Where the CODE team ate: Edinburgh
Published 24 October 2025
The Knife & Fork Media crew headed up to Edinburgh last week for The Good Food Guide’s Britain’s Best Local Restaurants 2025 in partnership with Square at The Palmerston. Edinburgh is now recognised as one of Europe’s great restaurant cities – indeed, our colleagues at The Good Food Guide anointed it the Most Exciting Food Destination for 2025 – so it was only right and proper that we checked out some of the city’s best addresses while we were there.
Fortitude Coffee
“Our first stop in Edinburgh in the Abbeyhill neighbourhood. I found it on Yolo Journal (Yolanda Edwards’ daughter went to uni in Edinburgh so she has some great little lists) and we fuelled our walk up Arthur’s Seat with a delicious coffee and some baked goods. The vegan chocolate chip cookie was the winner.” Blair
Chez Jules
“The Good Food Guide’s local inspector recommended Chez Jules as a cheap and cheerful spot for lunch and that it was. We were all absolutely delighted with our goats’ cheese salads and steak frites and felt adequately fuelled for the big party on Monday night.” Blair
“A lovely little retro bistro with arguably Edinburgh’s best value lunch menu (three courses for £15.90). You really cannot go wrong with French onion soup and steak frites followed by chocolate mousse.” Phoebe
“Lannan looks so nice and smells so nice we all agreed we could put up with the unsociable hours to be a baker just to work there! Darcie [Maher] took us on a little tour of the bakery and her new shop Lannan Pantry and sent us off with a selection of her personal favourites. I think the winner was the charred corn pastry. I could have had six.” Blair
“Absolutely worth the hype, make an adventure of the queue and hold out for the pastries which are tiny pieces of art.” Phoebe
“Where better to hold Britain’s Best Local Restaurants 2025 than at The Palmerston, Lloyd Morse’s perennially popular restaurant in Edinburgh’s West End? Guests were served delicious canapés including devilled eggs, smoked anchovies on toast and Jésus du Pays Basque. To drink, whisky highballs with Benriach whisky and beer from local brewery Newbarns with a special ‘Best Local Restaurants’ label.” Chloe
“I went on Saturday night on my own and it was the most fabulous little spot to sit at the bar and read my book. The staff were so lovely and chatty, and kept my homemade spiced pear soda well topped up. The soup and burrata starter with their homemade bread were all so good.” Blair
“Maybe the best brunch spot in the city. Super warm and lively on a dreary Sunday morning – great Scottish hospitality. We had a squash, goats’ curd and kale pesto flatbread and a full Scottish breakfast.” Juno
The Hoxton
“We were lucky enough to get to stay at the new Hoxton, Edinburgh. Our rooms were in the second set of Georgian townhouses over the road and we were among the first guests to stay there which felt like a real treat. The beds are so comfy and the rooms are really homey. The Hoxton is also where I discovered Rapscallion Soda’s Cranachan ‘Sweet Scottish Smooch’, probably the best soft drink I have ever had!” Juno
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