The best restaurants in Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh and Lothian

Went there for a breakfast before coming home to Notts, absolutely bang on, everything perfect, anybody who wants a breakfast head here, I've been to other countries but this place is 10 times better👍

The Ship on the Shore is a relaxed, informal seafood restaurant in the Shore area of Leith; it’s on our doorstep, so we can be forgiven for visiting twice in as many weeks. Our second visit was at Hogmanay with a friend and the restaurant was full, with many diners elegantly dressed for the occasion and something of a party atmosphere. Fortunately, we had booked weeks in advance. The food was outstanding - I ordered the special: tarragon butter lobster tail topped with red caviar, vegetables, and a romanesco and champagne porcini sauce. It was so good, I could have licked the last remaining dribbles of sauce off the plate! My partner had the traditional haddock and chips, and our friend chose the monkfish tail in a Thai curry sauce. The service was friendly and attentive, the food delicious, and the prices very reasonable. For anyone visiting Edinburgh, the Shore area in the Port of Leith, is Edinburgh’s ‘foodie’ quarter with many fine restaurants, including fish restaurants: the Ship on the Shore is definitely one of the restaurants that is not to be missed.

Food was good, very good selection of beers and whiskey and staff is very attentive and patient With questions. Service and place atmosphere is excellent indeed

Very large and nicely decorated restaurant. I gave it 3 stars for the service and decor. The food would have got much less- it was expensive and very average :(

It wants to be a nice place for Harry Potter fans, but the drinks are not good, the staff is not very nice and there were a lot of things needed for the potions missing. It felt rushed and not magical at all. For the money you spend you’d expect a better treatment

This meal was planned for a works night out for my staff to say thank you to all their hard work over the Christmas period. Overall, this wasn’t a spectacular night out and this was mainly regarding the food option available and the cleanliness of the restaurant. In terms of booking, this was a very easy process with a simple card hold regarding my booking size which was very standard, the overall process was stress free and easy to follow. However, when it came to changing the booking size to less people attending; it took me 3 days and multiple phone calls to the restaurant before actually speaking to anyone about this matter. This was extremely stressful as it states on the booking if not changed within 24 hours of the timing; there will be a £5 charge per head that didn’t attend. Now this is very understandable however frustrating as I was trying my best to communicate with the venue this change and nearly entered within the 24hour deadline line and would not of been happy to pay this fee when it wasn’t my fault. When we attended the booking we were welcomed by a really friendly hostess who quickly sat us all at our table. All staff I interacted with were friendly, cheery and willing to help with orders and food which was great to see. But one of the let downs came to the food options of the restaurant (I have took into consideration my booking was towards the end of close and understand they may not be producing fresh food) however the food that was made available was extremely dry as if it had been sitting out for a while even before we arrived. (Some of us did order a few alcoholic drinks which we thought where well valued and tasted nice and would like to highlight this) And last but not least, the biggest let down and the major concern that was noticed was the large volume of flies that was around the food and table (suspected to be sewer flies) which put a lot of us off from eating. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant again, although the staff where friendly, and it was certainly not value for money

We recently visited Cosmo, excited to enjoy their diverse spread, but unfortunately, the experience fell well short due to one glaring issue—most of the food was cold. While the selection looked promising, with a wide variety of dishes, the lack of proper temperature management made it difficult to enjoy anything. Hot dishes like the curries and the rice along with the mussels,prawns, pizza slices the vegatables on offer were lukewarm at best. The cold food not only detracted from the taste but also worrried me with regards to food safety. We informed a member of staff who said they would pass it on but no one else came back to speak to us about our concerns. The management needs to get a grip on this before someone becomes ill. This is one buffet we will be avoiding when in Edinburgh.

5 4 3 2 1 4.4 (3,456) Reviews All Service Meal Price service charge74 afternoon tea60 shepherd's pie30 bill30 +6 Sort by Most relevant Newest Highest Lowest jane fairnie (Janee) Local Guide·40 reviews·18 photos Dine in | Other | £50–60 We were so very disappointed by our afternoon tea experience today (17th Dec). Although I'd booked for afternoon tea the staff were unaware and presented us with A La Carte menus. When the food arrived it was quite theatrically presented …More Alejandro (AlejOpinion) Local Guide·377 reviews·2143 photos 4 months ago Dine in | Other | £30–40 From the moment I walked in, I was captivated by the beautiful decor and elegant ambiance. The Ivy exudes a timeless charm that perfectly complements the indulgent experience of afternoon tea. …More Video 1 in review by Alejandro (AlejOpinion) Photo 2 in review by Alejandro (AlejOpinion) Scone Photo 4 in review by Alejandro (AlejOpinion)+8 The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh (owner) 4 months ago We sincerely thank you for the positive review, and look forward to seeing you again soon! Alfie Seddon Local Guide·9 reviews·150 photos a week ago New The service here is excellent. The food in particular the lobster linguine was also amazing. It's in a prime location in the heart of Edinburgh so was full when I went. Booking in advance is a must therefore! …More Photo 1 in review by Alfie Seddon Photo 2 in review by Alfie Seddon Photo 3 in review by Alfie Seddon Photo 4 in review by Alfie Seddon The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh (owner) a week ago Hi Alfie, thank you so much for the positive review! Storm Parlour Local Guide·48 reviews·89 photos a week ago New Dine in | Dinner | £40–50 Absolutely beautiful place to eat, second time now and this time we had an evening meal, service was impeccable and food was to die for- would recommend this to anyone visiting Edinburgh. I’ve also had breakfast once which was also a delight! …More Photo 1 in review by Storm Parlour Photo 2 in review by Storm Parlour Photo 3 in review by Storm Parlour Photo 4 in review by Storm Parlour+2 The Ivy On The Square Edinburgh (owner) a week ago Hi Storm Parlour, thank you so much for the positive review! jane fairnie (Janee) Local Guide·40 reviews·18 photos a minute ago New Dine in | Other | £50–60 We were so very disappointed by our afternoon tea experience today (17th Dec). Although I'd booked for afternoon tea the staff were unaware and presented us with A La Carte menus. When the food arrived it was quite theatrically presented with dry ice, but that's were the drama stopped. The bread in the sandwiches was ordinary sliced supermarket bread, some crusts still on and not very appealing. Everything, fillings and bread, was soft with no variation of texture. At this level of restaurant we expected home baked or artisan bread. The scones were good but came with no butter and miniscule amounts of jam and cream for 2 scones each. This left the scones quite dry to eat. The cakes weren't brilliant. The pistachio battenburg's marzipan was so soft and sticky we could hardly pick them up, the pastry in the éclair was hard and stale but the mini mince pies were lovely and the chocolate mousse snowball was a highlight. Service was perfunctory, we had to ask for our tea, and when it came I had to ask for lemon for my Earl Grey. The service didn't warrant the 12% service charge, although we grudgingly paid it. For £107 this was poor value for money and we were so disappointed as we expected far more from The Ivy.

Amazing vegetarian and vegan Indian food. The food is always amazing. Staff can have a slight tendency to disappear but are always lovely.

My wife and I last dined here in September 2013 and it was so good we had to go back. It did not disappoint. the interior of the hotel is worth going in for a pint on its own. We started with baked camembert and then had the seafood pie. The meal was amazing. Big thankyou to the staff for making it another memorable night. This is a must do dining experience in Edinburgh.

What a fantastic spot for Christmas Day lunch. Staff were magnificent, and the food was out of this world. We'll be back again, no doubt. Thoroughly recommend this 0lace to visit if you are in Edinburgh.

Waiting staff fantastic pastas very bland shop bought not made on site pizza burnt and very lacking on toppings could do a lot better if the cook had pasha

Lovely clean pub with a great atmosphere. Friendly staff.

Burgers were delicious but were nothing compared to the amazing service!

Tasty food but not the cheapest for the portion sizes...