Ka Pao Edinburgh in Edinburgh, City of

Surprising flavours and very playful dishes. We had four dishes and all were varied, delicious and curious. The corn is a must have.

Food was sub par, service was meh, restaurant had an okay vibe. Arbroath Smokie maing, not bad but not particularly enjoy Beef tartare, couldn't taste any other than coriander and salt. Only thing both of us had, and both had upset stomachs after, AVOID Shetland mussels, these were actually pretty good. Cauliflower curry, meh.

Just brilliant overall, very vegan friendly and really friendly staff.

Delicious food and great service

Incredible food and superb service by our wonderful knowledgeable & attentive waiter Phil . He really added to a fabulous experience . My friends and I will be back very soon . Fast becoming our favourite restaurant in Edinburgh . Thank you so much for a brilliant birthday time

Great food and interesting beer selection. Surprising that there was no Pad Thai / noodles on the menu as its a Thai restaurant.

Excellent cocktails and great Asian fusion food. Beware though- don't go if you're allergic to crustaceans or shellfish.

The food was delicious and such good quality. This place is a real gem tucked away in a shopping centre. It's been a while since I've walked away from a meal where both service and flavour were so spectacularly met. Super lovely serving staff who gave us recommendations for the area too. Can't recommend enough. The cocktails were also top notch! The staff were happy to talk us through the menu and we chose dishes we might not ordinarily have done - I'm very pleased we did. Thank you for rescuing our evening

Super flavourful and authentic food. Really warm and friendly serving staff. Can't recommend this place enough

I would definitely recommend this restaurant The food, drink and service were all excellent and the atmosphere is so good too.

Service was wonderful and food was mouth watering. Thank you!

Really delicious food and great value for money. Good atmosphere despite being in the shopping centre. Would highly recommend!

Great staff and service. Some foods were a little too salty but most had the perfect balance- the hit for me was the simple cucumber salad.

I thought it would be just another run-of-the-mill chain restaurant meal, but it turned out to be surprisingly delicious. And guess what? They even have Budweiser Budvar on tap, brewed right in my hometown!

Past experience great in this place but so disappointed today. Food poor. Service poor. Hope it has just been a temporary lapse.

Very nice food and very nice service thank u cute waiter 🫶

The fish sauce caramel fried chicken lives in my dreams. It is one of the best things I've eaten. Also, see the Sichuan fried mushrooms. Oh! And the corn ribs. All absolutely excellent dishes. Service always great; menu has a good mix of veggie and meaty dishes. The sharer menu is great value if there are four or more diners.

Went to this place so many times and it’s still number one for me, one of the best places in Edinburg, delicious food, lot of choices and beautiful desserts, nice atmosphere, friendly staff. They change the menu sometimes, so there is always something new to try, definitely worth trying

Lovely food and staff will be back

The entire menu looked incredible, and everything we chose was delicious. The Pork and bone marrow sausage and the confit duck curry in particular was two of the best things I tasted on my entire trip.

Fried chicken nowhere near as good as it used to be. The chicken to batter ratio is way off and the sauce isn't poured over anymore. Beef in the green curry wasn't the softest, and not much of it. Yellow curry was nice although not a lot of hake and hake wasn't seasoned enough. No coconut soft serve available either. Corn ribs and padrons were decent.

We visited as a group of 12 and had the sharing menu which we all thoroughly enjoyed and thought was great value. This was a great way to experience a wide range of the dishes Ka Pao has to offer - the Arbroath smokie dish and the hake curry were particular highlights. The food is full of flavour and deliciously spiced. The staff were friendly and attentive. All in all we really enjoyed our evening and would definitely recommend Ka Pao.

Eat there today and the food was brilliant. As good as I’ve had here, and up there with what we’ve had in south east Asia. The staff were excellent too. Top marks

Nice place for a catch up and lunch, reasonably priced!

Simply superb. Out of the 5 tapas we ordered none didn’t impress us. Rich in flavors and mix of tastes so perfectly. Every dish is something you cannot imagine. A must visit for fooodies going to Edinburgh

Nice drinks and friendly bar staff

Fantastic food and service. Been to the Glasgow restaurant once and loved it, this one is just as good.

Thai green curry was phenomenal! Food, mocktails and service was stellar overall. A kind member of staff went out of his way to check the carbohydrate amount in my girlfriends order for her diabetes. Thanks man!

Great food and drinks menu. Everything very delicious. Also have a kids menu, which was much appreciated. Quite expensive for what it is and a very noisy room.

If you like mushrooms the mushroom dish was divine and the fried chicken was lovely. The chicken leg curry I would say was a little bland for my tastes. Everyone at the table had received two dishes and almost finished, I was still waiting for the fried chicken so I said to the waitress that I was still waiting for it. She said that it all comes at different times in an extremely rude manner. I thought that maybe I was in the wrong for asking however people at the table said “wasn’t she snappy”. This kind of ruined my first time coming here. I work in a customer facing role and would never speak to anyone like that. The fried chicken then came out with the curry so couldn’t finish it both. Only gave two stars due to experience. Otherwise would have been four.

We booked here after a friend visited and highly recommended. The atmosphere was good, with plenty of booth seats and tables for two. Low lighting also makes this a good place for a date. Ka Pao is good for allergies, with the main menue clearly displaying allergens for each dish. For lactose free eating, the only things I couldn't have were some puddings! My friend reported their gluten free options were good too. We chose 5 options as recommended, but we didn't feel like this was quite enough. All of the food we chose was tasty, but portion sizes were smaller than expected. For example the corn ribs are essentially one corn on the cob cut into 4 when most people would probably have 1 full one each. On the other hand, the sprout side dish we ordered was massive, despite the fact no one can surely ever finish so many sprouts! Our main let down was that after we got our food, no one came to check if it was alright, if we wanted more drinks, to order more food or if we wanted pudding. It was very busy, as it was a Saturday, but we did feel as if our table was being ignored a little. Overall, we'd still recommend here as the food was nice and it's approach to allergens was refreshing! It was just the service which let it down for us on this occasion.

Fantastic food. I'd recommend the Pork Belly, Jungle Curry and the Hisbi Cabbage.

Love this place. Cool, trendy, warm and the staff are great and always keen to accommodate us. The food is really nice, unique flavours and different. My complaint though, last time we visited the oyster mushrooms were really greasy, would be great if they could air dry them perhaps? (reduce the calories!) We are vegetarian/vegan and although we are always happy with the food and few vegan additions would be great in the menu. But overall this is probably my favourite place to eat in Edinburgh right now.

The best Asian restaurant EVER! The food is so so so good. My family and I come here whenever we visit. Amazing drink selection too.

Loved everything about my first visit here and hope to return soon.

Second time at Ka Pao and it never fails my asian food cravings! Honestly a nice twist with asian food - and if there’s anything I can recommend first, go for the pork & bone marrow sausage and the padron peppers. The staff were really nice and friendly and as soon as they start serving the food, be prepared for food coma! 2 thumbs up for the Edinburgh branch! Can’t wait to be back again.

Felt rushed throughout meal. Asked three times if we wanted anything else despite wanting time to finish our drinks. Food was underwhelming and didn’t match the cost. Pretty disappointed overall

We enjoyed our experience overall. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and the service was good. The quality of the food was pretty good however in my personal opinion there was not a lot that screams out at you on the menu. We went for the chicken and corn ribs for starters, both were good sized portions and tasty enough. For main course we had chicken phanaeng and the short rib curry special, portions were on the smaller size and both meats were a bit fatty. Not bad but not brilliant. The rice and cucumber salad were tasty and the soft serve desert was great! Overall it was good but nothing really stood out as a must come back place for us, as the menu is a little limited.

I do give 5 stars, because the food was that good. But there's also a couple negative points. Panyang Chicken... 13 pounds for three tiny cubes of chicken and a bit of sauce. It was delicious but I took my wife, we ordered a bunch of things to share, and sharing 1 cube and half each for that price was ridiculous. Also the dessert, we wanted to try both sponge and mousse but they were out of the curd for the sponge. The mousse was 6£ for a third of a small glass of tap water worth, extremely dense, the sryracha honeycomb was soft and soggy, no crunch at all, the mouse itself tasted very very poor. 0 stars on dessert, feeling scammed with that chicken dish, but flavour on every food dish was so perfect that I keep it 5 stars. I've been twice here now. I'll never have dessert. And I had the chicken again to see if I was just unlucky but the portion was the same three tiny cubes.

Service was on point! The place is coeliac friendly and the food is amazing (one of the dishes was a little bit too salty but I am sure its a preference thing). Highly recommend!

Hermoso lugar, desde la comida hasta la ambientación. Nos recibió Guillermo, muy amable y nos recomendó platos muy ricos. Además la atención de los mozos fue de primera. No se lo pierdan, vayan!

Delicious food. A lovely space.

Lovely food and kind staff . We recommend.

The food here is very tasty with interesting twists on Asian cuisine. The ingredients are good quality and fresh. The cocktail menu is interesting too. The staff are friendly and the restaurant itself has a chilled out vibe.

Popped in for a quick lunch during Christmas shopping. It was the only food place without a queue and as a result I was a little apprehensive. However, I quickly realised that all the other people queueing for Bonnie and Wild are complete muppets. The food here is bursting with flavour. Generous portions and very reasonably priced. We had the lime chilli nuts to aid the good glasses of wine, followed by 2 main dishes and 2 bowls of rice. Added fried Brussel sprouts in soy sauce (amazing!!!) And whole bill was £54. Anyone says this is expensive should go back to McDonald's.

What a restaurant! Came here on a recommendation from a friend who went to the Glasgow one. The food is incredible, never had anything like it. Great portion sizes and unbelievable flavours. The staff were all without exception friendly and helpful and made us feel very welcome. Can’t recommend this place enough!

Lovely South East Asian inspired menu served tapas style. They also offer a children's menu with chicken or fish and rice. It is a little on the expensive side but every dish was tasty.

Really good and unusual dishes on the menu, lovely atmosphere, and pleasant service, although they could've done with an extra pair of hands. Would eat here again.

The Dishoom of Asian food. Absolutely exceeded expectations. Large Tapas style tai Asian food and each dish constantly exceeds expectations leaving you with an epic umami flavour in your mouth only to get another dish with more great flavours. All pork dishes are epic with a crispy skin and velvety fatty pork belly. Their fried chicken is arguably one of the best arround, with a hard crunchy skin and a silky caramel sauce. This place is a hidden gem and easily missed, also easy to walk past. TLDR: take a date, take your mate but go here and try as many dishes as possible.

Fantastic meal, really varied menu and every dish was amazing, highly recommended

We went here for a friends 40th on a weekend away, I've seen lots of recommendations for Ka Pao and finally couldn't wait to come. The service was so good. We were a little late as the traffic was horrific and they were still accommodating and understanding. As we were a 7 person group we got the tasting menu. It was really well curated, very good value for money and very tasty. In addition I added a beef tartare and the fried chicken. Both were great. Highlights were the corn ribs, pork belly salad, Brussel sprouts (SO good), and the fried chicken. I Would absolutely go back as there's a lot more dishes to try. They had run out of the hispi cabbage which we were a bit gutted about as it looks amazing, the cauliflower curry replacement was also delicious. We also went through a canny few bottles of Cuvée which was lovely wine.

Tous les plats étaient délicieux. Il vaut mieux réserver

Great food and a whole new set of flavours. Friendly and helpful server. Food delivered quickly to table. Good size portions. Who knew Brussels Sprouts could taste so good!!!!

Something interesting with Southeastern-Asian spice and herbs, tasted fusion to me as I could not tell where exactly the dishes were originated from. I have been to Ka Pao a few times but recently the dishes went quite salty losing the delicate touch before. Hope that was just one isolated case and not a change of their recipes.

Really interesting food choices - loads of things we'd never tried before. Loved the twist on the arbroath smokie, amazing corn ribs and wow that sauce AND the delish cardamon sponge. Great service.

Now let's get one thing straight, the food is great, pricey and portions aren't too big but all of the dishes are well crafted and tasty. However......a particular member of staff has quite the attitude and after our second visit I feel I should comment having been forgiving on our initial visit. A male member of staff who is FOH and, I presume, a duty manager, has rubbed me up the wrong way on both occasions almost after entering the restaurant - for trivial reasons. When being seated we've asked for amendments given disabilities we both have, only to be met with an attitude of this being troublesome. The request has been fulfilled but interacting with this guy it seems that we're the ones who need to be accomodating (there were plenty of free tables) as he appears to be inconvenienced. He seems to have an inability to smile or exude any warmth or even want us there! Observing the staff within the restaurant there appears to be no craic at all, which of course is where the DM should be instrumental in creating a positive atmosphere where staff look like they're having fun, or at least be able to pretend to be warmly hospitable. It just wasn't evident; superficial pleasantries but nothing sparkly or dynamic with said DM plonking stuff on the table with no attentiveness or even eye contact. Nobody appears to enjoy working here. This review follows an initial visit (I have also visited Glasgow - no complaints) where a family of four were once again made to feel like we were the ones doing the inconveniencing when making some queries. Either this guy should not be doing his job, or understaffing (though not too many covers on the second occasion) means he can't enjoy his job and the ripple effect it appears to have - culturally - has put me off visiting again. I do hope this can be addressed. The furnishings might be exquisite but for me it's an all fur coat no knickers experience.

A great experience for a birthday night out with 6 friends. We had a really specious table at the back of the restaurant and loved the banquet! So much food!! And it was great to try things that I wouldn’t normally order. The staff were friendly and attentive and I’d definitely go back.

On 11th November, my wife and I visited this restaurant at St James quarter. Although we saw this restaurant, we never visited there. All staffs were very kind! All our ordered cuisines were also very good! Very much looking forward to visiting again to this restaurant soon. Thank you!

Delicious food but more than that wonderful service, particularly from the 17 year old lad who was friendly, professional and really impressive for such a young guy. Highly recommend.

Delicious food and great service, particularly the 17 year old lad who was so impressive for being so young - super professional and friendly. Delicious, fresh, zingy flavours. We will be back.

Brilliant restaurant. Lovely atmosphere in a lovely setting. Food is exciting, changes all the time and is outstanding. Flavours are amazing, and cocktails are highly recommended!

Just a restaurant that knows what it's doing on all levels. Tasty good, delivered impeccably by friendly and postive staff, happy to pay a reasonable bill for a great experience. Can't wait to see how menu evolves, don't stand still guys!

Food and service very good. Great setting for casual eating has a good vibe. Would recommend and am returning soon with friends

I’m really confused about the hype surrounding this restaurant. The food was average at best. I had the corn ribs, cauliflower curry and cucumber salad. I left most of it behind. The first server we had was personable, but he disappeared at one point, and we were forgotten about. I wouldn’t go back.

Tell yi what… wallop feat. back of net! 🥅 Always consistently great food, service and overall experience. Love the place, everyone does. Think we’ve tried most things on the menu now… try it yourself.

Staff were the best! Really helpful for gluten free. Food was unbelievable

Immediately one of our favourite restaurants EVER. Incredible menu and brilliant service. Gutted we don’t live closer to return sooner!

Really amazing dinner the other evening, possibly one of the nicest curry's I've tried, really relaxing place, great service, great food options and drinks too. Will be back many times, think it's my third visit and a fourth next weekend.

An incredible experience..it's tucked away on Level 4 the best food experience I have had since coming to Scotland in 2016. It really needs to increase its prices!

Took my partner to the restaurant for his 50th birthday celebration. The whole experience was a delight - perfectly pitched service, exceptional food and drink, and a great ambiance. It was our second visit - the first being with a couple of friends when we had the sharing menu - and will most definitely be back.

Lovely lunch. Great service. Thank you for the warm welcome and great food

If you want bland tasteless toned down variations of Thai dishes, look no further. If you seek any sort of resemblance in terms of heat or taste, steer way clear. Service was ok, initially took a long time to take order. had to flag someone down. Also a lot of the items were already sold out including drinks. The only thing I can say good things are about the sausage. (Albeit not fermented; lacked the flavor) Everything else was overly sweet, doused In sugar caramel sweet sauce , curry was absolutely bland with no depth or flavor, pork belly curry tastes like it was a French stew. Som tam was appalling, sweet again. Rice was also so bad, overcooked and mushy. Corn was again so sweet I couldn’t bare it. And the corn lacked char so any flavor was again sweetZ Sorry for the rant; felt as if I wasted a meal. Maybe my expectations were wrong

Brilliant food and service!! Great value for money, and beautiful setting.

The restaurant was empty and apparently the place was fully booked so I couldn't eat with my friend. Terrible front of the house. Such a joke. No wonder why businesses close.

Absolutely loved this place. Great food, staff, atmosphere and prices. Will absolutely be back!

We went in recently because we didn’t have anywhere else booked for a Sunday lunch and didn’t have any high expectations. Definitely was blown away by the food here. This is the type of asian food that you get in Asia! Kudos to the chef! The service was also great and they were so helpful with allergies.

Absolutely fantastic restaurant, which is a must for anyone in the area. The menu is exquisite, yet not pretentious. But for me, it’s the service that’s makes it truly exemplary - the staff are all friendly, knowledgeable and professional, but still manage to make it feel personal.

We tried the Chilli and lime leaf nuts and the arbroath smokie Miang for starters, and they were bursting with flavour! We'd order those again for sure. The sour hake curry was a bit hit or miss with our group. The cauliflower curry was yummy and went great with the rice and cabbage. Desserts got mixed reviews, but overall, we had a blast. And the cocktails? So good! I only didn't give 5 stars for service because it took the staff forever to clear our table and it wasn’t that busy. 🌶️🐟🍛🍹

This was honestly fantastic, the food is so good! First, service. Our server was so lovely, gave us time to decide and had some great recommendations. Really friendly & nice. We got the booth at the back, which was perfect for 5 of us. Second, the drinks. We shared a couple of bottles of wine, the Italian red is definitely serviceable, not wow but pretty good! The food, however, is so good! We shared veggie and meat options. For starters, we shared the sezchuan oyster mushrooms (vg), corn on the cob, & pork belly salad (all very good), but the fried chicken was definitely the highlight. Mains we tried a range of curries: the lamb shoulder curry, cauliflower (vg), chicken leg, and the scallop & pork belly special. All were very good, the chicken being a particular highlight. We had 3 x steamed rice & the cucumber salad, which was lovely & fresh. I'd definitely recommend for sharing with a group and recommend the booth at the back of you can! Would love to go again. 2 bottles of wine, about 10 sharing plates & 2 desserts was £170-ish

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Ka Pao by chance when looking for a bite to eat within St James Quarter. This charming restaurant offers a delightful journey through the flavours of South East Asia, blending traditional recipes with modern twists. The highlight of the evening was, of course, the food Ka Pao offers a diverse menu with options for everyone with a selection of Fish, Chicken, Red Meats and Vegetarian options. The stand out dish was fried chicken, fish sauce caramel and had to quickly order a 2nd portion as the dish soon disappeared too quickly. All food that was ordered tasted amazing and the portions were generous, and the presentation was top-notch. The staff was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu. They were quick to recommend dishes based on my preferences and were prompt in attending to our needs throughout the meal. While the food was excellent, the drink menu was a bit limited. My first 2 drink choices from the menu were not available and had to settle for a fruit beer, which was ok but not exceptional. I would have loved to see a more extensive selection of South East Asian alcoholic beverages as I do like to try new drinks from other parts of the world. So, if you're in the mood for an authentic South East Asian dining experience with a modern twist, make a reservation at Ka Pao You won't be disappointed!

Booked again for a meal. Food as ever was amazing. Decided to try the 2 food specials. The jungle curry of scallops was utterly amazing. Also tried the steak. It was cooked perfectly how we ordered and so tender it melted in your mouth. The sauce it was served in was to die for. Well worth the money as left feeling full. Will be back soon.

We Shared starters of Chilli and lime leaf nuts and arbroath smokie Miang - so full of flavours bringing our tastebuds alive that I would happily order time and again. The sour hake curry Is maybe an acquired taste with it being liked and disliked in equal measure by those who had it. Cauliflower curry was tasty and went well with the jasmine rice and savoy cabbage. Desserts were also a bit divisive but overall a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Cocktails were also very tasty. Only reason for not giving 5 stars was that staff took too long to clear our table once finished, with 2 male members of staff walking past on multiple occasions, empty-handed over a 20-minute period.

We had vegan food and loved the cauliflower roast along with rice. Also ordered BBQ corn which has sine nice sauce on it. Finished it with a caramel dessert with a rice flake on top. The ambience was very generic albeit.

First dinner in Edinburgh and it was fantastic! Really loved that you could share different dishes and the spice was actually there. The lamb and ox tongue were soooo tender! I'd recommend getting the cucumber salad as a refreshing component to the hot dishes. Our server Charlie was friendly and quick! Nice location too

We love coming to Ka Pao. The food is ALWAYS so tasty and the menu is varied and very tasty. The drink selection is also great. The service is so friendly, smiley yet professional. They always make you feel wonderful and they have great knowledge. As the former Governor of California said; 'I'll be back!'

Great atmosphere, food is okay but small portions. Not the best Asian food I have tasted.

Wonderful experience in Ka Pao. Theyare very kind and there are various Asiqn fusion dishes.

Went with a friend, we both have coeliac disease and my friend is vegetarian. It was wonderful to be told what few dishes we couldn't eat rather than pointed in the direction of the one token gluten free dish. An amazing meal, lovely friendly staff too

Lovely place to eat food different but very tasty

Great food and excellent cocktails.

The food here was unbelievably good! There was a good choice for vegetarian eaters - we had the corn, cabbage, oyster mushrooms and cauliflower curry. Service was attentive and relaxed and the space itself was beautiful which made our meal even more enjoyable. Would highly recommend 😊

Just as stunning as the Glasgow original. We came in for a really quick lunch and it was excellent. Quick service, all of the plates were delicious, and it’s not too pricey. The surroundings are lovely too - bright, clean, tidy and enough space between tables that there’s atmosphere, without you having to shout. Highlight is - no surprises here - the caramel fried chicken. We ordered a first portion, then thought better of it and ordered a follow up. It’s superlative.

I am a big fan of the owners' other restaurants (Ox + Finch and Ka Pao in Glasgow; Baba in Edinburgh) and was keen to give Ka Pao Edinburgh a go. Even though it's in a shopping mall, it has the warm, friendly, chain-free vibe that I love, with the signature "sliding banquette" seating and a music playlist that's clearly been put together by someone who cares. In fact, every detail is spot on: we checked in for a late lunch, and our group included a teenage boy who has coeliac disease and who hates this becoming a "fuss". The menu at Ka Pao is clearly labelled with allergens and dietary information, and the wait staff all know the menu and can talk knowledgeably and passionately about the dishes -- including some that the kitchen can adapt so that they are gluten free (in addition to those already marked). Every single dish was full of flavour, and we shared them all among our group with relish. We all agreed that the lunch was outstanding -- and all of us said we'd go back at the drop of a hat. You could pop into Ka Pao for a quick, affordable lunch on the hoof; or you could have a brilliant, long lazy weekend brunch or celebration dinner with a bunch of friends. Tasty, friendly, and affordable: what's not to love?!

Lovely meal, cocktail was nice too! Some of the items were a touch too spicy for me (no handy chillis ratings on the menu!) While I understand that the food comes out when it's ready... our side of rice came out last. It would have been better if it came out early so that we could eat it with some of the sauces from the other dishes.

I eat/cook a lot of Thai food and this was next level. Great creativity while staying true to Thai flavors. Amazing

Really nice food and many options. It is not a typical asian restaurant.

DELICIOUS food! Have loved everything I've tried on this menu.

The quality-price ratio is low, and the food in general was over-flavored, either too salty or too sweet.

Fantastic choice of food and spice level. New additions to menu are great. King prawns were perfectly cooked as was the courgette curry. The scallop jungle curry on the specials was amazing. Just the right spice level for me. So full couldn't have a dessert but had a southeast meets west cocktail and it rounded off the night and a great meal perfectly

Seemed extremely busy and the staff were swept off their feet and short staffed. However, that didn’t stop the staff from producing a lovely service and food! Thank you, bravo