restaurants in Edinburgh

Creelers in Old Town is quite good. More casual, but also good is the Musslel Inn on Rose Street in New Town. Fisthers has several restaurants. I've eaten at the one on Thistle Street in New Town where I had wonderful Arbroath Smokies. And I've eaten at The Shore in Leith which was also very good. Get reservations for any except maybe the Mussel Inn. Creelers, Mussell Inn, Fishers. Pam

The Doric Bar on Market St. is a great gastropub. We both had pork chops, but I saw steak and seafood on the menu, I think. The pork chops were out of this world. One of our guidebooks said locals eat there, and even though it's near a hostel and off the Royal Mile, it seemed true.

I thought of another to check out, The Witchery. I've not eaten there yet, but I want to! Also, I had a great special at Tempus, in The George Hotel in New Town. I've read a lot of good things about The Kitchin. But you should post this question on TripAdvisor to get the latest suggestions. Post directly to the Edinburgh Forum. Pam

I can give you one couple's experience (overall, positive) of The Witchery. My wife and I ate there during our honeymoon in fall 2009. We had read about it previously but hadn't considered going there until we happened to pass it after touring The Castle. We called and booked a table for the next evening. I've eaten out in many restaurants in many cities and trust my gut feeling. Initially we felt we were getting a bit of a cold shoulder. I truly believed that we (American couple, late 30s) were thought to be another pair of tourists who would split an entree and drink the table water all evening. I can't prove this, but we were greeted and seated with a slight bit of a sneer. Initial service by the wait staff was slow, but to be fair, the room was full. But once we ordered a nice bottle of wine, and multiple courses of food, the attitude changed, the wait staff and the maitre d' were attentive and smiling, and all was well. The food tasted wonderful, in fashionably small but adequate portions for hungry travelers, and the darkly lit atmosphere of the room was very pleasant. Despite the initial concern I had about the place, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and I would return if I wanted to splurge on a good meal in Edinburgh.

For seafood - First Coast on Dalry, not far from the Haymarket Station. I stopped in there at the end of a very rainy day and they made my day! It is mostly seafood. All I had was barley soup and fish fritters and tea, but they were delicious! It's not a fancy place but cozy, and the decor is a nice blend of stone and the typical seaside white & blue wood. Service was fantastic; tea and hot buns right away after ordering.

I agree that the Witchery was very good we ate in the second dining room. They call it the Secret Garden or something? Anyway, the whole experience was very nice (and romantic for our honeymoon!), and there was a decent three-course prix-fixe. I didn't recommend it before because I didn't think it was the type of place that was being asked for, but it is definitely worth checking out. The waitstaff was nice enough to us from the start, except a misunderstanding in which the waiter thought I'd never had Hendricks gin before. I am not THAT much of a dumb American :P

We had great meals at very reasonable prices at Petit Paris in the grass market area and not far away but also very good meal at the Outsider. Both were really good and priced well.

Another vote for The Witchery, we went there with a party of 9 and had a simply delightful evening. The atmosphere is amazing, the food was very, very good, our waiter was friendly, and all of us have fond memories. It is hard to get a table, so plan accordingly. I can't express how nice the surroundings are. . .beautiful!