Acclaimed chef, Yotam Ottolenghi, is opening his first Scottish restaurant, on Edinburgh’s George Street, on Friday 2 October. Bookings are now open. The menu, created by Scottish executive head chef Neil Campbell, puts seasonal produce centre stage, reflecting the bold flavours and vibrant vegetables that have become the brand's signature. The menu will feature a mezze-style spread, with a changing selection of dips, pickles and ferments, served with black garlic butter

Independent Edinburgh food business Toscano has launched its new Toscanino concept on Forrest Road, introducing a faster, more flexible format designed around value, portion choice and customer preference. Toscano is a family-owned, Scottish-Italian gourmet sandwich brand, specialising in Tuscan schiacciata (flatbread) sandwiches made with premium ingredients. Toscanino offers Toscano's signature, Tuscan schiacciata sandwiches in a ‘grab-and-go’ format, with ready-made half p

Independent Scotch-whisky producer, Blind Summit Whisky, has unveiled what it describes as its most exclusive collection to date. Drawn from a single Macallan cask distilled in 1989, the release comprises two individually bottled whiskies, separately finished in Rivesaltes fortified wine and Barbados rum casks. Bottles are available at £1,250 per 50cl bottle, or as a paired set for £2,500, with just 30 sets available worldwide. Drawing on Blind Summit's collective years of w

Two friends of more than 20 years have swapped catching up over coffee for owning the coffee house, after taking over Dean Village Coffee House, located in one of Edinburgh’s most picturesque areas. Emma Marshall and Grace McNeil Hann became the majority owners of the Dean Village cafe in August, with Grace’s partner Ben joining them in the new venture. With Grace and Ben already calling Dean Village home, the cafe was a familiar part of everyday life long before the opportun

After building a career in the corporate world, Kevin McPadden has stepped away from his nine-to-five job to pursue his passion for food. He has now launched his highly sought-after Latin American dining experience, Gringo Supperclub, on a full-time basis. Based in Edinburgh’s West End, Gringo Supperclub began as a side project by Kevin and his wife, Paulina. Driven by a simple idea to cook for people at their home, the couple initially wondered if anyone would even turn up.

A new cocktail bar is set to shake up Edinburgh’s West End when it opens its doors to the public on Tuesday 15 September. Understory plans to bring a ‘five-star dive bar’ experience to the capital, led by former Bramble manager, Sam Baxendale and The Rutland Hotel’s head of bars, James Grant. Sam has over 20 years’ experience of leading some of Edinburgh’s top venues, including Monteiths and Bon Vivant, as well as Bramble. James has been at The Rutland for four years and wa

A Grassmarket sports bar has been named as the official away hub for Edinburgh Rugby when it hits the road again this season. The Black Bull is teaming up with Edinburgh Rugby once again to bring the Hive Stadium roar to the heart of the city, marking the third year of the partnership. With its city-centre location, eight high-definition sports TV screens and ability to host up to 260 guests at once, The Black Bull has been confirmed by Edinburgh Rugby as its official away h

Leith’s new, French wine bar and bistro, Chez Bernard, has officially opened its doors, on The Shore. Launched by partners and wine experts Jonathan Heredia and Isla Mosquera on 1 August, the bar is a tribute to Jonathan’s grandfather, Bernard. Jonathan spent many summers near the Atlantic coast of France, with his grandfather, which is where his appreciation for a traditional, French ‘long lunch’ began. While these long French lunches were an inspiration for the venture, th

Walking in Edinburgh’s Hermitage of Braid nature reserve during spring, I couldn’t help but notice a strong aroma, something that smelled familiar and perhaps, edible? It was allium ursinum, more commonly known as wild garlic. Fit for human consumption, foragers collect this woodland plant to replace its supermarket-bought relative in their cooking. Mini expeditions to local parks, woodlands and green spaces can yield wild garlic, along with other edible finds such as mushro

Edinburgh is not short of good restaurants. You can find them in Leith, Stockbridge, the West End and other neighbourhoods in the capital. But what about the city centre? Less well served, some might say (with some notable exceptions), so I was intrigued to hear about the opening of Lennox Edinburgh, on the corner of Queensferry Street and Charlotte Lane. The latest venture from chef/restaurateur, Nico Simeone, Lennox seeks to bring “unapologetic and indulgent cooking” to t

Malones Leith has announced the launch of a Guinness brunch, along with a month of community events in August, to show that Leith is still open for business, despite trams to the area being affected by the recent Princes Street fire. The bar has also invested in additional training for its team to support daytime service – a deliberate move to make the venue an all-day, all-ages spot for locals. Charlie Douglas, general manager at Malones Leith, said: “The trams being off has

The Lost Close, an underground, historic whisky attraction just off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, has announced the launch of a new independently bottled whisky. The release marks the latest milestone in The Lost Close's ongoing commitment to ‘story-led’ whisky experiences. The Lost Close No. 3 is a 30-year-old North British grain whisky with an ABV of 44.6 per cent, distilled in Edinburgh in December 1995 and matured in a single refill hogshead for three decades. The release tells

Asu, the latest culinary project from the team behind Glasgow’s Five March, is set to open at Brown’s of Leith this month. Launching on Friday 24 July, Asu is set to bring the vibrant flavours of Asia to The Shore. Asu is the latest venture of owner, Joanna Nethery. The menus and kitchen team will be led by Five March’s executive chef, David Cleary, who previously headed up the Michelin Bib Gourmand Vietnamese restaurant, Hanoi Bike Shop, in Glasgow. The menu at Asu will i

Modern trattoria, Patatino, based at The Hoxton hotel, has launched a new brunch menu. Available on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 4pm, the menu combines Patatino staples with Italian-inspired twists on breakfast classics. The menu kicks off with a selection of small plates, including waffles tiramisù with mascarpone cream and coffee and a Patatino favourite – fried spaghetti with marinara sauce and spicy basil pesto. Hearty larger dishes to follow, include eggs royal

Chef Tomás Gormley of Edinburgh’s Cardinal restaurant, has announced the creation of the Cardinal kitchen garden, a regenerative smallholding on the outskirts of the city, in collaboration with Bramblewood Farm. Bramblewood Farm is a family farm in Pathhead, Midlothian, dedicated to regenerative agriculture and supporting the local community. At the Cardinal kitchen garden, Tomás and his team will work closely with the farm’s owner, Nick Holmes, deepening the connection betwe

One of Edinburgh’s most popular neighbourhood cocktail bars is shaking things up with a £100,000 interior makeover in time for this year’s Fringe. The Blackbird, close to the King’s Theatre, features a garden terrace, providing a green urban ‘oasis’ on warm summer evenings during the Festival and throughout the year. An interior transformation is now underway to give the venue a contemporary new look. The décor will feature plaster pink, terracotta and blue-green shades, al

On Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July, The Little Chartroom will host a pop-up, when next door’s café, bar and bottle shop, Ardfern, moves in for a few days. Over these two days, while Ardfern is closed for a kitchen makeover, its burgers will be available at The Little Chartroom, to eat in or take away between noon and 9pm. The pop-up menu will include Ardfern's signature double smash burger with cheese, pickles and bacon-jam mayo; a fried chicken burger with gravy mayo, pe

The Old Chain Pier pub, in Newhaven, is celebrating a milestone following the implementation of the new Scottish Pubs Code. The landmark legislation, which gives pub owners the right to request a rent-only agreement without being tied to a pub-owning business for stock supply, has empowered the venue to break free from restrictive purchasing obligations. This means the historic pub can stock a wider range of beers and permanently slash the price of its house lager to just £5

SCOTCH whisky bar at The Balmoral has launched a new women-led flight in collaboration with whisky specialist, Stefanie Anderson. Available now, through to September, the exclusive menu is the first in a series of partnerships with women in whisky. The menu brings together a signature cocktail and a curated whisky flight, all designed to spotlight a different perspective on whisky – one that puts flavour, storytelling and passion at the forefront and reinforces that whisky c

Chef and restaurateur Nico Simeone has announced the opening of Lennox Edinburgh this July, marking the third location for his acclaimed, new restaurant concept, following successful openings in Manchester and Glasgow. Lennox offers a deliberate change from the format-driven approach that made Six by Nico recognisable. Instead, Lennox is built around “instinct, flavour and the raw energy of the kitchen”, delivering ingredient-led dishes. The capital’s vibrant West End has be