Eating in Edinburgh could come with certain expectations. A bowl of Cullen skink somewhere traditional, perhaps haggis with whisky sauce, a full Scottish breakfast the morning after, and at least one conversation about where to find the city’s best shortbread.In many ways, this is still some of the best Scottish food to try in Edinburgh, particularly for first-time visitors wondering what is Edinburgh known for, food wise?
Those classics still matter, of course. You will still find excellent seafood across the city, Scotch pies tucked into bakery windows, and queues outside places like Oink Victoria Street for slow-roasted hog rolls before they sell out for the day, but the city’s dining culture feels noticeably different now than it did even a decade ago with conversations around the best restaurants in Edinburgh moving beyond tradition alone and towards a newer generation of ingredient-led dining.
Edinburgh Is Such a Good Summer Food City
Earlier this year, Edinburgh was named one of the UK’s most exciting food destinations, recognised for a new generation of chefs bringing a more ingredient-led, relaxed style of dining to the city.
It feels especially noticeable in summer, when Scotland’s produce is at its best:
- west coast langoustines,
- soft berries arriving into season,
- Highland beef,
- local cheeses,
- smoked fish,
- greens and herbs from nearby growers.
And unlike some food cities, Edinburgh still retains a certain lack of performance around all of it and is partly why people searching for the best places to eat in Edinburgh in summer are increasingly drawn towards smaller dining rooms, seasonal menus, and thoughtful local cooking.
Edinburgh Has Relaxed Around Food
The restaurants drawing the most attention are now places that are bringing fresh ideas to the table, but staying away from overdoing it.
Fresh oysters and cold white wine are appearing on crowded terraces the second the sun comes out, seafood menus are being rewritten depending on what arrived from the coast that morning; Even Scottish classic food in Edinburgh seems to have softened slightly around the edges. Haggis now turns up beside delicate seasonal vegetables rather than towering potato stacks, or tatties if you will while you are in Edinburgh.
A dish like the Lobster thermidor agreeably shares menus with smoked coastal seafood and locally grown herbs, and a proper Scottish breakfast remains gloriously excessive, though increasingly followed by very good coffee somewhere in Stockbridge rather than a nap.
Gary Maclean and the New Face of Scottish Dining
This June, Gary Maclean brings a new chapter to The Roseate Edinburgh with the launch of KIN, a contemporary Scottish restaurant shaped around seasonality, provenance, and a more modern way of dining in the city. Taking over the former Dunstane Restaurant space, KIN arrives this summer when Edinburgh’s food space feels confident in its own identity, less concerned with tradition for tradition’s sake, and more interested in ingredient-led cooking, local producers, and distinctly Scottish flavours approached with creativity and restraint The arrival of KIN by Gary Maclean also strengthens the city’s growing reputation for contemporary Scottish cuisine, offering another compelling answer for travellers wondering where to eat in Edinburgh right now.
Who is Chef Gary MacLean?
Chef Maclean’s involvement gives the restaurant genuine significance within Scotland’s food culture. While many will recognise him from MasterChef: The Professionals, his influence stretches far beyond television. Over more than three decades, he has helped shape Scotland’s hospitality industry through restaurants, culinary education, international food festivals, and his role as Scotland’s National Chef, championing Scottish produce and modern Scottish cooking both at home and abroad. His work has taken him from kitchens and classrooms in Glasgow to food events across North America, the Middle East, and Asia, while remaining closely connected to Scotland’s evolving culinary identity.
He has been awarded the prestigious Educator of the Year from the Craft Guild of Chefs and Chef Lecturer of the Year from the CiS Awards. Further honours include the Mark Twain Award from the St. Andrews Society of New York State (2021), the Best Industry Ambassador Award from the Professional Association for Catering Education (PACE) in 2023, and in April 2025, being made an Academician of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, one of the highest honours in hospitality. What makes his approach resonate in Edinburgh right now is that it never feels disconnected from the people and ingredients behind it. There is technical credibility, certainly, but also warmth, familiarity, and a very clear sense of place, all qualities that define the city’s most memorable restaurants.
The Edinburgh People Want to Eat In
Despite constant conversations around modern Scottish food, the city’s best restaurants all feel rooted in who and where they are.
And perhaps that is what makes eating in Edinburgh so good right now. One minute you are standing in the Old Town with a warm hog roll in hand, the next you are lingering over exquisitely prepared seafood and wine inside a Georgian townhouse while the sky outside still refuses to darken properly, and among the city’s newest arrivals, the newly launched KIN by Gary Maclean at The Roseate Edinburgh already feels destined for the list of must-eat places in Edinburgh.
This summer, the city remains historic, dramatic and unmistakably Scottish but now it just happens to be eating exceptionally well alongside it. For those looking to experience this new chapter in Edinburgh’s dining scene, KIN by Gary Maclean at The Roseate Edinburgh is now welcoming guests for lunch and dinner and you can reserve your table by visiting the dining page at The Roseate Edinburgh today.