There’s no shortage of great dining experiences in Edinburgh and if you are looking for a special occasion then Edinburgh knows how to do that in bucketloads! So whether it’s a romantic night out with your partner, birthday, a private dining experience or something completely over the top, here is a selection of our favourite special occasion restaurants in the city.
Rhubarb Prestonfield
Another of James Thomson’s successes ‘Rhubarb’, situated within Edinburgh’s prestigious 5-star Prestonfield hotel, does not in any way disappoint. Taking the shape of a bawdy, Baroque boudoir the profligate almost limitless decadence of the rooms creates an atmosphere of a debauched opulence that one can not help but immerse oneself in. The deep scarlet of the walls are lit by copious candles throughout the restaurant and a dim chandelier that almost hangs crooked from the ceiling. With very friendly and extremely busy staff serving numerous delicious gourmet delights this wickedly charming restaurant will plunge you in a magical unreality…that has great food.
Address: Prestonfield House, Priestfield Road, Edinburgh EH16 5UT
Web: rhubarb-edinburgh.com
The Kitchin
Talking of dining adventure, Tom Kitchin’s restaurant has recently been awarded the accolade of Best Restaurant Experience in the UK alongside many other prestigious titles (not to mention the Michelin star). Located on Leith’s waterfront, The Kitchen can similarly boast of a notable setting as well as offering an impressive interior reflecting the al fresco old dock setting in a converted whisky bonded warehouse painted in deep azure. It speaks of luxury without the pretence. Where The Witchery offers a restaurant experience with all the drama of the theatre in its extravagance, the award winning experience of The Kitchin is found not necessarily in its surroundings but in its unparalleled food. Following his philosophy ‘From Nature to Plate’ Kitchin’s cuisine offers a fusion of Scottish seasonal produce with traditional French cooking techniques. To give an example: Crispy veal sweetbreads from Inverurie served with a ragout of Perthshire girolles and a girolle and Old Winchester crumb…
Address: 78 Commercial St, Edinburgh EH6 6LX
Web: thekitchin.com
Norn
Rarely, even with the most esteemed and revered restaurants, can you describe the food as 10/10 but here you can. On Henderson Street in Leith lies ‘Norn’, a unobtrusive and simplistic minimalist restaurant producing the best food in Scotland’s capital. The appearance of Leith’s local treasure is somewhat steely, perhaps unfeeling and doesn’t necessarily invite you into its bare dining area. However, you get the sense that this is deliberate for ‘Norn’ leaves only the food to do the talking and what talking it does. It is taste beyond compare.
Address: 50-54 Henderson St, Edinburgh EH6 6DE
Web: nornrestaurant.com
21212
Edinburgh is certainly not in want of Michelin star restaurants with the competition at this level being high in the city and 21212 can perhaps boast of being one of the top restaurants among them. Inside an old Georgian townhouse on Edinburgh’s Royal Terrace we find a lavishly furnished and spacious roomed restaurant retaining the same blueprint of the old building with an open kitchen, drawing room and two separate dining areas. 21212 refers to the number of dishes to choose from for each course: 2 first courses and 1 second as the starters, before the choice between 2 main courses, 1 cheese and 2 dessert. This could be interpreted as quite restrictive and therefore suggest a lack of choice, however the carefully deliberated and wholly triumphant menu ensures a delectable variety. Paul Kitching, another of Edinburgh’s esteemed resident chefs, offers an eclectic menu catering to every taste with an exquisite display of culinary prowess that dazzles the palate.
Address: 3 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB
Web: 21212restaurant.co.uk
The Tower
Draped over the rooftops of Edinburgh’s Old Town atop the Scottish national museum sits one of the city’s most aesthetically striking restaurants. The interior reveals polished wood floors and tables bordered by floor-to-ceiling windows offering a breathtaking panorama of the Edinburgh skyline. It is Edinburgh on exhibition and one can appreciate the iconic view of the Castle while enjoying a comprehensive seafood menu under soft down lighting and candlelit tables. There is an almost effortlessly sophisticated feel to the restauranteur, James Thomson’s, third venture which offers a truly unique dining experience.
Address: Tower Restaurant, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF
Web: www.tower-restaurant.com
Seasons
Something different to the typical Edinburgh restaurant scene, the nordic inspired cuisine offered by ‘Seasons’ on Broughton Street provides an opportunity for the capital’s restaurant-goers to broaden their palates to northern European tastes. Utilising Scandinavian cooking skills with seasonal ingredients from Scotlands wonderful natural larder does not fail to create a truly novelle cuisine. A menu-less approach, customers are handed a rolled up scroll with a list of ingredients and are encouraged to tick off those which they do not like before surrendering control to the restaurants talented executive chef, Matthew Urry. This restaurant is not only for the adventurous diner but for everyone which is testament to the Urry’s skill.
Address: 36 Broughton St, Edinburgh EH1 3SB
Web: seasonstasting.com
The Witchery by the Castle
Located at the heart of the gothic Old Town just off The Royal Mile sits one of Edinburgh’s most celebrated fine dining restaurants. Infused with the haunted history of the ancient city, this sixteenth century merchants house now rests as a memorial to those countless women burnt at the stake during the 17th and 18th centuries for crimes of witchery. Despite the sinister context however, The Witchery by the Castle provides one of Edinburgh’s most romantic and dramatically palpable restaurant experiences. It offers two strikingly different dining areas from daylight to twilight. The Witchery’s Secret Garden reveals a bright old school courtyard enclosed by ancient oak and bare stone walls opening onto a secluded terrace via old French bay windows. Perhaps acting as its antithesis, the Witchery dining room typifies dark, histrionic Baroque architecture clad with brocade tapestries illuminated only by candlelight. Offering some of the best food in the city, The Witchery is a must for any special occasion.
Address: 352 Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NF
Web: thewitchery.com
