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Photograph: Stephen Robinson

Five of the best restaurants for meat-eaters in Edinburgh

Our pick of Edinburgh's best restaurants for marvellous meat, from burgers and barbecues to steak and loins of lamb

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Are you a traditional beef lover? A pulled pork fanatic? Or just a meat-eater whatever the meat? However you like it, Edinburgh restaurants have got you covered. From the very best burgers and serious steaks to sublime Sunday roasts and beautiful bacon for breakfast or brunch, your meat-eating needs will be met. There’s also something appealingly sociable about many of the latest food trends that take meat to their heart. It's all about quality produce cooked well and served in lively settings. We've put together our top-ten pick of the Edinburgh restaurants doing just that - and doing it very well indeed. 

Edinburgh restaurants for meat-eaters

Diner 7
  • Restaurants
Burgers in this pretension-free, friendly Leith diner come piled high with pineapple and jalapeno salsa, fried onions, garlic butter, bacon, blue cheese and a bunch of other toppings – but they don’t come fast. The six or twelve ouncers here are the real deal and take about 20 minutes to cook from scratch.
  • Restaurants
Edinburgh’s renowned chef Martin Wishart opened this upmarket brasserie in the New Town in 2011. The à la carte grill section promises grass-fed beef, dry-aged for 28 to 36 days: chateaubriand for two, fillet, picanha, rib, rib-eye or sirloin. There is also a select-breeds choice, plus chicken, lamb and pork.
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The Southern
  • Bars and pubs

The choice of 20 or so handmade gourmet burgers here (all around £10 each) nicely complements the same number of beer pumps, should you fancy a little mix and match. The burn from the Chilli Death beefburger is easily extinguished by a crisp pint of William’s Caesar Augustus, for example, while the refined Chicken Italienne burger is a great match for Tempest Brewery’s fruity Long White Cloud.

  • Restaurants
  • Seafood
Without making a fuss the way other local boutiques de boeuf might, Wildfire ensures its steaks are all aged for a minimum of 21 days and sourced from the Scottish Borders. Fillet, rib-eye or sirloin can all be transformed into surf and turf with the addition of king prawns sautéed in garlic butter. Sauces and sides are far from expensive.
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  • Bars and pubs
The perfect Sunday retreat – they mix a fine Bloody Mary, they have a stack of board games, and they do a good roast too. (A 21-day aged beef, Shropshire chicken or Norfolk pork with crackling, or cashew, walnut and cheddar nut roast for vegetarians.) The curved window seats in the front part are excellent suntraps, or there are long benches at the back.
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