Edinburgh Recommendations Please....

Will be in Edinburgh for a couple of days in late September and I was hoping to mine the collective wisdom here for restaurant ideas. We are staying near the castle and will not have a car. My criteria would simply be good food, doesn’t have to be high end, and at least one place that is uniquely Edinburgh.

Thanks in advance.

Recently had good (not great) seafood at Fishers in the City and some quite nice drinks of Knockando at Thomson’s Bar.

Probably doesn’t meet any of your criteria, but for a great meal, I suggest Tom Kitchin restaurant (in Leith), a very short cab ride from downtown. If first time in Edinburgh, consider a walking tour of the Royal Mile. Check the weather before you leave. Was there 2 Springs ago and froze, windy, cold and wet. You might move this to Travel. Also good restaurant reviews for Edinburgh in TheTelegraph, the London paper.

Thanks, Robert & Doug.

Kitchin is one of the places I found intriguing. It is on the short list. And I did find The Telegraph’s Edinburgh restaurant article.

The Witchery is classic fine-dining in a great space. I don’t feel the food is up to the Kitchin or Martin Wishart levels, but it’s a very Edinburgh place.

Mother India has a location there, it’s always good.

Jolly Judge is a classic pub (quite old) on the Mile for a pint/dram, as is Kays Bar (very Victorian-era) in Newtown.

Kitchin, which would have been my first choice is booked.

Any thoughts on Martin Wishart? Timberyard? (Timberyard looks intriguing and is very close to our hotel)

Castle Terrace is Tom Kitchin’s place in town, have a look. Martin Wishart is worth the trip.

Plus one for Castle Terrace. Also enjoyed Wedgwood (book a table on the ground floor) and Timberyard.

Wishart is excellent.

Scottish fish and dairy products are top-notch. Advise skipping any offered Angus steaks - they sound like a good idea, until you try one.

Wishart was very good, but the sommelier was a mess and pissed me off. Other than that we liked our meal, though probably wouldn’t go back as high-end isn’t really what we’re looking for there. It’s walking distance from The Vaults, though, which is great.

A terrific gastropub we really liked was The Scran and Scallie. We both had grouse, which was in season and excellent. Very relaxed, but good atmosphere, very fresh ingredients including some super mussels, cool neighborhood, and friendly, efficient service. A very nice Mencia on their list was a perfect pairing with the grouse. Big thumbs up for lunch there. We walked almost everywhere in town, just an occasional Uber.

I love the castle. Walking the royal mile area. Some great scotch shops too. I bought a 1966 Springbank there a few years ago for reasonable money. (Now probably not so reasonable.)
Have a great time. Looks like some very good advice too here on restaurants.

I like the idea of The Scran and Scallie- we have two nights there. We don’t arrive until 5pm the first night thanks to a crazy itinerary (the deal on SQ J from JFK-FRA was too good to pass up ) and that sounds like the perfect place.

Still debating Martin Wishart (Sarah has yet to lead me astray) vs. Castle Terrace vs. Wedgewood.

Hi Todd - The Scran & Scallie was probably our happiest restaurant meal in Edinburgh. Lots of locals, local cuisine, and super nice people. They gave us the bones from our grouse as well as some of the reduction sauce on the birds, which we took back to our apartment and used for an amazing chanterelle and grouse soup.

Martin Wishart is not an unmitigated recommendation (don’t want to blow my streak with you!). Well prepared and tasty food, just not particularly reflective of local cuisine. Just depends what you are most in the mood for, I’d say.

There’s a really nice small farmers market near the castle on Saturdays, where you can ogle vegetables and fresh game, and sample some scotch eggs and savory pies.

Castle Terrace altogether better than Wedgewood (which I enjoyed, just not as much).

Todd - turns out we’ll be in Edinburgh for lunch tomorrow and are booked at the Scran and Scallie for lunch again. We confirmed they have grouse. I’ll let you know if it’s as good as last year.