Mentioned by Culture Trip
The Best Restaurants in Edinburgh
"For a tasty ‘create your own’ lunch, try Red-Box Noodle Bar and have your pick of whichever meat, vegetables, noodles, sauce and garnishes you like. Regardless of what you go for, the price per noodle box is always £5.80, and it’s more than enough to fuel you up for the rest of the day. If you’re more peckish in the evening, you can order a meal deal for one, adding any starter and any soft drink to your customised noodle box for a total price of £8.80."
"Close to the University of Edinburgh is budget Chinese fast food restaurant Red Box. Here, you can grab a noodle or rice box with your choice of meat, 3 vegetables and sauce for just £6.90. For an extra 50p you can choose to have a mixed meat box if you just can't decide which to go for."
"Build-your-own meal is the order of the day at this popular noodle bar. You choose everything from the kind of noodle (egg, rice, ramen etc) to the meat, vegetables and sauce in the mix – which, even if you’re picky, makes it rather hard to go wrong!"
"If you're a big fan of really authentic dim sum dishes you'll find great quality food on offer here at great value prices. This small and unassuming restaurant is to be found just off Leith Walk and you're unlikely to think much of it looking at the outside, but don't be fooled, an irresistible range of Chinese cuisine awaits you within. There are only eight tables and it could be described as cozy, but the food is fresh and impossible to pass up."
"It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but Stack Dim Sum Bar serves up some of the best traditional dim sum in Edinburgh. The menu is great value for money, with each dim sum portion costing around £3 and main courses around £8, allowing diners to try out a variety of authentic Chinese dishes on a budget. Visit: 42 Dalmeny Street, EH6 8RG - facebook.com/Stack-Dim-Sum-Bar"
"These guys do both sit-in and takeaway meals, and a quick glance at the reviews reveals that their dim sum is an out-and-out treat. For the restaurant to have had almost 1000 reviews and still sit near the top of the pile with such a fantastic rating tells you how good it is. However some do say it's a touch on the small side, so best to book to make sure you get a table."
"If the name isn’t enough of a lure (it should be), then the food will do the job. Hypnotic and boldly brilliant – just like a unicorn – Karen’s Unicorn successfully stays true to real Cantonese cooking, with the ingredients serving as the star of the show. Perfectly seasoned and meticulously crafted, each dish is authentic and unashamedly traditional."
"You'll find traditional Cantonese cuisine on offer at the extremely popular Karen's Unicorn Chinese Restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh's New Town. It has been so successful that there are actually two restaurants now within a few streets of each other. They offer a huge menu packed with tempting house specialties and a number of set banquets."
"This restaurant on Dalry Road is quite simply the best in the business according to TripAdvisor reveiewers. It's had hundreds of positive reviews while it doesn't take long to count up the number who were unimpressed. One reviewer said that the experience of visiting the restaurant was like "sitting in the owner's kitchen as it's so small and intimate"."
"B&D's Kitchen is a real treat for lovers of Cantonese and Chinese food. Hiding behind an unassuming shop front on Dalry Road, the simple decor and unfussy approach is a refreshing change from the ornate and rather kitsch style adopted by many Chinese restaurants. Bare stone walls are adorned by a few well-chosen pictures and decorations."
"They are centrally located near bus and tram stops and have ample parking for self-driving guests. They do recommend reservations but it does not look like walk-ins will be turned away automatically. The website says they have ample facilities for families and handi-guests, such as Baby Changing Facilities, Disabled Access and Free WiFi for everyone."
"Why: Turning out authentic Chinese cuisine to the punters of Edinburgh since 1956, Rendezvous is one of the city’s original Chinese restaurants. We would go for the Peking-style banquet, which features all your favourite Chinese specialities, such as crispy aromatic duck, lemon chicken, special fried rice and toffee apple for pud. The extensive a la carte menu showcases all you would ever want from a Chinese restaurant, though, so you’re guaranteed to find your favourite knocking about if you don't fancy a full set menu."
"A unique Chinese restaurant serving Cantonese specialty dishes to a very high standard, Xanadu is well worth seeking out. The menu is extensive and packed with favorites and seasonal delicacies. The décor has a real flavor of minimalist Far Eastern style and you'll find the service is always warm and friendly."
"The kind of place you turn into a weekly ritual, Rendezvous is no stranger to Cantonese and Pekingese eats. This place really is an unstoppable entity that has been going strong since 1956. The extensive menu features all you could want from a Chinese place."
"In Santosa Yoga and Wellness Centre you will find the Santosa Café, a lovely wee place that offers a meat-free menu including soups, wraps, paninis and hotpots. They sell Planet Kuku’s kurus with salad, as well as sourdough toast and a yummy grazing plate full of goodies like hummus, falafel, olives and fresh veggies. Stop by the counter and you’ll also find a range of vegan-friendly sweet treats like flapjacks and energy balls, perfect for enjoying with a warming mug of herbal tea."
"The curry laksa soup here is filed under a menu section titled ‘Big Bowl’ – and they’re not messing around. For £6.30, steaming troughs of slippery noodles, prawns, chicken pieces, tofu, bean sprouts and crab sticks come in bottomless quantities. Not to be confused with its equally delightful sister restaurant Kampung Ah Lee on Clerk Street."
"For delicious Malaysian food, head to Kampung Ali, where the portions are ginormous, but the prices are anything but. Pretty much everything on the menu is under a tenner. We recommend their curry laksa (£7.80), and Rendang chicken (£8.00)."
"Tucked away in Edinburgh’s Old Town, the Urbane Art Gallery is one of the most cutting edge spaces in the city. It covers a range of artists and mediums, but the majority of work has a hint of urban delight about it. Visit the gallery’s website."
"If you need somewhere to get out of the rain, or perhaps your kids need some new shoes after running theirs ragged all over Edinburgh, Ocean Terminal Shopping Center is the place to go. In addition to have regular stores, it has plenty of restaurants so you can grab a family bite to eat, and you can treat the toddlers and younger kids to a stop at a specialty shop like Build – a – Bear while you’re there."
"At the heart of Edinburgh's flagship waterfront regeneration, Ocean Terminal is a state-of-the-art leisure and retail complex designed by Sir Terence Conran. It boasts 45,000 sq m of shopping and leisure accommodation on three floors and 1600 car parking spaces. The mix includes more than 50 stores, bars and restaurants, a gym and a 12-screen cinema, not to mention stunning views over the Firth of Forth."
"We are going to explore Leith today, so we’ll hop on the bus towards Ocean Terminal and get off near Roseleaf Bar and Cafe. The dish to order here is the Yin or full Scottish breakfast with sausage, black pudding, bacon, and haggis."
"Located at the east end of Princes Street, you’ll find the newest edition to Edinburgh’s shopping centres – St James Quarter. From beauty to clothing, electronics to footwear, this 4-storey centre covers 1.7 million square feet and includes restaurants, cafés, bars, shops, public spaces and leisure venues. A Roomzzz aparthotel where guests can stay for one night, one week, or even up to a year, as well as Edinburgh’s first boutique Everyman cinema will open during future phases."