Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023: The best restaurants near 9 popular show venues

Find out where your show is, then work out where to eat

Pickering's Gin's Cocktail and Cheese at Summerhall

We can’t help that culture makes us hungry.

Every Edinburgh Festival, we end up sleeping a lot less, and eating and drinking more.

If you’re booked into a show, here are a few of our suggestions for restaurants, cafes and bars that are near a random selection of the most popular venues.

Tipo in Edinburgh

ASSEMBLY GEORGE SQUARE GARDENS

There are so many street food vendors squished into this space and its surrounding cobbled streets. If these are hoaching, retreat and get a table at Korean restaurant Kim’s Mini Meals (5 Buccleuch Street, Instagram @kimsminimeals), which is just three minutes walk away from the venue, according to Google Maps. On the Meadows, there’s also Scandi cafe Soderberg (27 Simpson Loan, www.soderberg.uk), for cinnamon buns and pistachio mazarins. Round the back of this cafe, you’ll find their little ice-cream shop, which is perfect when there are queues at gelato vendors Alandas (1 Forrest Road, www.alandas.co.uk). Soderberg also serve pizzas in their pavilion on nearby Lister Square, and are neighbours to Butta Burger (www.buttaburger.co.uk) and Malaysian restaurant, Nanyang (www.nanyangrestaurant.com), where dishes include pandan chicken and wonton soup.

www.assemblyfestival.com

TRAVERSE THEATRE

Gleneagles Townhouse brunch at The Spence

Off to see The Grand Old Opera House Hotel by Isobel McArthur or Adults by Kieran Hurley? Afterwards, you could hang out in the theatre’s own bar cafe, since it’s always buzzy at this time of year. Alternatively, it’s a couple of minutes walk for a heavily-iced cake at nearby cafe, Love Crumbs (155 West Port, www.lovecrumbs.co.uk), or the freshly Michelin-starred restaurant, Timberyard (10 Lady Lawson Street, www.timberyard.co). Even closer to the venue, you’ll find Thai street food at Ting Thai Caravan (55-57 Lothian Road, www.tingthai-caravan.com), newbie Bombay cafe, Chaakoo (117 Lothian Road, www.chaakoo.co.uk). Don’t forget the Japanese restaurant, Kanpai (www.kanpaisushiedinburgh.co.uk), at 8-9 Grindlay Street. Also, another theatre, The Lyceum, just round the corner from the Traverse, also has its own new pop-up cafe, Stage Right (www.lyceum.org.uk).

10 Cambridge Street, www.traverse.co.uk

ASSEMBLY @ MURRAYFIELD ICE RINK

We’ve heard good things about the immersive circus experience, IMA, that takes place at this venue. We imagine that a nearby restaurant, Dine (8 Murrayfield Place, www.murrayfield.scot), is going to be booking up fast.

HOUSE OF OZ

You’ll spot this venue, which celebrates all things Australian, by the giant inflatable Skywalker Gibbon - an artwork by Lisa Roet - that clings to the outside of the building. Indoors, they serve Daisy Green coffee and lamingtons, as well as serving a menu created by young Aussie chef, Michael Bagnall. If they’re at capacity, right across the road, you’ll also find one of our favourite dumpling spots, Sister Bao (32 South Clerk Street, www.sisterbao.com), and, up the street a bit, at 101 Newington Road, there are excellent cakes, including cardamom brioche buns, at 101 Bakery (www.101bakery.com) and imaginative small plates at new restaurant, Junk (58 South Clerk Street, www.wearejunk.co.uk).

41a South Clerk Street, www.houseofoz.co.uk

THE STAND

You’re in the perfect location for visiting St James Quarter, where you’ll find Bonnie & Wild (www.bonnieandwildmarket.com), who have just launched a new breakfast club, every weekend from 8.30am until 11.30am. Or you could try the shopping quarter’s East Asian resident Ka Pao (www.ka-pao.com). This comedy club is also just two minutes from Broughton Street, where you’ll find Lucky Yu (53-55 Broughton Street, www.luckyyu.co.uk) and gastropub, The Ox (49-51 London Street, www.theoxedinburgh.com), or head to the new Edinburgh Street Food by the Omni Centre for quick and casual grub from the likes of Bundits.

5 York Place, www.thestand.co.uk

UNDERBELLY’S CIRCUS HUB ON THE MEADOWS

You’re in the ideal spot to experience pizza creators and Scottish Street Food Awards 2023 finalist, Wanderers Kneaded, who are parked at Meadow Place. There’s also nearby Argyle Place, which is home to cafe and roastery Argyle Place (Instagram @argyleplace) and chef’s table restaurant, Argile (www.argilerestaurant.co.uk).

www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk

SUMMERHALL

Visiting this former veterinary college can provoke a beastly appetite. They have their own cafe, but one of their on-site residents, Pickering's Gin (www.pickeringsgin.com), also does a Cocktail and Cheese experience for £52pp, see their website for dates. It involves a look round their distillery, then a triple gin cocktail and IJ Mellis cheese matching experience up in their boardroom.

www.summerhall.co.uk

THE HUB

Sharpen your elbows, as it’s hoaching on the Royal Mile. At least there are plenty of potential pit-stops, starting with the ever-reliable Contini Cannonball (356 Castlehill, www.contini.com). Take a slight deviation away from the Royal Mile, to visit seafood restaurant Ondine (2 George IV Bridge, www.ondinerestaurant.com) or, further down, Moo Pie Gelato (26 St Mary’s Street, Instagram @moopiegelato). Back on the main thoroughfare, there’s the stalwart Wedgwood (267 Canongate, www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.com), tooth-bothering 74-year old The Fudge H ouse (197 Canongate, www.thefudgehouse.co.uk) the new-kid-on-the-block The Black Grape (240 Canongate, www.theblackgrape.co.uk) and Santu (126 Canongate, www.santucoffee.com) for some of the best coffee in town.

www.eif.co.uk

ASSEMBLY GEORGE STREET

Dodge the chains and re-caffeinate at two basement-level coffee stops on this street - Low Down (40 George Street, www.lowdown.coffee), or Wellington (33a George Street). As far as restaurants go, you’re not far from newbie Tipo (110 Hanover Street, www.tipoedinburgh.co.uk), or their sister venues, Aizle (38 Charlotte Square, www.aizle.co.uk) and Noto (47a Thistle Street, www.notoedinburgh.co.uk). There are also crowd-pleasers, Dishoom (3a St Andrew Square, www.dishoom.com), Hawksmoor (23 West Register Street, www.hawksmoor.com), Indian street food chain, Mowgli (20 Hanover Street, www.mowglistreetfood.com), The Spence at Gleneagles Townhouse (39 St Andrew Square, www.gleneagles.com), where they’ve just launched a mega brunch on the last weekend of every month, or the Gallic classic, Cafe St Honore (34 Thistle Street North, www.cafesthonore.com). You’ve also got plenty of indie bars nearby, including Bramble (16a Queen Street, www.bramblebar.co.uk).