Food and drink
in Lothian.

It’s 20:05 in Lothian.

Lothian

Lobster rolls and Lothian beef.

Eating out along the Forth coast and in the countryside round Edinburgh is easy and good. North Berwick alone has a seafood shack on the harbour, a fish and chip shop by the beach, a gelato shop, a bakery and a coffee roastery. In Dunbar, a small restaurant by the harbour cooks local seafood, and near Linlithgow an old family inn has been known for its Scotch beef for forty years. There are village inns at Balerno, a canalside inn at Ratho and a farm restaurant at the foot of the Pentlands. Book ahead for dinner at the weekend, especially in summer.

Place of the day19 hours ago

Bostock Bakery.

An artisan bakery on North Berwick High Street, known for its sourdough and French-style pastries, baked fresh each morning.

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Open now18 hours ago

LothianThe HerringboneRestaurant

LothianThe Bridge InnRestaurant

LothianThe Grey HorseRestaurant

EdinburghThe Ship InnRestaurant

LothianAlandas GelatoRestaurant

LothianNorth Berwick FryRestaurant

Open right now.

At 20:05, by their own hours. Ring ahead before the drive.

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Food and drink18 hours ago

North Berwick Fry.

A busy fish and chip shop and restaurant on Quality Street in North Berwick, a few steps from the beach, open all day into the evening.

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From our guide17 hours ago

The Lobster Shack.

Down on the harbour among the boats, a little grey cabin trimmed in red serves seafood through a hatch, and some people take the train out from Edinburgh just to eat here. The lobster is the star, as half a lobster with chips or a soft roll filled with lobster and crab. There's salt and pepper squid and fish and chips in crisp breadcrumbs too, all served in boxes. Find a spot by the water, with the Bass Rock out at sea and the sands of Milsey Bay alongside.

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From the magazine17 hours ago

Issue 11Autumn / Winter 2025–26

At The Free Company, a farm restaurant in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, chefs now ask for blackcurrant leaves, and Charlie Buchanan-Smith wonders whether it is a food trend.

The farm grows 500 kilos of blackcurrants a year, and Charlie and his brother Angus have planted an orchard of 500 native fruit trees, a mix of apples, plums, quince and damsons. In the polytunnel, long compost beds are a jungle of tomatoes, cucumbers and orange nasturtiums, which the chefs turn into an oil. 'It’s really peppery', says Charlie. The farm is organic and regenerative and never turns the soil, and from livestock manure, vegetable waste, grass cuttings and woodchip it makes around 300 tonnes of compost a year. It all ends up on the plate, from sourdough given a cindery flavour in the courtyard smoker to shaved fennel with nettle salsa verde.

See The Free Company · Lothian

Food and drink16 hours ago

Shrimpwreck.

A seafood shack on the promenade at Portobello, serving shrimp buns, burgers and fries through a hatch to eat by the sea.

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From Issue 6 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 615 hours ago

A Weekend Exploring North Berwick

Stephanie Lothian, who runs a holiday cottage at Williamstone Farm, plans a weekend in North Berwick: cafés, the Ship Inn, Seacliff and Tyninghame beaches and John Muir Country Park.

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From our guide15 hours ago

The Balerno Inn.

On Balerno's Main Street, at the foot of the Pentlands, the Balerno Inn reopened in 2019 after a year of careful restoration, and it's family owned and run. The kitchen cooks hearty dishes with Scottish produce from local suppliers, from Sunday roasts to fish suppers, and there's a proper afternoon tea. The big draw is the garden, a sheltered suntrap with a row of heated timber bothies you can book for a group in any weather. Dogs are welcome in the bar, the garden and the bothies, and there are five rooms upstairs.