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Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Food & Drink Guide
Discover Edinburgh’s Best Dining and Drink Spots During the Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe brings a wave of energy to the city. Over 3,000 shows pop up across 265 venues, drawing crowds from around the world. Whether you want a luxurious meal or a quick bite between performances, this guide highlights some of the best places to eat and drink near key festival venues.
Number One at The Balmoral
Top Pick for: Tasting Menus
Location: 1 Princes Street, near Edinburgh Playhouse, Assembly Rooms, and The Royal Military Tattoo.
Number One is a renowned fine dining restaurant rooted in Scottish ingredients. Chef Mathew Sherry crafts seasonal tasting menus, drawing from small UK farms and suppliers. Choose:
— Seven-course tasting menu
— Three-course menu
The wine list—over 350 labels—features both classics and rare vintages. End your meal with the unique “sweetie trolley,” serving creative Scottish treats like:
— Sea buckthorn meringue tarts
— Tablet
— Macallan whisky chocolates
Enjoy them at your table or take them home as a sweet memory.
SCOTCH at The Balmoral
Perfect For: Whisky Lovers
Location: Inside The Balmoral Hotel
SCOTCH is one of Edinburgh’s most atmospheric whisky bars, with over 500 whiskies from well-known single malts to hard-to-find releases. Relax on a tweed sofa while kilted Whisky Ambassadors guide you through personalized tastings, sharing the stories behind each dram.
Pomelo
Recommended For: Adventurous Asian Cuisine
Location: Marchmont, close to Summerhall, George Square, Bristo Square, Queen’s Hall
Pomelo specializes in adventurous Asian dishes. Led by award-winning chef Jun Au, it’s famous for hand-ripped noodles that keep locals lining up since its 2021 launch.
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Hand-ripped noodles at Pomelo.
By 2023, Pomelo’s success prompted a move to a larger 24-cover location, which now offers lunch from Wednesday to Saturday, a family-style dinner with a menu designed for sharing on Fridays and Saturdays, and an Asian ‘brunch’ on Sundays.
Harajuku Kitchen
Best for: Street food
Near: Summerhall
Edinburgh festival-goers can enjoy authentic Japanese street food this August as Harajuku Kitchen sets up shop across multiple city locations during the Fringe. The popular Japanese eatery will be serving their signature handmade gyozas and traditional udon noodles at The Pleasance throughout the festival, alongside appearances at Edinburgh Street Food, Grassmarket Market, and Stockbridge Market.
Visitors can also try the Harajuku Bistro in Bruntsfield that serves comforting dishes using recipes passed down to chef-owner Kaori Simpson from her mother. Diners can expect to see everything from kaarage chicken to rich, warming noodle broths, using fresh Scottish produce.
The Mussel & Steak Bar
Best for: extraordinary value and high quality surf and turf in the city
Near: Underbelly Cowgate, Pleasance Courtyard
In the heart of Edinburgh’s old town, The Mussel and Steak Bar at the bottom of Victoria Street has become a must-visit restaurant for visitors to the city and locals since opening in 2005.
The Mussel and Steak Bar at the bottom of Victoria Street has become a must visit restaurant for visitors to the city and locals since opening in 2005.
Owner Marshall Milne was inspired by the quality of Scottish produce when he opened the restaurant and works closely with a network of Scottish farmers and fishermen locally and across Scotland. A prime city centre location over two floors, the restaurant interiors invoke the sea with a pebble beach mosaic and turquoise accents throughout.
Moss
Best for: Scottish farm to table with a difference
Near: Stockbridge Church, Stockbridge Ceramics
Chef Henry Dobson trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School and has traveled extensively to hone his craft before opening Moss, an intimate 26-seat restaurant with a bold, sustainable vision. He and head chef Dylan Pinder work exclusively with Scottish ingredients for their menu, with produce from Dobson’s family farm in Angus and a network of sustainable growers and farmers across Scotland.
Expect inventive, hyper-local dishes like bone marrow focaccia, duck smoked over table-shaving wood, and wild sorrel ceviche. The British only drinks list is just as unique, featuring English natural wines, house kombuchas, and roasted barley tea.
Toscano
Best for: authentic Italian sandwiches eaten on the move
Near: George Square, Underbelly’s Circus Hub, The Meadows
This family-run schiacciateria is a must-visit in Edinburgh and only opened in March of this year. It specializes in schiacciata, pronounced ‘skee-ya-cha-ta’, a Tuscan style squashed focaccia sandwich brimming with Italian cheeses, meats and spreads.
Each sandwich on the menu is named after an Italian destination, like the Gambassi with porchetta, caramelized onions, roast potato spread and grilled peppers or the Arezzo with mortadella, provola affumicata (smoked provola cheese), truffle and olives spread.
