After inside tips on Scotland’s Michelin capital? Here are the places The Little Chartroom’s Roberta Hall-McCarron loves to eat in Edinburgh.
Or, y’know, just go ham on the outright best restaurants in Edinburgh.
Celentano’s
The bread course at Celentano's / Image: @breadandbutterpictures
One of the city’s most hotly anticipated new openings, Celentano’s is the brainchild of Dean Parker, former executive chef of Darby’s in London’s Vauxhall, and his wife Anna, who hails from Glasgow. Standing in the handsome Cathedral House building, it’s a pure joy from start to finish. Kick things off with the smoothest, richest chicken liver parfait and sourdough or deep-fried lasagne bites, before moving onto exemplary homemade pasta (agnolotti with ricotta, or pappardelle with ragu) paired with extremely well-priced wines from small producers.
28-32 Cathedral Square, G4 0XA
celentanosglasgow.com
Mother India
Get stuck into the Kelvingrove classic? Mother may I / Image: Martin Gray
A true Glasgow legend, the original Mother India in Kelvingrove has been delighting the city’s residents and visitors with its warm welcome and Indian home cooking since 1990 – Anthony Bourdain was a fan. You can share lots of small bites, like ginger, crab and prawn dosas, and mushroom and chickpea missi roti, or go large with mains. Fish and seafood are a real strength here – witness the haddock with puy lentil and lemon, and the seabass with spiced chickpeas, potatoes and tomato – but the meltingly tender lamb raan is also superb. Great for families.
1355 Argyle Street, G3 8AD
motherindia.co.uk
Kaf
One of Kaf’s spectacular sandwiches
It’s more of a coffee shop than a restaurant, but this West End hotspot gets a mention by virtue of its Insta-friendly fancy doughnuts and truly spectacular sandwiches. They’re as delicious as they are creative: Thai-inspired pork laab with crisp vegetables and spicy relish on a sesame sub, or a rare roast beef French dip with horseradish mayo, burnt onion puree, crispy cavolo nero and a rich consommé for dunking. Vegans don’t miss out either – how does a pumpkin pakora sub with pickled chilli, mint and coriander sound? Anyway, you get the idea; this place is a marvel.
5 Hyndland Street, G11 5QE
Gloriosa
The Gloriosa interior / Image: Steven Jones
Another next-generation Italian-inspired hit just across the road from the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Gloriosa comes into its own when the sun’s out thanks to its full-length windows. Start with the focaccia, cut from a huge, delightfully springy slab, before creative salads (think smoked haddock with peaches, black olives and marjoram) and fresh pasta (pappardelle with creamy leeks, or spaghetti with sardines, pine nuts, capers and sultanas). Somewhere to while away a Sunday afternoon after a morning’s culture.
1321 Argyle Street, G3 8AB
gloriosaglasgow.com
Paesano Pizza
None-better Neapolitan pies at Paesano Pizza / Image: Aleksandra Maciejewska
This Merchant City pizzeria is one of the best, and best value, city-centre options in Glasgow. The handsome wood-fired ovens (designed and built in Naples), heated to 500 degrees, turn out perfect Neapolitan-style pizzas topped simply but with style and a focus on the very best ingredients, like Tuscan fennel sausage and prosciutto cotto. A huge margherita will leave you with plenty of change from a tenner: enough, in fact, for a Birra Moretti.
94 Miller Street, G1 1DT
paesanopizza.co.uk
Cottonrake Bakery
Beatific baked goods at Cottonrake
It’s worth getting up early to beat the epic weekend queues for this West End bakery and breakfast-slash-teatime spot. It’s been lauded as one of Europe’s best, and one bite of their Paris-Brest or passionfruit and white chocolate éclair will prove to you exactly why. Classics like croissants and pain au chocolat are faultlessly executed, as are the supporting acts: from seasonal savoury tarts to brownies, perfect viennoiserie and macarons to nibble with your coffee, it’s all here.
497 Great Western Road, G12 8HL
cottonrake.com
Julie’s Kopitiam
Brunch at Julie’s Kopitiam / Image: : Liz Seabrook
A locals’ favourite since 2017, this cool Malaysian and South East Asian eatery near Queens Park serves Michelin-approved and wallet-friendly dishes cooked to recipes taught to the owner by her mum. Visit for brunch to enjoy sambal eggs with roti, a breakfast nasi goreng with bacon, and eggy fried bread with condensed milk and peanuts. Or come in the evening for a feast of smacked cucumber, twice-cooked pork belly, lemon and black cardamom dahl, watermelon, peanut and noodle salad with coconut and much more.
1109 Pollokshaws Road, Shawlands, G41 3YG
julieskopitiam.com
Cail Bruich
The Michelin-star Cail Bruich's interior / Image: Clair Irwin
Glasgow’s only Michelin-starred restaurant’s name means ‘to eat well’ – and that’s exactly what you’ll do over the course of an evening at the kitchen counter here. Seasonality and local sourcing are the watchwords, and they shape the seven-course tasting menu: the likes of lobster, wild Scottish mushrooms and Gigha halibut are given top billing, cooked with classical skill. At £75, it’s exceptionally good value. Vegetarian menus are available.
725 Great Western Road, G12 8QX
cailbruich.co.uk
Kimchi Cult
The towering kimchi burgers at Kimchi Cult
Perfect for a pit-stop lunch or an early dinner before a night out in Glasgow, this Korean-style street-food favourite in the West End serves bibimbap rice bowls, fried chicken with a choice of moreish glazes (our favourite is the gochujang), towering kimchi burgers and bulgogi beef fries. Vegans are extremely well catered for, with tofu and dairy-free ‘cheese’ a-plenty. It’s all delicious, extremely good value and huge fun.
14 Chancellor Street, G11 5RQ
kimchicult.com
The Gannet
The Gannet / Image: Sonya Walos
A modern Scottish dining star in Finnieston, good looking The Gannet is the sort of place you plan an entire city break around. For £60 you can enjoy the seasonal tasting menu, which opens with a pickled herring and seaweed ‘taco’ and closes with an exceptional Dominican chocolate and blackcurrant dessert. The vegetarian version is just as good, with Isle of Mull cheddar brioche, a fermented barley stew and wild mushrooms. Service is relaxed but professional, and the whole experience is a treat to be savoured.
1155 Argyle Street, Finnieston, G3 8TB
thegannetgla.com