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Café Saint Honoré's own gold lettering runs across its blue-painted restaurant frontage.
Edinburgh

Café St Honoré

A candlelit French bistro down a New Town lane, where the chef Neil Forbes cooks with Scottish produce bought from farmers he knows.

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Welcome

Down a cobbled lane in the New Town, gold letters run across a blue-painted front, and through the door is a room that could be in Paris.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

A black-and-white chequerboard floor runs beneath arched windows and mirrored panels, fairy lights glow along the bookshelves, and white-clothed tables are set with candles that flicker in the mirrors.

Wine fills racks from floor to ceiling beside a door marked Privé, an old number board hangs above a table by the lace-curtained window, and the dark-panelled corners are made for long, quiet dinners. The cooking is classic and unfussy, bistro dishes made with what the kitchen can get from Scottish farms, rivers and hills that week. It is wise to book.

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Before you go

A French bistro in a snug, candlelit room; booking ahead is wise.

Where
A cobbled lane in the New Town, off Hanover Street behind Thistle Street.

Opening hours

Book
Monday
noon–2pm, 5pm–9pm
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
noon–2pm, 5pm–9pm
Friday
noon–2pm, 5pm–9pm
Saturday
noon–2pm, 5pm–9pm
Sunday
noon–7.30pm

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

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Did you know

Arched windows and mirrored panels line a restaurant's black-and-white tiled dining room.
Did you know

A chef from a family of chefs.

Neil Forbes, the chef-director, grew up in a family of chefs in Pitlochry, and has run the kitchen here since 2011.

A long table is set for dinner with glasses, cutlery and a lit candle, wine racks lining the wall behind.
Did you know

Cooking on the Royal Scotsman.

In the 1990s he was sous chef aboard the Royal Scotsman, the luxury steam train, and spent winters in the kitchens of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and the Waterside Inn.

Wine bottles fill glass-fronted racks beside a white-clothed table set for dinner.
Did you know

Saturdays at the market.

Every Saturday morning he goes to the Edinburgh Farmers' Market to talk to the farmers, breeders and makers who supply him.

Candles reflect in a mirror above a linen-covered table set in a dark-panelled restaurant corner.
Did you know

Scotland's first organic award.

His use of organic produce won the restaurant Scotland's first Soil Association Organic Restaurant Award.

Bookshelves and fairy lights line an elegant dining room above a black-and-white checkerboard floor.
Did you know

Three stars for sustainability.

The restaurant joined the Sustainable Restaurant Association in 2009 and in 2012 won its highest rating, three stars, for its Slow Food way of working.

Café Saint Honoré's own gold lettering runs across its blue-painted restaurant frontage.
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Where it is

Down a cobbled lane in the New Town, off Hanover Street and Thistle Street.

Close byThe places nearest the bistro, in the New Town.
  1. NotoNotoStuart Ralston's second restaurant, of small plates to share, opened in 2019.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Pan-seared salmon with roast potatoes and tomato salsa, plated among fishing nets and floatsFishers in the CityA seafood restaurant in the New Town.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Lucky Liquor CoLucky Liquor CoA bar from Mike Aikman and Jason Scott, inspired by Europe's café-bars.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Urban Angel CafeUrban Angel CafeAn independent café known for its brunch.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. TipoTipoStuart Ralston's third restaurant, on the first floor of a New Town townhouse.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Dundas HouseDundas HouseA Palladian mansion of 1771 on St Andrew Square, with a dome of glass stars.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Cheese board with brie, cured meats, grapes, pecans, chutney and gherkinsBarsThistle Street BarA step away
French onion soup topped with cheese, a basket of bread and slices of saucisson on a table at Chez Jules on Hanover Street.RestaurantsChez JulesA step away
The dining room at Ottolenghi on George Street, wooden chairs and candlelit tables under walls painted with big orange, red and black shapes.RestaurantsOttolenghiA step away
The basement room at Capetto under Little Capo, with a long banquette, small brass-edged tables and the bar lit warm at the far end.CafeCapetto0.2 miles
The salmon-pink front of Little Capo at 18 Howe Street, its name painted above a big window lined with wine bottles and a black door at the top of the steps.RestaurantsLittle Capo0.2 miles
Bartender pours a dark liqueur over crushed ice onto a cocktail garnished with mint and blackberryRestaurantsBramble Bar0.2 miles
Sandstone gatehouse with cherry blossom and a low hedge behind iron railingsAttractionsThe Gardener's Lodge0.2 miles
Meander Scotland shopfront with window display reading "For your everyday adventuresShoppingMeander0.2 miles
Kay's Bar on Jamaica Street West, a small stone building with red windows, white doors and John Kay lettered above them, on a cobbled lane.BarsKay's Bar0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the bistro, and when each is next free.

A hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Café St Honoré
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Café St Honoré
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Café St Honoré
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from Café St Honoré
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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