3 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.

Edinburgh is blessed with several excellent French bistros, and this is one of the best. Although the modern decor evokes Paris, the food has the rustic flavor of the southern Languedoc region. The à la carte and prix-fixe menus are full of Languedoc classics like cassoulet (a rich, slow-cooked casserole with Toulouse sausage) alongside dishes that use fresh Scottish ingredients. Try the deliciously floral lavender crème brûlée for dessert—a surprisingly light finale to a heady dining experience.

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.