Every small market town needs a no-nonsense eaterie

I’ve always had something of a soft spot for Biggar, a town I used to drive through a couple of times most weeks en route from Thornhill to Edinburgh. It was the sort of place where you could always get a decent bacon sandwich, a pie at Gibson’s the bakers, something vaguely healthy at the…

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Fine Dining Chef of the Year honour goes to Daniel

Daniel Ashmore, head chef at The Pompadour by Galvin, was awarded Fine Dining Chef of the Year at the Scottish Food Awards. With a wealth of experience, Chef Dan has worked for various top kitchens in London including Michelin-starred restaurants, Tom Aikens, The Square in Mayfair and La Trompette. Moving to Edinburgh, Dan worked at…

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Award-winning steakhouse set to open next month

A multi award-winning British steakhouse and cocktail bar is set to open in Edinburgh this summer. Will Beckett and Huw Gott, the childhood friends behind Hawksmoor, will open their Edinburgh restaurant in the banking hall of the former Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters, on the ground floor of The Edinburgh Grand – the city’s new…

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The Dining Room offers far more than just whisky

I must admit I hadn’t appreciated that the Scottish Malt Whisky Society has only been going since the early 1980s. Perhaps it’s the patina of age bestowed by having a gorgeous old wood-lined Vaults in Leith or a whole Georgian townhouse on Queen Street in the centre of Edinburgh. The SMWS is actually a pretty…

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A wide choice on the menu at the Goblin Ha’

Picture this: it’s a Sunday morning and the kids are all home from university for the weekend. Or, maybe the scenario sees your children visiting with your fractious grandchildren. Or perhaps it’s the Sunday morning after a rather over-refreshed Saturday night and you’re searching for salvation. In each of those instances, what all right-thinking people…

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Michelin star chef will host a special curry night

Most people enjoy a curry on a Saturday night – and Gleneagles is set to offer a spicy treat with a difference next month. Gleneagles will be shaking up traditional golf clubhouse cuisine, when it welcomes back Michelin-starred Indian chef, Alfred Prasad, for a special curry night. Prasad, who became the youngest ever Indian chef…

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£650,000 revamp gives ex-church new lease of life

An iconic Glasgow bar has reopened after a huge £650,000 refurbishment. The Church on the Hill closed its doors at the end of January, and reopened yesterday (Thursday) following the extensive work. The new look preserves the traditional stained glass windows of the former Langside Hill Church, but the central bar area sports a look…

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Restaurants add new vegetarian options to menu

A pair of Scottish restaurants have expanded their vegetarian offering with a new ‘Vegitalian’ menu packed with fresh dishes including vegan and gluten free options to mark the arrival of spring. Vapiano, in Edinburgh and Glasgow, have seen an increasing growth in appetite for vegan and vegetarian dishes and as a result have launched an…

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El Quijote perfectly captures a little slice of Spain

El Quijote El Quijote was established eight years ago by a bunch of Spanish pals who moved to Edinburgh in 2003. This fantastic little tapas restaurant strives for authenticity, so there’s no paella, tortilla or Spanglish flourishes, just the sort of dishes you’d find down a backstreet in Andalucia, with a huge accent on the…

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Fine dining and a good drinks menu at the waterfront

Finn & Bear The third offering from Charlotte and Chris Thomson who run The Pantry in Stockbridge and Colinton, Finn & Bear is perhaps the best incarnation yet of a venue which has changed hands numerous times in recent years. With a light wash of colour over its exposed brick walls, the previous pub-grub boozer…

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