Time Out’s best restaurant in Edinburgh, Lyla, is about to expand into a fancy boutique hotel.
Time Out’s Chiara Wilkinson said she was left ‘speechless’ by the Scottish resto, which has a focus on sustainably caught seafood and foraged goods. Soon guests will be able to stretch out their stay at the Michelin-starred restaurant for as long as they please, as it will become a hotel in the new year.
Opened in 2023, Lyla currently has four rooms above its restaurant in the Georgian townhouse where it resides. From February 2026 Lyla will have even more rooms, as it has just acquired the rest of the building. The Lyla rooms will take over the former 21212 hotel rooms, which closed in 2023.
To be restored by Glasgow based interior architects Scarinish Studio, the new rooms will mirror Lyla restaurant’s Scottish leanings and calm nature. They will allow the natural structure of the townhouse to come through, with lofty ceilings and detailed cornicing, large sash windows and light washed oak chevron flooring.
Inside, all the rooms will be dressed in Scottish designs with fabrics from the Isle of Bute, cushions by Roros Tweed and throws by Hilary Grant lighting pieces by Tom Dixon and Parisian DCW éditions. And the best part – the minibars will be stocked with Lyla’s own batched cocktails, Champagne and caviar, perfect for a wee high-end getaway.
The expansion will also see the introduction of a new private dining room in April, which will feature a sculptural solid oak table and have space for 12 guests. The announcement to expand the hotel comes as chef Stuart Ralston is pursuing his second Michelin star.
Ralson said: ‘This next chapter means we can give guests the fullest expression of Lyla. The expansion of Lyla allows for another layer to offer our guests, this experience is something I have always wanted us to move towards, and is also us moving into a pursuit of a second star, an opportunity to refine every detail and push ourselves further.’
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