Thistle Street Vinette is the latest restaurant to be opened by chef Stuart Ralston's Aizle Hospitality Group: a Parisian-style restaurant with a speakeasy cocktail bar in the basement. Following the closure of Aizle, the group also includes Michelin-starred Lyla , Italian restaurant Tipo, and Asian-inspired eatery Noto – each with their own unique charm. Review of Tipo on its opening Despite falling into the ‘high-end’ category in terms of cost, each venue offers a lower-p

Alan Keery and Sarah Baldry As we come to the end of the year, I’ve started writing my bucket list of food places to try by 2026.  The first restaurant I tick off is Nàdair (nature in Gaelic), a contemporary neighbourhood spot in the heart of Marchmont. Selected as one of Condé Nast Traveller’s UK Top New Restaurants 2024 , it offers creative cooking that celebrates local Scottish produce and foraged ingredients. The interior is warm and minimalist — white tiles line the wal

A small eatery located in Marchmont Tucked away in the heart of Marchmont, Mara’s Picklery   is a small but vibrant eatery that deserves to be on every food lover’s radar. With just 22 covers, it’s an intimate space where the focus is on flavour, fermentation, and heartfelt hospitality. I arrive late, but Patel greets me with a warm smile and no hint of worry. He shows me to my table—just a few steps away in this cosy spot—where my friends Fiona, Sharon, Eleonora, and Kaori a

Cured halibut, blue spirulina Stockbridge is certainly having a moment, as is Edinburgh, which was voted the Most Exciting Food Destination ahead of London in the respected Good Food Guide in January.   As the gastronomic stars align around our city, the newly opened Moss shines as brightly as Sirius. This farm-to-table restaurant, owned by Chef Director Henry Dobson, boasts over 90 products sourced directly from Dobson’s Scottish family farm in Angus. His family venture and

Adrian McMurchie It’s easy to escape the buzz of metropolitan Finnieston: all you have to do is look out for the rather classy frontage of plate glass windows and wooden Venetian blinds of The Gannet, open the glass door, brush through a pair of beautiful velvet curtains, and you’re transported into another, gentler, world.    Restaurant manager Kevin Dow emerges from the restaurant’s elegant setting of beautifully uplit woods, muted greens and blond sandstone to greet us. A

Buttermilk Fried Chicken A significant birthday called for a meal somewhere special and Sunday brunch at Ardfern was chosen. Mrs Bite and three foodie friends were eager to try Roberta Hall McCarron’s latest venture.   Opened earlier this year, Ardfern (named after a village in Argyll and Bute) follows hot on the heels of Roberta’s two other successful restaurants The Little Chartroom and Eleanore which opened in 2018 and 2021 respectively. Roberta has a passion for sailing s

Mackerel This shoebox-sized restaurant has a red neon sign alerting diners to a basement setting that housed the Blue Parrot Cantina for decades in St Stephen’s Street, Stockbridge.  The once terracotta and indigo interior has been painted black otherwise the layout is unchanged with a small reception/bar/open kitchen and outside cludgie.  There are separate food, wine and cocktails menus and one dessert. The sparing menus nod to the kitchen's size, but also to Skua’s ethos.

Food The Chef’s Table seats 12 Michelin duo Brian Grigor and Glen Montgomery have opened their fine-dining home ‘ eòrna’ in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge. The name means barley in both Irish and Scots Gaelic so is a nod to the respective nationalities of Brian and Glen whilst also signifying a union between chef and sommelier. These hospitality veterans got their stripes at places like Andrew Fairlie, Chez Roux, Number One at The Balmoral, The Heron, and The Kitchin. Brian Grigor

I had wanted to book a table at The Little Chartroom since reading about its opening a few years ago. Full bookings, a pandemic, and a forced year back in my home country of Italy – all got in the way. Then one day out of the blue I did a random check and there was a slot. For two. For dinner. This promised to be the highlight of my month. The restaurant has a classy, nautical vibe. All is in ship-shape order and the front of house team extend a friendly welcome. The restaura