From fine dining to beach shacks, there’s always somewhere new and exciting to explore in Edinburgh.
GLENEAGLES TOWNHOUSE
After nearly 100 years in Perthshire, Gleneagles Hotel is expanding to the capital, opening a new townhouse hotel in St. Andrews Square this spring. The opening of Gleneagles Townhouse will be the culmination of a five-year restoration project of this beautiful Georgian pile, once home to the British Linen Bank.
Billed as ‘A Place to Gather and be Glorious’, Gleneagles Townhouse will have 33 bedrooms, an all-day restaurant The Spence in the old banking hall, and Lamplighters, a rooftop members’ club and bar. Gleneagles Townhouse promises to showcase the best local producers and has a planned partnership with homelessness charity Social Bite.
37-39 St Andrew Square
PHO
Pho have opened their first Scottish restaurant in the St. James Quarter. Grab a comfy booth and a spoon and order deep bowls of aromatic Vietnamese pho (rice noodle soup), delicious with juicy prawns or thinly sliced steak.
Also try the delicate prawn summer rolls with nuoc cham sauce. This is a great spot for vegans with dozens of options, and it’s coeliac friendly too.
St James Quarter, EH1 3AE
SHRIMPWRECK
Along at Portobello, ShrimpWreck is new to the Promenade, but not to street-food fans across Edinburgh. Since 2016 ShrimpWreck has been a popular feature at food markets and festivals including The Pitt (always a queue for the signature Shrimp buns) and Platform in Glasgow.
After being featured on BBC’s Million Pound Menu, owner Ewen Hutchison was inundated with offers of restaurant spaces and investment, but he held out for his dream: a shack on the beach. “We have now been open in Porty for three months.
"Myself and the team are absolutely loving our new home. Being able to cook our food with a view of the sea, while seeing and hearing how satisfied our customers are, is a genuine dream come true. We have so many great ideas for the year ahead and can’t wait to share them!”
47-49 Figgate Ln, Portobello, EH15 1HJ
GULP RAMEN
This venue has had the double struggle of a pandemic and the tram works – but still managed to build up a loyal noodle fan-base.
Visit this stylish little restaurant for deeply flavoured bowls of ramen with hakata-style toasted buckwheat noodles, or thick udon-style slurpers, and a changing selection of incredible Asian-style side dishes.
9 Albert Place, EH7 5HN
MATTO PIZZA
Lockdown delivery favourites Matto Pizza have opened a first restaurant in Morningside. They’re still keeping Meadowbank delivery riders busy, but across town it’s a more relaxed affair in their stylish new restaurant.
Matto means ‘crazy’ in Italian and they say their “mission is to bring on the old world technique of the art and craft of true Neapolitan-style pizza and introduce it to new and interesting toppings”.
A Matto favourite is a pumpkin base pizza with ‘Nduja, gorgonzola, pumpkin seeds and fresh basil.
370-372 Morningside Road, EH10 5HS
www.mattopizza.co.uk/morningside
MISTRAL
A few streets away from Gulp Ramen, Mistral opened initially as an independent wine shop (due to restrictions), but is now a lovely wine bar too.
Run by Julie Di Toro and Sam Barker, their wealth of experience and love of European wine bars is evident in this stylish but unpretentious space. Barker says: “We’d always wanted to open our own place, offering great wines at a good value, alongside simple, high-quality food in a relaxed, approachable environment, fairly simple really!” Stop in for a glass of something delicious from their weekly-changing wine menu, and perhaps some oysters, cheese or charcuterie. It’s a great perfect spot for pre-dinner drinks, if you’re eating out in Leith.
10-12 Bonnington Rd, EH6 5JD
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