Edinburgh might be known as the Athens of the North but it is a city unlike any other, at once a major tourist destination, academic hub, world-leading centre for the arts and a capital city brimming with enterprise and politics. Like the dramatic, imposing buildings of Old Town rubbing shoulders harmoniously with the pretty Georgian terraces of the New Town, so too will you find a wonderful balance of the classic and contemporary in the city's best restaurants.

Restaurant Martin Wishart in Leith has enjoyed a long reign as one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh, with the eponymous chef utilising the restaurant's harbour-side location to serve up glorious Scottish seafood dishes. Tom Kitchin, too, has helped to put Edinburgh firmly on the culinary map, with his restaurant, The Kitchin, championing carefully sourced ingredients and polished, passionate cooking.