The Dine Out Edinburgh promotion is in full swing.
Until 2nd October, over 30 of the capital’s restaurants are offering two or three course menus, sometimes with a drink, for £15.95.
You can book online and search through menus and user reviews to find the dining experience that best suits you.
We have picked out five that take pride in using the best Scottish produce.
We’re not saying that every dish is flying a Saltire but these are restaurants where the chefs recognise the true value of Scottish produce and aim to celebrate it on their menus.
Tuck in.
Café St Honoré
Tucked away on a cobbled lane in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, Cafe St Honoré is a happy marriage between classic French decor, carefully sourced Scottish ingredients and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Café St Honoré may sound as if it is a French restaurant which has decamped to Edinburgh but, despite the elegant Gallic interior, the cooking is mainly modern Scottish.
From the Dine Out menu, we like the look of the ham hock terrine followed by the Innis & Gunn beer-battered East Coast monkfish cheeks with wedges and a caper and parsley mayo.
You can book into Café St Honoré via 5pm Dining.
The Acanthus at Macdonald Holyrood Hotel
Opened in the summer of 2015, Acanthus at Macdonald Holyrood Hotel is a smart, contemporary brasserie-style restaurant which sits in the lee of Arthur’s Seat. Proud holders of an AA Rosette, the restaurant specialises in classic Scottish dishes.
West Coast mussels, Thistly Cross Cider, Arran ice cream and smoked salmon from John Ross Jnr are the sort of top notch Scottish ingredients which make regular appearances in the dishes.
You can book into The Acanthus via 5pm Dining.
The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen
Set in a row of townhouses with an illustrious literary heritage, The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen is located on Edinburgh’s George Street and is part of the George Hotel.
Serving the best of the Scottish larder, it is an opulent city centre brasserie with intricate cornicing, glittering chandeliers and a chic sense of style. Thoughtfully sourced and seasonal Scottish produce drives the menu at The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen. The cocktail bar has its own bar menu and serves snacks until the early hours.
You can book into The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen via 5pm Dining.
The Stockbridge Restaurant
The Stockbridge Restaurant is a family-run venue on St. Stephens Street. Exceptional food and attentive service are the aim here only without the flummery sometimes associated with fine dining. Clever lighting, including candles and well positioned mirrors, give everything, and everybody, a romantic glow. Paintings in the style of the Scottish Colourists add further panache.
The fish options on their Dine Out menu look particularly appetising. We would start with the smoked haddock risotto with roasted butternut squash and sweetcorn and then, for a main course, we would opt for the seared cod with fried quail egg, crispy pancetta, crushed potatoes, spinach, mushrooms and an Arran mustard sauce.
You can book into The Stockbridge Restaurant via 5pm Dining.
Twenty Princes Street
Twenty Princes Street Grill & Smokehouse has a prime city centre position on Edinburgh’s Princes Street. Triple height windows give the first floor restaurant fantastic views over the city centre to the Castle. With oak floors, ornate ceilings and leather banquette seating, the interior is just as eye-catching. In the kitchen, the chefs use lots of locally sourced ingredients to create dishes with real flair.
The most obviously Scottish dishes on the Dine Out menu here are the seared West Coast scallops and medallions of lobster with apple consommé and vanilla (£4 supplement) or the rib-eye steak from the Borders (£5 supplement) cooked on the Josper grill.
However, our eye was drawn to more exotic choices like the dressed white crab with rhubarb and pink pepper jelly plus crisp pastry or the Korean barbequed corn-fed chicken breast with kimchi-crushed potatoes and peanut sesame crunch.
You can book into Twenty Princes Street via 5pm Dining.
