Indaba in Edinburgh, City of

Delicious food fusing Spanish tapas with South African favourites and Scottish indulgence. Each dish is a decent size (2-3 per person will fill you up) and there are South African and Spanish wine and beers. Friendly servers in a cosy, warm space. Indaba is now our go-to place for taking guests out for dinner.

Amazing service and food, would recommend this place to anybody that wants to try good tapas! Special thanks to Isabel who was very attentive, we had a great evening:)

Really good food, well priced, nice staff, would recommend

We had looked for places with Spanish cuisine and the truth is that we had decided on this one because we had read that it had very good opinions and a good score, and the truth is that it has left us a little to be desired, it must be said that the service has been spectacular, great people and that the ham toast was delicious, but the potato omelette was nowhere to be found, dry, pre-heated... we are still repeating it... and the Cod with the batter... it didn't even taste like Cod. In terms of prices, it's not bad, but those of us who really appreciate a good Spanish omelette and a good Spanish Cod leave a bad taste in our mouths when we try our typical dishes in Edinburgh and have them be like this. By improving these two things, it eats quite well. We thank Begoña for making space for us.

Very good staff attention, very friendly and helpful people. What we liked the most was the tumaca bread with oil and warm ham, which was delicious, the rest left a lot to be desired, the salad was very basic, the tortilla was very dry and expensive for a tapa the size of a skewer, the cod alone It tasted like batter and was not grilled. I hope this constructive comment helps you take it into account in the future.

Some of the best tapas in town, closer to the experience one could expect while in Spain. There's a reasonable list of specials which varies frequently, so there's an opportunity to try new things with every visit. The desserts were a bit underwhelming and easily a pass for me. The service is friendly but a bit on the slow-ish side. However, one of the dishes was served half a portion due to running out but there was no adjustment on the bill. The prices are reasonable and it is a close match with other tapas restaurants in the city. Nevertheless, lost 1 star due to automatically adding a 10% service charge. It should be up to the customer the decision of tipping or not, instead of pressuring the customer into paying the charge by adding it by default.

Fantastic! Down from Aberdeen for a gig at the Usher Hall, picked somewhere nearby for dinner based on review score and can confirm that the reviews are accurate. Can't really recommend too many dishes as we basically had the specials board from top to bottom - and every dish was amazing. Small places and busy for a Wednesday so we were glad we went early and booked our table. We will definitely be back next time we are down.

Loved this wee place! Food was lovely, staff attentive and great service. Forgot to take food pics as I was enjoying it so much . Loved the decor as well, will definitely be back.

Good service, good food with excellent taste, cosy ambiance. Nice experience. Better book beforehand.

Unbelievably good food and fantastic service. The prices are incredibly good for what i can honestly say is the best food I've had in Edinburgh and the staff are brilliant. We'll be back very soon!

Great Spanish restaurant in Edinburgh. Homemade and well cooked food. We are from Spain and we were missing some food with its fresh vegetables, Mediterranean recipes and good quality. The owners are very friendly and attentive, we were delighted. I highly recommend it.

Small, friendly independent place that isn't trying too hard (like so many places do) and charging accordingly. Great food and coffee. We breakfasted on THE most delicious sourdough toast with grated tomato topped with olive oil and manchego. Had a good chat with the lady behind the counter and just really enjoyed the vibe. Highly recommended.

Superb food and friendly staff.

Fantastic fusion of Spanish and South African.

One of the best Spanish food restaurants that you can find outside of Spain. The treatment is equally exquisite.

The word poetry comes to mind. Everything was sublime, David was wonderful, gave us excellent recommendations and made us feel at home. I will definitely be coming again! Lots of gluten free options!

A magnificent experience. Tremendous flavor combinations with a menu that has something to appeal to everyone. Dine at Indaba soon.

An adorable place. Fantastic food, you have to try their Croquettes, they left us in love.

Our favourite restaurant in Edinburgh. Taken too long to review but we come here regularly. Delicious, thoughtful, fresh food and amazing wine. Fabulous service and atmosphere. A hidden gem!

Great little restaurant! Food is quick to arrive and it is delicious! My favourite was the lamb chops (Cordero).

The freshest, tastiest, tenderest most perfect tapas I ever had. Everything was impeccable

Lovely restaurant. Food is excellent and not too expensive. Service also great.

Absolutely gorgeous good, service and atmosphere, family of 5.

Had great Tapas here, it’s a gem of a place with lovely food and brilliant service - a welcoming, friendly place to enjoy your dining

Beautiful atmosphere and absolutely insane food - service was lovely and gave lovely recommendations. super well priced for such good quality tapas.

Has to be the best spanish food in Edinburgh

Excellent tapas. Excellent gluten free options

One of the best dinners I've had in Scotland. Meat and cheese board was great. Scallops were perfectly cooked. The only thing, the goat cheese with jam, walnuts and honey needed a chip or bread to spread on but was still good on its own. Nice selection of desserts.

Great experience overall, very friendly service and delicious food! Highly recommend. Very reasonably priced :)

This restaurant is my best place in Edinburgh. It was my first tapas. The food was great!!

Great Spanish and South-African tapas. The Salpicón de Pulpo, Secreto Ibérico (Pork shoulder) and the deserts (all homemade) were superb. There's a really nice rustic, 'neighbourhood' feel to the place and it was busy which created a nice atmosphere. All in all, a great experience and one I'd recommend to anyone looking for Spanish tapas in Edinburgh, or Scotland for that matter. Gracias y hasta pronto!

One of the best tapas restaurants in Edinburgh and really reasonably priced!

Absolutely gorgeous. Quite large tapas portions so we didn't need 6 between 2. Everything beautiful though

Better tapas than I can find anywhere in Spain!

The staff were friendly and attentive. The food was delicious and there was a great variety. Lovely informal and cosy atmosphere.

Top Tappas, sehr freundliche Bedienung... sogar die Croquetas waren so gut wie in der besten Guachinche auf Teneriffa . Absolute Empfehlung!!!

Beautiful wee restaurant, found by chance whilst searching Google maps (going to a gig at the usher hall). The service was brilliant, atmosphere was lovely and the food was exceptional! We had 5 plates between 2 of us, plus a bottle of wine. Only disappointment was we were too full to have dessert! Next time for sure.

Absolutely wonderful food, the seafood was incredibly fresh and all the dishes were delicately prepared. The staff were attentive and helpful. My only caveat is that as its such a small room the noise can become quite high, but it is a very small caveat for me.

Pork dishes were quite tasty. Poor patatas brava and croquetas. Greasy. Service wasn't very friendly. Feeling nauseous after this dinner. Not rushing back.

Great food and a lovely wee place to sit and enjoy it!

Friendly staff and lovely food can't recommend enough Would definitely visit again. Chicken kebab and scallops delicious

Siempre se puede mejorar, pero aquí es muy difícil, ya es espectacular, sitio, personal y la comida fantástica, gracias a isa y a Begoña, por la experiencia, repetiremos y con las sugerencias super acertadas, por cierto dejaros sitio para el postre

Food was excellent. A blend of classic Spanish tapas which my wife and I were very familiar with and South African tapas which we were not. The piquillo peppers and the South African sausage were very distinctive. I would suggest you approach the menu with moderation as we over ordered and are taking leftover s back to the hotel

Nice little restaurant with kind staff. Good tapas and a selection of todays specials to chose from. Very fair prices.

Desayunos y comidas geniales!! Buena comida y ambiente estupendo

Absolutely love this place. The food is excellent, the waiters are super nice and have great recommendations, and the food is delicious. The menu is very good, and the daily specials never disappoint!! Must try the grilled calamari - so so tasty!!

the BEST meal i had in edinburgh, quite possibly one of the best meals i’ve ever had. these spanish and african tapas were EVERYTHING. we tried quite a few including the anchovies, sardines, battered cod, lamb chops, stuffed peppers and anchovy toast (this one was my favorite). so fresh and so flavorful. get the lychee drink and definitely don’t skip dessert. service was lovely as well.

Exzellente spanische Tapas, sehr netter Service und gute Erklärungen über die einzelnen Gerichte. Jederzeit empfehlenswert.

Amazing food - would definitely go back for more ♧!

Dinner here was fantastic! From the service to the food, I’d highly recommend anyone in Edinburgh to drop by this family-run restaurant. The gambas al ajillo and ibérico pork shoulder were especially delicious, and coming in groups of 3-4 would be perfect. We wished we had a bigger stomach to try their desserts!

Four of us met for dinner and enjoyed a truly delicious meal. Pleasant ambiance and excellent service. A good choice of tapas dishes and desserts, a very good dining experience- the plum and thyme sorbet was the perfect way to finish a lovely meal.

We've lived in Tollcross ~8 years and have only just discovered this place - how is this possible? Food was all so fresh and delicious and well-priced - the service was friendly and attentive without being over-bearing. We will be back!

Visited 29th May, 2023 as we were staying in Edinburgh for a long weekend and my wife is gluten intolerant and most of the menu (although not all) at Indaba is gluten free. We had a great experience and this is one of the best tapas restaurants we have eaten in. The food was amazing and we would definitely recommend. A good selection of specials and dessert options with excellent service, each item on the menu being fully explained to us and it was clearly pointed out if any contained gluten

Locale misto spagnolo africano .. noi abbiamo provato le bruschette con il prosciutto fantastiche , il proprietario molto socievole e simpatico ci ha consigliato il resto … la sangria ottima direi che lo consiglio …

Wonderful place to grab dinner! Amazing food and very kind staff. Very happy with our visit and would go again next time I come to Edinburgh.

Really delicious tapas, coming back for dessert!

Superb flavours and excellent service . The highlight was the calamari which will last long in the memory. Deserves to be a success

This is a gem and you should definitely eat here!

Amazing food and great service. An absolute must visit in Edinburgh - a gem that is very hidden with great South African and Spanish cuisine.

Food was very fresh. I know its tapas, but i was too full of bread and omelette to fully do justice to the pork belly 😋

Truly wonderful and authentic Tapas. Excellent service and amazing food. I can see why this place is rated so high! Don't come early as there is no bar for waiting, so you will need to leave and come back, if you are early. They take very good care to highlight Gluten Free food and will ensure the items you order are GF if you are sure to let them know. Everything we ordered was amazing! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

What a wonderful warm welcome on a very cold wet evening in January. Front of house staff and service excellent, friendly and welcoming . Food well presented and all food very tasty. Thank you

Muy bien, no es muy abundante pero todo está muy bueno👍muy recomendable.

I've been to Indaba several times over the last few years and it's always excellent. I love the mix of food and especially the fact that they offer a trio of desserts.

The food here is amazing 😍 Well done! Every dish we tried was delicious! Keep up the amazing work.

Must be the most unique culinary experience I've had during my stay in Edinburgh. The food was delicious (I totally recommend the goat cheese with carrot jam and cane honey, the chicken-apricot skewers and the desserts) and the staff was very kind and likeable. If I ever come back to Edinburgh, I'll definitely dine again at Indaba.

Must be the most unique culinary experience I've had during my stay in Edinburgh. The food was delicious (I totally recommend the goat cheese with carrot jam and cane honey, the chicken-apricot skewers and the desserts) and the staff was very kind and likeable. If I ever come back to Edinburgh, I'll definitely dine again at Indaba.

Great tapas, friendly staff. The calamari were prepared so well. Thank you, will come back even with my boyfriend who lives in Spain!

First, the positives. It's a busy little place with an energetic vibe. The menu is an interesting Spanish and South African fusion. Service was terrific and the wine list looked solid. However, it's been my experience at tapas restaurants that if I order four dishes I'm going to like two and be disappointed with two. That was true here as well. The more strictly Spanish tapas were, in our opinion, better than the South African/fusion dishes. I would definitely return, but I'd be a little more cautious in my choices next time. Did I mention that the service was fantastic!

An amazing place to eat. Small and compact which gives it a great charm. Have eaten here often and will do again

Authentic and superbly cooked Spanish food with super nice staff and delicious sangria.

I visited on a Saturday evening with my daughter while enjoying a weekend away in Edinburgh. Close to the theatre and cinemas if looking for a pre/post show meal. Excellent service from a small welcoming staff in a comfortable and authentic feeling small restaurant which looks very inauspicious from the outside. We both agreed the tapas were the best we have had anywhere, including Spain, and indeed some of the most delicious food we have been served in a restaurant. Can't comment on the meat selection as we shared all fish and veg options but would imagine they are delicious too and certainly looked good from what we saw of other diners. Both the main and specials menu have a great and balanced selection of dishes. Hard to choose a favourite as they were all equally delicious. Small, reasonably priced wine list...we chose a bottle of Albarinho which was especially good. Small selection of Spanish desserts and also a good ice cream and sorbet menu from a local producer. We shared the trio/tapas of delicious desserts (great option for those who find it difficult to choose) and a coffee to finish. Came in at £80 in total and worth every penny. Go here....you will not be disappointed! We will definitely go back next time we are in town.

The best tapas in Edinburgh!!! The only place to go. Great staff and incredible food!

Comida muy buena y trato muy amable.

Great food and great service loved it!

Buonissimo! Camerieri simpatici

Delicious tapas and fantastic service. Couldn't fault it.

We visited this restaurant early one evening with a family and had a wonderful evening. The food was great. Flavoursome, varied, cooked to perfection. The staff were helpful, very welcoming and friendly. We left very satisfied.

We ate here whilst at the Fringe before lockdown and couldn't wait to come back. Don't be put off by the slightly austere looking frontage and location as once inside you will enjoy great service and food. 6.30 pm booking on a Friday evening (during this years Fringe) and pretty quiet upon arrival but by the time we left at 8pm place was packed and buzzing. We had 6 dishes of their somewhat eclectic mix of Spanish and South African tapas dishes which was just about right and we are fairly big eaters. All six dishes were beautifully prepared and or cooked and utterly delicious. The highlights however were the Prawns in chilli and garlic, the Sosaties (Chicken and Apricot skewers in a delicious sort of curry sauce) and the Biltong and Avocado salad. The wine list is limited but good and very reasonably priced. We easily got through a bottle of their Verdejo at about £22.......very acceptable. One very slight moan was the draft Estrella which we had upon arrival .....not really cold enough but we can forgive that....we still drank it ! The place just gives you a warm feeling for its food, service and ambience. On our next trip to Edinburgh we will be back again without doubt.

We were recommended from a work colleague to try Indaba Restaurant in the Tollcross area of Edinburgh & it didn’t disappoint. Our party of 6 hungry foodies ordered a varied selection of tapas on offer & on recommendation by the amazing Isabella. We tried 14 different dishes all of them cooked to perfection with various flavours & textures & enjoyed by all. Thank you for a wonderful culinary experience & would highly recommend this restaurant and we will be back!

Third time I’ve eaten here, they seem to have some magic touch. Not sure what it is, FOH are as good as you would ever want, interested, interesting, passionate about their food & culture, a joy to be a part of just by being there....

Superb authentic food and service. Would recommend the calamari and albondigas, althogh everything was delicious.

Absolutely phenomenal experience. The food is incredible and the service from David front of house was second to none. Highly recommend this affordable gem of a restaurant!!

Great food at an affordable price. Great atmosphere. It's a shame I'm only here for the weekend and I can't go back!

We had the absolute pleasure of dining last night . The Tapas specials section was amazing and the staff very authentic and attentive. The octopus was unbelievably tender and a highlight of the meal for me. We will certainly be back.

Really authentic tapas ran by the nicest people. Cannot fault at all! Thank you!!!

Stick a fork in me, I'm happy and fed. Fantastic service, excellent menu, and delicious to the last bite!

My wife and I were staying within a 10-minute walk of this lovely little restaurant, so ate here on two separate occasions. On each occasion, we were served by different staff, but both were friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. The food is a mix of Spanish...

Spectacular!! Food was Amazing and there's not enough stars here. Waiter and chef both friendly and professional. I felt I was back home with all those Amazing tastes. Highly recommended.

And this is one of those places. We like Tapas style dining. Different dishes, different flavours and different textures, and the Tapas here is gooooood (Check the number of “o”s) Lovely ambience, thoughtful service with clear explanations of the dishes….. And Great Food If you...

A lot of people loved this place. We recommend to make a reservation. Yummy food. No rushing. Sangria has been okay, but no highlight compared to the lovely food

Planning a trip to Edinburgh for November one of my first thoughts was - we can go back to Indaba!!! Which reminded me I had not written a review after our first visit in February. What a find - we love tapas anyway but this...

Great food, great service, great place. Loved it all. Very tasty food and an excellent drinks menu. All the staff were super friendly and create a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy the food in. Would recommend and will definitely be back.

Absolutely phenomenal experience, thank you so much Isobel and Begonia for the world class meal. I wish I had a bigger stomach! Everything was fantastic. I can't recommend higher, totally amazing meal. Thank you both for your excellent service and perfect meal! xo from Canada 🇨🇦☺️❤️

Great service, tasty good and sangria! Perfect for a group dinner.

Excellent in every way - food staff sangria - could not recommend enough

This place is incredible. There was one waiter for the whole restaurant and we had fantastic service, I don’t know how he does it! Every dish filled with complex combinations of flavours and all different but go together so well. The chilli garlic prawns were the star of the night, so fresh they tasted like the ocean and perfectly cooked. Definitely going back there! Highly recommend, it really is a must.

We choose this restaurant because of its unusual combination of Spanish and South African dishes, all in tapas style. We had a very warm welcome and the specials were explained to us. We ordered 6 dishes between two and I can honestly say, every one...

Exquisito y la atención super amable Llegamos de actualidad buscando donde cenar y nos salió bárbaro porque resultó suoer rica...

Great food. The house made cured meat and the special of smoked sardine is particularly amazing. Strongly recommend. Make sure you make your reservation earlier tho if you aim to have a prime time table.