RESTAURANTS

BABA

130 George Street, baba.restaurant BABA is a great spot for big groups. There’s a selection of mezze plates you can’t stop picking at, as well as feasting dishes from the grill, including an entire seared sea bream dripping with flavour, or a rose-pink côte de boeuf. Dishes are laden with spices from the Levant and can be washed down with tasty craft cocktails.

Bentoya

13 Bread Street, bentoya-edinburgh.com

On busy Bread Street (handy for the Tattoo as well as venues around Lothian Road), Bentoya has had a facelift. Lightwood Japanese zen now successfully clashes with J-pop tunes while the food remains their fusion of classic sushi with experimental twists, plus ramen, udon and donburi. Reservations essential.

Chizuru Tei

278 Morrison Street, chizurutei.co.uk

Maybe it’s the unassuming décor that keeps this spot off-radar, but it’s undoubtedly a bonus that (probably) the best sushi in Edinburgh remains a bit of a secret. The fish is so fresh it could have come from Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji market that morning, while bento boxes, variety platters and a small corkage for BYOB keeps the bill pleasingly low.

Harajuku Kitchen

10 Gillespie Place, harajukukitchen.co.uk

A funky interior and some of the sharpest staff in the city keep this place feeling on-trend despite its pedigree as a stalwart of Gillespie Place. The usual Californian-style sushi rolls (dragon, spider, rainbow) are served refreshingly chilled and the sashimi tastes as light as spring water. There’s a takeout truck at St James Quarter too.

Hope Izakaya

40–41 Queensferry Street, hopeomurisu-izakaya.com

The traditional Japanese cry of ‘irasshaimase!’ greets you as you step into this Queensferry Street joint styling itself on a Japanese izakaya. Fittingly, dishes mirror late-night dining in Tokyo; like rice bowls topped with eel, or slowcooked pork heavy on the sauce. Plus, there’s an array of beer snackstyle kushiyaki (everything grilled on a stick).

Kyloe

1–3 Rutland Square, kyloerestaurant.com

Proudly championing ethical Scottish beef, they know their way around the grill at this West End spot. It's an oasis of special occasion calm, where a well-drilled team will lead you through the different cuts and cooking temperatures of the meat to make sure your meal represents some of the best Scotland has to offer.

The Palmerston

1 Palmerston Place, thepalmerstonedinburgh.co.uk

The beautiful bones of a former bank, a daily changing menu, in-house baker and instinctive understanding of what people actually want to eat means The Palmerston is well worth a tenminute walk away from the action. Expect careful sourcing, simple plating and a really rather nice time (and if the sharing chop is on, don’t hesitate).

Sen Viet Vegan

23a Brougham Place, instagram.com/senvietvegan

Sen Viet Vegan shows plant-based doesn’t have to lack depth or flavour. Tingly, fresh papaya salads and hearty coconut curries served in stone bowls leave your tastebuds tickled, and if it wasn’t for the repetition of ‘wheat protein’ on the menu, carnivores probably wouldn't even notice this place is fully vegan.

Vesta

7–8 Queensferry Street, vestaedinburgh.co.uk

Paired with Social Bite, Vesta closes every Tuesday afternoon to serve a meal to locals experiencing

TRAM-TASTIC

Edinburgh’s trams now run from the airport to Newhaven, so to celebrate we’re travelling from one end of the route to the other, jumping off for some of the best food and drink options that are just a wee stroll from a handy tram stop

Edinburgh Park Central PATINA

3 Airborne Place, 1 New Park Square, patinaedinburgh.com

If you’re staying out west, Patina is a brilliant place to bookend your journey; a roomy space, with its own bakery and restaurant and regular live music.

Murrayfield Stadium

DINE MURRAYFIELD

8 Murrayfield Place, murrayfield.scot

A five-minute walk brings you to Dine Murrayfield where chef Stuart Muir knows his audience: sophisticated contemporary Scottish cooking matched with some cracking cocktails.

Haymarket

PIZZA GEEKS

19 Dalry Road, pizzageeks.co.uk

Grabbing a takeaway before tramming home? You won’t go wrong with one of these Neapolitaninspired thin and crisp pies. There’s a handful of tables for sitting in too.

West End TEUCHTERS BAR AND BUNKER

26 William Street, teuchtersbar.co.uk

Choices widen as the tram hits town but it would be a shame to miss picturesque William Street and the equally lovely Teuchters, with its mug-based meals and huge whisky list.

Princes Street

THE SCOTTISH CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT

National Gallery Of Scotland, The Mound, contini.com

Hidden under the National Gallery

(enter through Princes Street Gardens) is an oasis of classic Scottish dishes done the right way; think Cullen skink, filled butteries and home-baking.

McDonald Road

ELEANORE

30–31 Albert Place, Leith Walk, eleanore.uk

On to Leith; here, you’re a block away from Eleanore, where Roberta HallMcCarron’s team focus on elegant yet casual small-plate dining in a pocket handkerchief of a dining room.

Balfour Street

STORRIES HOME BAKERY

279 Leith Walk

There are a million chain bakeries out there, but Storries is the OG. Open practically all night, their pies are miraculous: if contemplating bad decisions, stop and get a macaroni pie down you first.

Foot Of The Walk

THE LIONESS OF LEITH

21–25 Duke Street, thelionessofleith.co.uk

Burger bars come and go, but The Lioness endures. A fabby community pub with well-priced cocktails, a friendly crowd and two-handsneeded-unlock-your-jaws burgers. Plenty of meat-free options too.

Newhaven DREADNOUGHT

72 North Fort Street, dreadnoughtpub.com homelessness, so spending a little of your festival budget here helps an amazing cause. The menu is seasonal, dishes perfectly plated and the focus is Scottish produce. It’s a top-notch spot for an evening cocktail or swift glass of wine too.

You’ve reached the end of the line. You probably need a pint. Dreadnought have you covered. An inclusive and welcoming space, there’s a focus on real ale and good times.

Vietnam House

3 Grove Street, vietnamhouserestaurant.co.uk

Spicy, soupy bowls of bún bò Huế and fresh summer rolls cover the spectrum of Vietnamese cuisine at this cosy restaurant. It’s a small spot (the toilet is right next to the dishwashing area) and booking a table is essential. BYOB or sip a hot lotus tea.

Cafes And Casual Bites

A Wee Taste

36 Leven Street, aweetaste.co.uk

Showcasing some of Edinburgh’s local produce on towering charcuterie boards, A Wee Taste is a dinky spot to while away an evening over a bottle of wine. Their everchanging list has some intriguing Hungarian numbers and the sharing platters taste as good as they look; and they look pretty damn good.

Don’t Tell Mama

64 Home Street, donttellmama.uk

This café is all about coffee, cocktails and art. Works by local artists are on rotation along with an excellent selection of independently roasted coffees, sleek americanos and sludgy Greek pick-me-ups.

Spanakopita and bougatsa help soak up the caffeine or try a more substantial tahini-kissed brunch.

Froth & Flame

192 Morrison Street, frothandflame.co.uk

This pizza joint is big and lofty inside, with a wood-fired oven roaring away in the open kitchen. Watch your sourdough pizza slide into the flames while enjoying a pint of craft beer, or a pretty-as-a-picture cocktail. The signature pie is topped with flat iron steak and a mountain of parmesan; if you finish that off yourself, you get another pizza free.

KONJ Café

67 Home Street, konjcafe.com

KONJ’s breakfasts and brunches lure folk in from afar. Persian breakfasts with fried eggs, feta and walnuts or sweet omelette flavoured with saffron whisk you to the streets of Tehran, while cakes soaked in honey and dusted with pistachios pair perfectly with perfumed tea. Look out for their supper clubs too.

Milk

232 Morrison Street, cafemilk.co.uk

Milk is an Edinburgh micro-chain (you’ll find them at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and Inverleith Park) and the Morrison Street branch is the OG. Big brunches and lunches aren’t short of greenery and the coffees go down a treat. Plus, there’s a drool-worthy selection of home baking at the stylish subwaytiled counter.

Bars

1820 Rooftop Bar at Johnnie Walker Princes Street 145 Princes Street, johnniewalker.com

After you’ve perused the whiskies on the ground floor, or enjoyed the highly recommended Journey Of Flavour experience, taking the lift to this rooftop café-bar feels like discovering a secret. A wall of glass shows off an unparalleled view of Edinburgh Castle as you sip their malt of the moment, menus are matched to the whisky and there’s an outdoor terrace for sunny days.

Brauhaus

105 Lauriston Place, instagram.com/brauhaus_edinburgh

With its cracked-stone floor and mishmash of chairs and tables, there’s a thrown-together feel to Brauhaus. It’s got a fab selection of German and Belgian beers, from rich dunkel to light, cool kellerbier, plus some natural wines. Service is brisk but the candlelit atmosphere can’t be beaten for a pint.

The Hanging Bat

133 Lothian Road, thehangingbat.com

It’s a mecca for craft beer in Edinburgh, with around 20 draught beers and ales plus over 100 bottles. But don’t let that intimidate you; the staff here are friendly and will help you decipher the difference between a rich porter or zesty IPA. There are hearty burgers and hot dogs too.

Panda & Sons

79 Queen Street, pandaandsons.com

Often featuring on best bar lists, Panda & Sons masquerades as a barber’s shop and serves up cocktails crafted with the precision of a Michelin chef in a fun, secret speakeasy environment. Their recent experiments in freezing techniques are lauded by mixology geeks, but even the most casual cocktail drinker will find something delicious here.

The Wildcat

11–13 Tarvit Street, thewildcatbar.com

Low-lit and intimate, this tuckedaway cocktail bar on Tarvit Street still feels like a local secret. They’ll do you all the classics with finesse but the menu is all about their inventive signatures: a yuzu-flavoured gin number, and rum with apricot, pineapple and absinthe. Keeping it accessible, there’s usually something on the blackboard around the £5 mark.

MY

PICKS

Kevin Fullerton

THE LIST ONLINE NEWS EDITOR

Festival season in Edinburgh is a cultural binge like no other, and cramming in as many shows as possible means you want a restaurant that’ll serve you within minutes. Such is the appeal of The Mosque Kitchen, a canteenstyle Indian offering phenomenal curries at bargain bhuna prices. It’s my go-to when I need nourishing food without frills.

Minutes from Mosque Kitchen is Brass Monkey, a hip hangout with long sofas and myriad nooks and crannies to shelter you from the Fringe madness. It’s crammed with students by night, but by day it’s a haven. I spotted Stewart Lee enjoying a pint there last year. He loves it, so you should too.

KAMPONG AH LEE AMPONG

Kampong Ah Lee

A Malaysian restaurant had been established in Edinburgh on the 1st August 2007 by Mr Lee, a day that worth memories by all our customer who love what we do

“it been a pleasure to serve Edinburgh for over 15 years and still counting, thank you everyone for showing your love and support us along the way, we are looking forward to continue bringing you our beloved Malaysian cuisine and our creativity”

ADDRESS: 28 Clerk Street Edinburgh, EH8 9HX

TELEPHONE: 0131 281 6172

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Festival Hot Shots

Japanese singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba is bringing her ethereal vocals and alternative folk-inspired compositions to Queen’s Hall (19 August, 8pm) as part of EIF’s contemporary music line-up. Expect dreamy outfits and transportative harmonies that may well generate some goosebumps.

Known for brilliantly observed French vs British culture sketches (which receive a lot of love on social media), Tatty Macleod zooms further into cultural adaptation in Fugue, her debut hour of stand-up at Monkey Barrel (2–27 August, 2.10pm).

Hard-hitting live art can sometimes get lost at the Fringe, but Rachel Mars’ FORGE (23–25 August, times vary) is one not to be missed. Over the course of three days at the Lyceum’s workshop on Roseburn Street, Mars will weld a replica of Dachau concentration camp’s ‘welcome’ gate that was stolen in 2014, to an original soundscape composed by Dinah Mullen.