The best restaurants in Edinburgh and Lothian

We enjoyed dinner twice during our stay in Edinburgh. The roasted chicken was delicious and the feta salad was tasty enough that we ordered it again the next time we were there. We enjoyed the slow roasted lamb shank that time at Sofia’s. We also their sticky toffee pudding for dessert which we were told was made with dates… it was scrumptious!! I highly recommend this restaurant.

Great place to have a drink and listen to good Jazz music.

Not one to leave bad reviews but I dare anyone to look how dirty the restaurant is when they go in, sat in the corner next to a pillar. Pillar and window was caked in sauce that's been there a lot longer than the one day as the pillar has a fabric cover which I know they ain't cleaning hahahaha!... Price was reasonable considering the location but the service sucked bro, blue cheese was like milk and the honey mustard was just honey with a tickle of mustard... I get everyone has different ideas of how sauces are supposed to be and I get the restaurant can have their sauce whatever way they want... But bro, clean your restaurant!

Small, very busy restaurant with fantastic service, the food wasn’t quite what I was expecting, perhaps I ordered the wrong thing but I just didn’t find it that authentic. The tempura prawns were definitely more panko and the Thai curry sauce was very thick and clawing, I ordered with medium rare steak but unfortunately it arrived more rare and unrested resulting in the bloody juices leaking into the coconut cream sauce which just looked very unpleasant. On a positive the crab dumplings (I think that’s what they were) were really tasty and again the staff were all really friendly.

Enjoyed my ramen a lot, had the steak ramen. No complaints and a good meal was had

We are trying to find a decent Cantonese restaurant in Edinburgh. For many year we were loyal customers of the Loon Fung in Edinburgh, until it was acquired and standard of food declined exponentially! So based on reviews we ordered a take out from Cool Jade, which was disappointing! The Lemon Chicken came with a separate sweet and strange tasting lemon sauce, which we all didn’t like. The Satay Chicken looked strange and tasted like it came straight out a bottle. The sauce was quite runny and tasteless. Shiu-Mai was dry and completely unappetising! The service as however friendly and fast. We won’t be visiting this restaurant.

Vine a probar este café como me recomendó mi amigo y ahora entiendo por qué. El café era excepcional, como nada más que haya probado. La presentación y la explicación fueron puntuales. El servicio fue increíble y generalmente disfruté de mi tiempo allí. Tuve el pan de plátano tostado y desearía poder tenerlo todos los días jaja. Definitivamente volveré.

We are locals and love coming here to this great, cosy, friendly restaurant. Our evening begins in their downstairs wine bar before heading up the restaurant, and back down for a nightcap. The menu seems to change daily. Last night my partner praised the beef Bourgogne. The pheasant & partridge main was great. I’d recommend the Puilly Fume wine and the French dessert wine to accompany the cheese. This is an amazing, family run establishment and so friendly.

Absolutely disgusted by the attitude of the front counter lady. We arrived without a booking and had mentally prepared for the possibility of being turned away or having to wait for a long time. There were two groups ahead of us - she greeted them and told them they would get a table in 10 minutes. She completely ignored us (first red flag). After I made eye contact with her, she curtly told us she didn’t have a table available in a frustrating manner (second red flag) and then walked away. With no clear information given, we assumed we could queue for our turn. Five minutes later, she noticed we were still in line behind the two groups and shouted at us, asking why we were still there since she had already told us there was no table. We explained that we didn’t mind waiting, but her response was appalling: 'I don’t have a table for you, do you want to wait for 1.5 hours?' We understand it’s a busy café, but she could have politely informed us about the 1.5-hour wait time instead of shouting. After reading past reviews, I realized we weren’t the only ones who had this kind of experience. We were initially drawn to this brunch café by its positive food reviews, but the treatment we received was horrendous. They have absolutely no interest in customer service, and the first impression was terrible. I’m glad we didn’t spend a penny supporting a business like this.

We have been to the Gurkha on numerous occasions and thoroughly enjoy it, service is normally 1st class and food is lovely. However, we went last night and we were so disappointed. The place was so busy, they had the tables crammed together, you felt like you were having dinner with strangers, they tables were that close. We had not even finished our starters when our main meals arrived at the table, when I asked the waitress to take it back she refused. A couple next to us had a larger table and the waitress asked if she could dispose their table to allow another couple to sit between us the man refused however the waiter then came over and divided the tables. The waiting staff were rushing all over the place resulting in two of the banging into each other and food went everywhere all over a customers clothing. Felt like we were eating in a cattle market. Won’t rush back as it spoilt the whole experience.

Lovely meal. Music too loud. Lacked atmosphere. Coffee absolutely awful.

My absolutely favorite breakfast spot in Edinburgh! Just writing this review makes me long for their delicious Full Scottish Breakfast (highly recommend!). The friendliness and warmth of the staff makes me feel welcomed and at ease. Even when this charming and cozy restaurant is full and busy, I still feel well tended to and appreciate the calmness and professionalism of the waiters. I also enjoy the Scottish touches -- like receiving a serving of haggis with the a miniature Scottish flag proudly placed in the center of the iconic dish. Will definitely return!

This is some really good oink here, I passed by in the morning when for the walk on the hill and saw the pork being freshly pulled. Lovely! Service was fast

Wow, stop scrolling, and book here. The Three Birds is a must eat restaurant while you are in Scotland. Amazing food, with incredible provenance and fantastic, cheery Scottish hospitality.

We come on Sunday morning and it was lovely. Everything was top class and everyone who works there super friendly and kind. Virginia greeted us and showed us to our table, she was happy and have such good sence of humour. Sophie who was our server was very helpful on helping us to choose what to eat. All place looked very well managed and everyone looked very happy to be there. We had Vegan bowl and scotish fry and both dishes were very tasty. Green smoothie and chai latte were delicious. Thank you for amazing service to everyone who works in this busy place.