Walking into Pomelo feels like stumbling on a local secret. The tiny Asian-fusion spot has been the talk of Edinburgh since it first opened in 2021 – largely thanks to its hand-ripped noodle bowls, which attract snaking queues at lunchtimes. But, tucked away in the quiet backstreets behind the Meadows, it feels like we’ve happened on a real under-the-radar gem as we sit down to dinner on a drizzly Edinburgh evening. The snug dining room is packed with mismatched tables and chairs, and the chintzy crockery and blackboard menu all give an atmosphere somewhere between your Nan’s living room and a student potluck. The plates served up by the kitchen, however, are anything but twee.
Here, head chef and owner Jun Au cooks up ever-changing seasonal menus of creative Asian-inspired dishes packed full of flavour and with eccentric European twists. We opt for a chef’s selection of the menu, which lets us share more dishes in slightly smaller portions. Quickly, a collection of plates holding jewel-bright vegetables, fragrant curries and gleaming sauces covers our table, all sprinkled with delicate herbs, flowers and scatterings of seeds.
A watermelon salad zings across the tongue, covered with fish sauce and generous chunks of chilli. The Asian-Italian fusion ethos really comes to life in the Yuxiang Caponata, a rich, warmly spiced stew which we lap up with pleasingly squidy slices of scallion-flavoured focaccia. The maitake mushrooms come in a wonderfully untidy tangle on top of a glossy bed of tofu whipped into a fine silk, and a gleaming wedge of unctuous fatty pork rib is sprinkled with fresh pomegranate seeds. But the star of the feast? Food doesn’t come more instantly mouthwatering than a heaped bowl of Pomelo’s famous noodles. Scooping glossy ribbons of moreishly chewy, chilli oil-smothered hand-pulled noodles into your mouth, fragrant with braised pork, Sichuan peppercorns, soy and garlic, is an umami-laden hug for your senses, that you won’t forget in a hurry.
We finish with a show-stopping platter of exotic fruit cut into Matisse-style shapes, followed by lightly-spiced half moons of shortbread that melt on the tongue, swallowed down with a dram of whisky.
The heady dishes are only enhanced by the homely atmosphere, which feels extra snug as the windows steam up, candles flicker on the tables, neighbouring tables start chatting to each other, and the whole place rings with laughter. It’s no surprise that Jun was named the ‘Best Asian Chef in Scotland’ 2024 by CODE Hospitality, and eating here, not only do you feel like you’re sampling an original innovator at work, but you feel like part of the family too.
The vibe Cosy, intimate dining that’s not afraid to experiment with flavour
The food Asian-Italian fusion dishes on a menu packed full of pleasant surprises
The drink A fine selection of low-intervention, natural wines.
Time Out tip: Ask for a chef’s selection of the menu to taste smaller portions of a curated line-up of dishes.
Address: 27 Scinness Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1NX
Opening times: Wednesday and Thursday 12noon to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 12noon to 10pm, Sunday 11.30am to 3.30pm