Where to eat and drink in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee

from The Skinny Guide to Christmas and Hogmanay 2022

Hogmanay! Where to see in the new year in Edinburgh Glasgow and Dundee

Feeling Fancy

Organising ‘the Christmas night out’ can be a tricky task, but if you get it right you’ll be a hero until mid-January at the very least – here are some of our top tips

Words: Peter Simpson

We’ll start with some classic restaurants – great dining rooms where everyone gets a nice meal and has a lovely time. Top of the list is te Seba (393 Great Western Rd, Glasgow), an excellent spot that’s focused pretty squarely on pasta and bellinis. The pasta is incredible, the drinks are brilliant, the staff are welcoming and the decor is pleasingly stripped-back. It’s not as stripped back as The Outsider (16 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh), which balances a muted colour palette with some amazing views of Edinburgh’s Old Town out the back. Once you tear yourself away from the window, expect some crowd-pleasing bistro classics.

The Palmerston (1 Palmerston Pl, Edinburgh) operates in a similar vein – you’ll find an ever-changing menu of inventive dishes centred around great Scottish ingredients, all in a lovingly restored former bank. For something a bit cosier, head to Julie’s Kopitiam (1109 Pollokshaws Rd, Glasgow) for excellent home-style Malaysian dishes in a wonderfully welcoming atmosphere. If you want to capture the vibe of a night in, but with excellent chefs in the kitchen, this is the place for you.

Alternatively, turn away from the homely and embrace chaos by heading to Chez Jules (109 Hanover St, Edinburgh) or Pizzeria 1926 (85 Dalry Rd, Edinburgh). The former is a basement French bistro that’s all low lighting, low low prices and excellent steak; the latter is Edinburgh’s best pizzeria, a hive of activity lined with Napoli football shirts and innumerable references to Diego Maradona. If you

Image: courtesy The Palmerston Photo: Clair Irwin

The Palmerston Brett

Photo: Murry Orr

Festive Spirit

Eleanore

can wedge yourself in, the Agacan (113 Perth Rd, Dundee) pairs excellent Turkish mezze and kebabs with an incredibly vibrant aesthetic. Worried you’ll be stuck for conversation? Let the walls and tabletops entertain you!

If folk are willing to share, Mother India’s Cafe in Edinburgh (3 Infirmary St) and Glasgow (1355 Argyle St) offers great rewards. Delicious Indian dishes served tapas-style, the best strategy here is to pick a few things each, then spend your evening di ing into a bit of everything. Small plates are generally a good way to go as they’re ideal for sharing and keeping people from taking the hump because they’ve ordered the wrong thing. Ox and Finch (920 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow) and Five March (140 Elderslie St, Glasgow) both bring a pan-European approach to the sharing table, while Brett (321 Great Western Rd, Glasgow) focus on fire-cooked dishes and an excellent wine selection.

Gloriosa (1321 Argyle St, Glasgow) serves up an absolutely brilliant selection of dishes with Mediterranean influences throughout, and Noto (47a Thistle St, Edinburgh) offers a diverse but expertly-presented mix of small plates pulling influences from across Europe and Asia. Sol y Sombra (27 Gray St, Dundee) offers a classic tapas set-up which takes a lot of hassle out of a night out – the menu changes daily, so just state your dietary requirements, and before you know it you’ll be presented with a big ol’ platter of tapas with your name on it.

If you can push the boat out, there’s a good batch of restaurants in the category we’ll call ‘cool fancy’. Places like Stravaigin (28 Gibson St, Glasgow), with its boundary-pushing takes on Scottish cuisine, or Celentano’s (28-32 Cathedral Sq, Glasgow) and its elevated Italianinspired menu. Crabshakk (1114 Argyle St, Glasgow) is ideal for fish fans with expertly-prepared and pleasingly simple dishes, while Eleanore (30 Albert Pl, Edinburgh) pulls together a whole load of influences and styles into brilliant plates of food.

On the Go

Lunch spots for shopping breaks, places to hide from your friends and family, and a surprising amount of spice – this Christmas, we’ve got you covered...

Words: Peter Simpson

As much as we love Christmas, festive overload is very much a real thing; there are only so many times you can hear Step Into Christmas before you start swinging at folk. At the same time, you want to support local businesses, and that means going outside, where everyone is being extremely jolly. What to do?

Edinburgh

One classic trick is to run off and hide just out of reach. Tucked away on the corner of Princes Street, Taco Libre (3 Shandwick Pl) serves up excellent tacos and great margaritas in a pleasantly chaotic environment. Hakataya (122 Rose St S Ln) will give you a fantastic bowl of ramen, around the side of the many, many Christmas nights out up and down Rose Street. Pickles (60 Broughton St) is a stone’s throw from the St James, but it’s a whole other world of relaxing chairs and cheese boards that go on for days.

If you just need to grab *something*, we have a few su estions. Sister Bao (32 S Clerk St) serve tasty and ludicrously cheap bao buns from their shop in Newington; Piemaker (38 South Bridge) remains the best place to grab a handheld snack in the heart of the city; The Sicilian Pastry Shop (14 Albert St) make up delicious sandwiches every day, or you can just go wild and have a cannoli for lunch. It’s Christmas!

Glasgow

Christmas shopping got you down? Legs knackered? Need fuel, no time, want help? What you need is Paesano (94 Miller St and 471 Great Western Rd) – the pizzas are excellent, the venues are enormous, the pricing is incredibly reasonable and the service is terrifyingly quick. Fastest we know of someone getting in, eating, and leaving is 14 minutes – if you break the record this Christmas, get in touch.

Image: courtesy Paesano

Image: courtesy Sugo

Sugo

It’s a similar story across at the Lighthouse, where Sugo (70 Mitchell St) applies the Paesano formula to pasta. Big bowls of ragu, hundreds and hundreds of seats, and enough hustle and bustle to revive anyone. Just around the corner, Mezcal (104 Hope St) has great tacos and an extensive tequila list. It’s just behind Central Station in the middle of town, but with a fantastic level of neon lighting to zap you back to life. Ting Thai Caravan (19 W Nile St) does a great line in bowls of noodles, small boxes, tasty snacks and very spicy things; more neon in here as well, if anyone’s starting to spot a theme.

Alternatively, hop on the bus to the Southside, and take a break at Ranjit’s Kitchen (607 Pollokshaws Rd). Have an excellent homemade curry to keep you going, or grab a pal and get the Panjabi tea for two – a brilliant selection of savoury nibbles, sweets, and the house chai, it’s guaranteed to pull you out of any kind of festive funk.

Dundee

When you’re marching about on a Christmas shopping run, versatility is key. You might want a coffee, or lunch, or a beer or to keep shopping… The Bach (31 Meadowside) has it all covered. Great beers and wines with a New Zealand twist, a great brunch and all-day menu, lovely coffee, a tuck shop-type situation filled with Southern Hemisphere treats – just stay here, to be honest.

Elsewhere, Pacamara (302 Perth Rd) offer excellent coffee and brunch to fuel you up for the day, Rad Apples (51 Meadowside) has tasty vegan bar food and the prospect of gigs downstairs if you can’t face more Christmas stuff, and Loco Rita’s (15 Old Hawkhill) and Mas (304 Perth Rd) provide the chance to get your tacos in both vegan-friendly and omnivore set-ups.

Festive Tipple

Christmas is the time of year you’re obliged to hang out with your family, but it’s also the perfect occasion to grab some festive drinks with friends or get properly hammered with co-workers to help toast another year at the coalface

Words: Jamie Dunn

For a quality night out with friends around the holidays, you’ll probably want to go somewhere a bit special but also somewhere that’s a haven from the Scottish winter; somewhere that’s as chic as it is cosy, basically.

Edinburgh

Fitting that bill in Edinburgh is The Devil’s Advocate (9 Advocate’s Close), an Old Town jewel serving great whisky and cocktails that you’ll find halfway down a staircase between The Royal Mile and Cockburn Street. Other inviting cocktail joints are to be found scattered around the New Town. Bramble (16A Queen St) offers low light and cool tunes while neighbouring Lucky Liquor (39A Queen St) is more stripped back, with a great menu of 13 drinks that change with the seasons.

Nightcap (3 York Pl) is a snug spot with a menu of alternative cocktail classics, and it’s right next to The Stand, so perfect for some drinks before festive comedy. Down in Leith, you have Nauticus (142 Duke St), where every concoction has a link to Leith’s rich history as a trading hub, the West End has Hey Palu (49 Bread St), an Italian aperitivo-style drinking den, while on the Southside, the neon-lit Paradise Palms (41 Lothian St) offers more of a tropical party feel for your Christmas night out.

If wine is your preferred Christmas tipple, run to the lovely Spry (1 Haddington Pl), the small but perfectly-formed Mistral (10-12 Bonnington Rd) or the vibrant Wine and Peach (91 Dalry Rd). We’re also fans of the chic Nótt (13 Crighton Pl), which also has a deli counter specialising in cheeses, meats and homemade Turkish delights, so you could pick up some last-minute gifts for those foodies in your life.

Craft beer aficionados looking for a Christmas night out can choose from The Hanging Bat (133 Lothian Rd) and Salt Horse (57-61 Blackfriars St), both of which offer an ever-changing menu of sharply curated beers. And if you

Image: courtesy Lucky Liquor

Photo: Siobhan Nevada