pero me aseguraron que era correcto.

By far the best curry I’ve had. Highly recommend you try the lamb shatkora, a 10/10 dish.

Estábamos en Edimburgo para Año Nuevo, y me encontré con este restaurante en TripAdvisor. Desafortunadamente, las celebraciones de Año Nuevo de Hogmany se habían cancelado debido al clima, pero estoy TAN contenta de que aún hayamos continuado con nuestros planes. Qué restaurante tan encantador. Fuimos cálidamente recibidos por el personal, la mesa estaba lista y era un restaurante BYO, así que una ventaja adicional también. El personal era muy atento, servicial con las opciones de menú, y nos dio recomendaciones basadas en nuestras preguntas. El restaurante es íntimo, solo un puñado de mesas, pero eso nos gustó. Tuvimos una fiesta de 5 , pero la mayoría de las mesas son 2 's y 4 's, por lo que lo mantiene agradable y tranquilo y no alborotado, por lo que nos gustó. La comida era muy buena, probablemente el mejor indio que he tenido en un tiempo, así que vale la pena visitar este restaurante. Gracias al personal por hacer nuestra velada tan agradable. Volveremos la próxima vez en Edimburgo. Gracias de nuevo.

Amazing food and service highly recommend People are so Nice

As frequent visitors to Edinburgh we often struggle to find somewhere decent to eat, despite it being Scotland's capital. But we love this place and have eaten here 3-times in 18 months. A small and cosy Indian restaurant, with very attentive staff and consistently excellent food. The menu is not overloaded with too much choice. Just enough, and what is produced is always good quality. The restaurant is not licensed but customers are invited to bring their own bottle if they wish and there is a Sainsbury just across the road.

The food is decent, but definitely not authentic Indian, as it lacks the richness of spices that typically characterizes good Indian food. We had a bhindi masala (okra) and a murgh mango (chicken), which were both quite mild and even sweetish. I believe this is an attempt at Indian-inspired fusion food catered for white people. The service was quite terrible: we were seated at a table added in the middle of the restaurant that was constantly coming in the way of the waiters and customers. Overall, this was really not a pleasant experience, and we won't go back there.

This Indian restaurant deserves more than 5 stars ,I have been eating Rogan Josh Curry's for over 40 years (yes I'm that old ....or maybe I started at 5:)) I cannot remember ever (and I don't say that lightly ...I'm a Yorkshire man we are not known for our compliments:)) ever having a better curry ,anywhere ...treat yourself if in Edinburgh...maybe even worth coming here just for the curry . service was brilliant too (and I'm not related:)),just been again and is as good as the first time I visited, outstanding:)

Small place that we arrived at by chance. They served us late at night and we really loved it. Very good lamb korma, one of the best I have tried. The only problem I saw was the somewhat expensive price of the drinks and the starter, which we thought was courtesy of the house. Otherwise everything is very good.

We came for Christmas Day and it was truly amazing. The staff were very lovely and friendly and the food out of this world! Very very tasty food. We will definitely be coming back again. It’s a wee gem.

A Culinary Gem in Edinburgh I recently had the pleasure of dining at Cilantro, an exceptional Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, and it was so good that I found myself returning for dinner the very next day! On both visits, the food was consistently fantastic, full of rich, authentic flavors and perfectly prepared dishes that left a lasting impression. Despite exploring other options, nothing seemed to compare to the experience Cilantro offers. From the warm and welcoming atmosphere to the impeccable service, everything about this place speaks to quality and care. If you’re in Edinburgh and looking for an unforgettable Indian dining experience, Cilantro is an absolute must-try. I’ll certainly be back!

Really delicious would highly recommend! I eat in a lot of indian restaurants and would say this was excellent! I am vegetarian too. Lots of veggie options available. Really attentive service and a nice relaxed vibe. Staff are lovely too! Very reasonable prices and great you can take your own alcohol. I would recommend getting a rice each with each curry rather than sharing a rice between two as it is not enough to share between two!

Absolutely delicious. I think it’s probably the best curry place in Edinburgh 😊

Very rich and tasty food, kind server. Homey vibe, a small but very tastefully decorated place. Highly recommended!

The food was very mediocre and it doesn’t live upto the 4.9 stars at all. The staff were friendly, but the price to taste was not good at all. The chicken biryani was not good, it was turmeric rice mixed with chicken.

Delicious curry (my dansak was hot and tasty) plus BYO which makes the bill much cheaper Quite a small restaurant but lovely service Definitely recommend

Thanks the food was great thanks Raman and ratul

A very nice meal, good choices and delicious.

Bangladeshi cuisine but claims Indian.

Authentic Indian restaurant. Delicious food, high quality. Very good price and very friendly staff. Very small restaurant so booking in advance is recommended. One of the best Indian restaurants I've ever been to.

I really enjoyed my meal here. Good food reasonably priced and nicely served.

The king prawn jalfrezi , chicken tikka kebabs and the bhindi were delicious plus the chappatis were soft and paired well with everything . You can also bring your own booze. Service was quick and really friendly. Although there isn’t a baby chair , it is still kid friendly. Would definitely go back again.

Delicious food and attentive service.

Great food and service. BYOB a nice touch.

Came here for a meal tonight and it was superb. Shout out to the chicken pakoras and the butter chicken, so tender and tasteful! Great service, and you can BYOB. Would definitely recommend and go back to try more!

Excellent service, great value for money and very pleasant venue. Best Indian food I’ve ever had. Complex flavours and tender meat. Big portions. Highly recommend.

Delicious food and great recommendations from the staff!

Food was delicious, we had lamb passanda, garlic naan, paneer jalfriezi and mushroom pilau rice. Service was slow and disjointed, felt a bit all over the place and chaotic despite there only being four tables present. Interior a bit odd and cold, could do with making it a bit cosier feeling.

I really wanted to love this place after reading all the positive reviews but quite disappointed. I arrived at 6:15pm and asked for a table for one (was travelling on my own) but was turned away despite only one table being taken. I understood the place is small, so I ordered takeout instead. After waiting 30 minutes, I got home and realized they had forgotten an item. They apologized when I called, so I returned to pick it up. Once home, I found the tandoori chicken was undercooked. I called again, but they only said, “I’ll mention it to the chef,” with no further offer to resolve the issue. Poor service and undercooked food overall, now just hoping I won’t get food poisoning :(

Best Indian restaurant in the area, very friendly and kind employees.

Very attentive and helpful staff, excellent and plentiful food.

Amazing food and good portions for a decent price. Highly recommend.

Food was delicious and plentiful! Lamb Biriyani was enough for two to share with side dishes.

Well done! Hospitable, cozy atmosphere with friendly service. Lovely flavors with a layered heat. The lamb was good but the Okra Bindi was surprisingly the hero, not spicy at all but so flavorful.

The food was delightful. Creamy, full of flavor and well sized. One of the best Indians I’ve eaten.

Food was absolutely delicious, the best Indian restaurant what I’ve been in Edinburgh so far

Delicious food. Fantastic service. Incredible vibe. Call ahead for a spot because seating is tight. But if they can accommodate, they will.

This was our third visit to this cosy restaurant. We were blown away with the beautiful food. There is no rush when ordering your food & the staff are on hand to recommend the menu. We shall be back again when next in Edinburgh.

Incredible food and such friendly service! They kindly accomodated me to stay and eat there after I'd ordered for take-away since it was raining and I had a 25 min walk back home. Best butter chicken I've had, and crispiest paratha bread. Definitely recommend 👍

Wonderful service. Food super tasty and great options. Will definitely return.

Amazing food and fairly priced. If you like a nice bit of spice with good flavour try the madras.

Really good quality food - enjoyed it greatly.

I'm from France and I'm visiting Edinburgh I randomly came into this restaurant to have dinner Believe me, it is one of the best indian restaurants I've ever known It was soooooo delicious 🤩 Everything is fresh and homemade Staff is nice and welcoming I recommend them 100%

Amazing staff and food 👌🏻 their mango lassi is sooo good 😋

Really good, the curry and naan cooked to perfection. It's a small place so it can get busy causing the service to be a bit slow. However, the food is really good. Will be going back.

Excellent Indian restaurant with great taste, quantity and exceptional level of personal attention was paid by the server and chef when making our food to be as per our preference.

Nothing short of amazing. WONDERFUL taste, the sweetest personel, a plate of heaven. Thank you so very much. 🥳

The food was so tastly! Their service was also top notch. Highly recommended!

Everything is delicious, especially the Peshawar naan, which has a soufflé-like layer in the middle and tastes sweet. Pilau is rice, and the portion is not large. When ordering curry, it is recommended to have it with naan instead of rice. Butter chicken and Kashmiri are both sweet curries. The latter is sweeter than the former when boiled with lychees. People who like sweet curries can try it. There are only two small pieces of Samosa and it tastes ok but I wouldn’t recommend it because the price is not very cheap for the portion size.

Best Indian food I’ve had outside India. The server helped us pick spicy dishes. Mango Lassi 11/10

Fantastic food. Small room, so you will likely need a reservation. No alcohol on the menu (BYOB). I'm visiting the city and this was an absolutely delicious meal, very reasonably priced.

Exceptional food and extremely friendly staff. Absolutely recommended and a must try in Edinburgh.

Great food and ambience. Would visit again! Tried chicken chilli

Amazing food, tasted like absolute heaven. Great service too. I recommend it to everyone

Small and cozy place. One of the best Indian restaurants I've tried. Incredible flavors. We loved the saag paneer. Wonderful service and very fair price.

Usually im more subtle on reviews... but I literally sat down 20:30, it took them ~30 min (after I asked twice to order) to take it, and at this point I ordered anything just to eat and leave. Food is average taste, it costs ~5£ for small bowl of rice! Didnt feel welcomed at all, the waiters are stressed, not so nice atmosphere. Will never go there again. The waiters said sorry couple of times, tried to be nice which is appreciated but comon ... for these prices I'd expect MUCH better service and food quantity & quality. Really disappointed

We left here so disappointed. There's much better food for same and lower price points around Leith. Service was intense hovering. No atmosphere when we were there.

Had an unreal curry and will definitely be back

The food was incredible!!! We didn’t have a reservation but they were able to squeeze us in and i’m so glad they did! The atmosphere was very cozy and personal and the staff helped us choose our meal which was great! I loved it :)

Gig was cancelled and we didn't get offered our money back for it given another date April next year what if I can't make that date anything could come up between now and April next year 😉.

Ratul is the best helped us to choose the dish coz we first time trying this cuisine! Love this unique cuisine it was wonderful and delicious 🤤

Very tasty for those who love spicy food. And there is chicken liver, which I haven’t seen in Britain

First time trying this cuisine! Thanks for ratul’s recommendations, it was so good !!!!!Definatly coming back

Food was ok bit service was slow and disgusting. Had found a plastic in a coke. They better maintain their standards.

Sultan was very helpful. Good food and service

Recently visited Cilantro on a long weekend trip to Edinburgh. After seeing the amazing reviews I was keen to book a table, and did so 1.5 months in advance. The date and time of our reservation soon came around and we arrived at Cilantro. Unfortunately, we were told there was an error on the system, and were told there was no table for us. We were disappointed to say the least! The staff member offered us vouchers, but these were no good as we were only there for the weekend. He then said we could have the food delivered to our Air B&B. I wondered if we could have any discount for the inconvenience, which we said we could. When we got back to the Air B&B we called the restaurant and ordered our food, and were give a reasonable discount and an apology. The food arrived within the specified time and was hot and fresh. All the food was delicious! None of us could fault it, all enjoying our meals. My favourite was the garlic naan - super fluffy and super garlicky! About 30m after we finished our food I had a call from Cilantro, asking if we enjoyed our meal/everything was okay, and again apologising. I feel this was a very professional and excellent close to managing the situation. In sum, the food here IS incredible. It is unfortunate we were unable to dine at the restaurant due to an error on their booking system. Nevertheless, the staff at Cilantro managed the error as best they could, and I really appreciate that.

Would thoroughly recommend this restaurant for any special occasions. Excellent for end of season dinners

The food was so good & flavourful and a lovely atmosphere.And the staff are absolutely outstanding.

Amazing meal! Food was superb! Great evening will be returning

Delicious food, great service, a bit cramped

Amazing food! Best chicken tikka masala here in Europe. Staff is wonderful too - Ratul gave us excellent recommendations.

Because the service is out of this world...once again the food was unbelievable it's just amazing. This is twice we have been back & it just gets better the ambience surrounding the restaurant is amazing.

I come from Paris, and this restaurant is one of the best Indian restaurants I have ever eaten in, the products are fresh and tasty, the proportions are generous. The menu is very varied, do not hesitate to ask for advice from the waiters who are very nice. The prices are quite affordable and the quality is there. The 5 stars are well deserved, don’t hesitate!!

Finally getting round to writing my review, a week after my visit with 3 friends. I booked this for a catchup with some friends last Friday, after trying to find a new Indian to try. After reading excellent reviews on Google I booked Cilantro. So glad I did! Superb Indian. Excellent decor, very friendly staff and top notch food. I ordered the Cilantro Special Chilli Chicken for starter, followed by Chicken Shashlik. It's a BYOB restaurant with plenty of shops nearby to buy alcohol. By fair my favourite Indian in Edinburgh. Everything about the place was quality. I even got to chat to the chef afterwards to compliment him on the food. My friends also thought the same. Can't wait to visit again.

Absolutely outstanding service and amazing fresh beautifully spiced food. This has to be the best Indian food in Edinburgh. Always welcoming and super friendly