Edinburgh, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

“The finest selection of oysters and mussels”, “exquisite seafood platters”, “Scottish game”, “champagne and whisky”, “a cracking wine selection with some big hitters” – all of it served in the “beautiful setting” of an ornate Victorian bar. No wonder that “it’s a busy place”, so you “need to book ahead”.

“Mouth-watering steaks” from both sides of the border and seafood from the Scottish coasts are the draws to the northern capital’s outpost of this powerhouse carnivorous chain, and the grand hall of the former Bank of Scotland HQ makes a “magnificent setting for top-notch food”. While the feedback is positive, there is less of it than we might have anticipated this year.

“Top-notch oysters, shellfish and fish” make Roy Brett’s “superb restaurant” a “must-visit when in Edinburgh” – and a more frequent “treat” for those lucky enough to live nearby. In a new departure last year, selected cuts of British meat were added to the menu, ‘simply grilled to perfection’.

“Like a Gallic hug”, chef-patron Fred Berkmiller’s “properly sourced old-school French cuisine” comes packaged with “Gallic good humour, impeccable service and quirky decoration in this wonderfully authentic restaurant”, “now with new wine bar underneath”. Sadly, its nearby sibling L’Escargot Blanc closed down last year after 18 years.

An “excellent choice of fish and shellfish” again wins applause for this long standing sibling to the original, near the Leith shore, which occupies a converted warehouse handy for the National Gallery.

“If you want to eat fish in Edinburgh, this is the place to go” – “a great spot at a lovely quiet location down on the dockside in Leith, and just delicious”. Set in a seventeenth-century watchtower, the “characterful restaurant” serves “really good fresh fish, simply and yet imaginatively”. The owners also run The Shore next door, and Fishers in the City.

Akin to a posh chippy, this tiled, two-year-old collab between the same backers as Ondine and fish suppliers Welche’s again gets the thumbs-up – “a fab place at Newhaven Harbour that’s busy and exciting, with great fresh Scottish seafood”.

“A seafood restaurant that never fails to please, with constantly changing menus that reflect what is available seasonally”. That’s the take on this small (24 covers) family-run fish restaurant and ‘seasonal hotel’ which sits on Hawkcraig point, with views of Edinburgh and the islands of the Forth. “The owners really do pull out all the stops to give a nice dining experience. Great for that special occasion!”

Chef Stuart Ralston of highly rated Aizle opens his new seafood restaurant in October 2023 in the stylish Royal Terrace premises of the late Paul Kitching’s 21212. The 10-course set menu, for just 28 guests per sitting, is billed as 'an ode to produce from the Scottish Isles'.