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"
"Why: Don’t be alarmed by the blue and purple neon lighting and heavy black velvet curtains at Karen’s Unicorn – the food is as fun and inviting as its name. The subtle Cantonese cooking is evident in house specialities such as salt and spice squid, and steamed seabass in a black bean sauce. Right in the centre of town, it’s also good for lunch when sightseeing or a hearty meal before painting the town red."
"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."
"Why: B&D’s Kitchen has been serving up traditional Cantonese food to the hungry people of Edinburgh since 2012, and has since then climbed to the upper tiers of the best Chinese restaurants in town. Limited seating, phone-booking only and its no-corkage BYOB policy mean this is a popular spot. Turning out all the usual suspects from the Cantonese kitchen, dishes such as the Peking duck and lobster with ginger and spring onion should be on your hit-list."
"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."
"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."
"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)."
"Located on Slateford Road, Taste Good is one of Edinburgh's best Chinese restaurant and takeaways according to readers. Their menu includes pork, duck, sweet & sour, chicken and beef dishes."
"Avalanche Gapinski was born from a friendship between Avalanche Records owner Kevin Buckle and artist Gerry Gapinski, whose punk, dark, reimagined images of Edinburgh fitted perfectly with Kevin’s new vision for Avalanche. The shop also has prints and t-shirts from the Brazilian artist ‘Butcher Billy’ famous for his post-punk superheroes and photos with matching quotes from the award winning "Dark Edinburgh". Add in a fantastic range of vintage clothing from Armstrongs and upcycled clothing from Psychomoda, and their Waverley Mall store is a treasure trove of unique and interesting finds, spanning music, fashion, art and so much more."
"Waverley Mall is a shopping centre located at the east end of Princes Street in the heart of the city centre, next to Edinburgh Waverley railway station. Its prime location on the corner of Princes Street and Waverley Bridge means that it is ideal to escape the cold: you can browse in a variety of great clothing shops, pick up a souvenir or three before catching your train, or to grab a bite to eat in the food hall before catching the train. Waverley Mall, 3 Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1BQ"