7 Best Restaurants in Edinburgh and the Lothians, Scotland

Leith's premier dining experience, this high-end restaurant combines imaginative cuisine, luxuriously understated decor, and a lovely waterfront location. Renowned Michelin-starred chef Martin Wishart woos diners with his inspired menu of artistically presented, French-influenced dishes. To get a flavor of everything the restaurant has to offer, choose the ever-changing, multicourse tasting menu (£110); there's also a mouthwatering vegetarian tasting menu, and you can mix and match to tailor your perfect meal. To experience Martin Wishart's creations on more of a budget, visit for lunch from Wednesday to Friday, when the set menu is £42.50. Reservations are advised midweek and essential on weekends.

For fine dining with a touch of theater, it's hard to beat this superb open-kitchen restaurant, where you can sit at the bar and watch the skilled chefs prepare and assemble each course. The à la carte menu is small—there's a choice of just three starters, three mains, and three desserts—but it's filled with innovative and exciting dishes, such as dressed crab with curry and smoked almonds or spatchcock partridge with haggis and celeriac. A three-course meal with set you back around £50 without drinks.

Sophisticated surroundings, spectacular views, and sumptuous cuisine make this restaurant, originally opened in 1925, one of Edinburgh's best spots for fine dining. Head chef Dan Ashmore uses his expertise in great Scottish produce, from venison to sea trout, to serve up a stunning, "mystery" seven-course tasting menu (it comes in a sealed envelope; it's up to you when, or if, you want to take a peek). The paired wines compliment each course perfectly. For lesser appetites, there's also a £55 three-course menu available for dinner or a £35 three-course Sunday lunch.

Owner and chef Scott Smith, who previously ran the award-winning Norn, serves seasonal, Scandinavian-inspired fare here with rare Scottish ingredients, from beremeal (an ancient form of barley) bread to sea buckthorn. Choose from seven to 10 courses for dinner (£65 to £90), with menus arriving sealed in envelopes; you're encouraged to trust the chef and leave them unopened until after dessert. There's no à la carte here, but the lunch option is a four-course menu—and something of a steal at £35 a head. The decor is similarly Scandi-minimalist (almost austere), with plenty of plain white walls and wood veneer. 

Clublike but unstuffy, this outstanding basement restaurant, set within the Edwardian splendor of The Balmoral hotel, is made for intimate dining. The food is extraordinary, with a menu that highlights the best of Scottish seafood and meat in inventive fashion—from scallops and sturgeon to lamb and beef. However, the prices make this a place for serious special occasions; the seven-course menu is £110 per person, without wine. Service is impeccable and friendly, as you would expect for these prices.

This fabulous seafood restaurant just off the Royal Mile makes waves with its expertly prepared dishes from sustainable fishing sources. The menu is populated with Scottish seafood staples, from salmon and sea bream to lobster and langoustines, but these are often served in interesting and surprising ways. A wall of windows shines bountiful amounts of sunlight on an attractive monochromatic dining room and an art deco oyster bar. The location is perfect for a walk-in lunch during the week, but you may need to book in advance for evenings and weekends.

A perennially popular high-end dining option, Tom Kitchin's Michelin-starred venture packs in the crowds. Kitchin, who trained in France, runs a tight ship, and his passion for using seasonal and locally sourced produce to his own creative ends shows no sign of waning. Unfashionable ingredients such as ox tongue, tripe, and pig's head emerge heroic after Kitchin's alchemy, and he works his magic equally dexterously on more familiar elements such as seafood and venison. To sample this rarified culinary world on a (relative) budget, try the three-course set lunch for £45.