5 Great Edinburgh Restaurants On or Near the Royal Mile

When we traveled to Edinburgh, we were on the lookout for great restaurants, but also restaurants that were close to where we were staying on the Royal Mile.  We discovered five delicious Edinburgh restaurants on or near the Royal Mile, some through research and some just by happenstance.  They ran the gamut from fine-dining, Michelin-rated restaurants to casual eateries.  All had fantastic food and are worth a visit.

Wedgwood the Restaurant

Wedgwood the Restaurant is a Michelin-rated Edinburgh restaurant located right on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.  The Michelin rating is not Wedgwood’s only accolade.  It has also received the STLN Wine Award, been listed in the Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants, and received the Thistle Awards Hospitality Hero 2015.

Wedgwood the Restaurant is family-owned.  Paul Wedgwood is co-owner and head chef and Lisa Wedgwood is co-owner and restaurant manager.  Wedgwood the Restaurant is the result of a dream to open a fine dining restaurant in informal surroundings with exceptional service and using the best of Scotland’s ingredients, the makings for a perfect night out.

Our meal consisted of hogget, which is two-year old lamb, sea trout, and beef carpaccio.  We were amused by the asterisk next to the pigeon item, stating that the pigeon my contain shot.  This was not the last time we saw this note on a Scottish menu and I was lucky enough to receive some shot with my pigeon at a different meal.

Ondine Restaurant

Ondine Restaurant is another Michelin-rated Edinburgh restaurant just off of the Royal Mile.  Ondine is everything seafood, calling itself a “proper seafood restaurant.”  Ondine is a fine-dining restaurant, but also a place where you can roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty while diving into platters of succulent seafood.  Ondine also provides views of Old Town Edinburgh through panoramic windows.

Kim’s Mini Meals

Kim’s Mini Meals is the farthest from the Royal Mile of these five Edinburgh restaurants, about a 10-minute walk and near the University of Edinburgh.  Family-owned Kim’s Mini Meals is also Michelin-rated and is the perfect restaurant for if you want something a little different, as Kim’s Mini Meals serves Korean food.  Kim’s Mini Meals doesn’t take reservations, so don’t be surprised if there is a long line outside the door as the restaurant is also quite small.  However, the wait really wasn’t that bad and the food was definitely worth it.

Every meal starts with free side dishes and soup.  We also had pajeon, a pancake of eggs, flour, spring onion, and seafood, and dolsot galbi, marinated pork ribs in a hot stone pot.

Cannonball Restaurant & Bar

Cannonball Restaurant & Bar is an Edinburgh restaurant right on the Royal Mile and is a very convenient place to enjoy lunch after visiting Edinburgh Castle and before imbibing Scotch whisky at the Scotch Whisky Experience.

Related: 20 Fun Things to Do in Edinburgh in 3 Days

The Contini family has run restaurants in Edinburgh since 1919.  The Cannonball Restaurant & Bar is their newest restaurant which opened in 2014 right next door to Edinburgh Castle.  Cannonball serves upscale Scottish food with options like Scottish oysters, a house salad with seasonal greens and roasted local vegetables, haggis cannonballs, and local smoked salmon.

City Restaurant

If you’re traveling in the United Kingdom, you kind of have to get fish and chips.  When getting a ride from the Edinburgh airport to our hotel, we asked our taxi driver for recommendations near our hotel on the Royal Mile, the Radisson Blu.  He told us that one of his favorite fish and chips spots in Edinburgh was City Restaurant, which also happened to be only a six minute walk away.

City Restaurant is a casual restaurant that not only has fish and chips take-away, but also seating for dining in and some local beer.  City Restaurant also stays open until midnight, which made it the perfect place to have a quick dinner after arriving on our late flight.

City Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Fish and chips can be haddock, cod, or sea bass, and they even offer gluten free battered haddock.  There are also other fried seafood options like breaded scampi, tempura tiger prawns, and calamari rings.

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Hurry to See Anza-Borrego Wildflowers Before They’re Gone!

Field of desert sunflowers along Henderson Canyon Road.

I’ve lived in San Diego my entire life and I grew up going to the desert, including Anza-Borrego State Park, multiple times every year.  I do not ever remember seeing the Anza-Borrego wildflowers in bloom like they are this year.  I vaguely remember hiking with my mom and keeping our eyes peeled for the occasional desert bloom.  But this year, because of the insanely above-average rain we’ve received in Southern California, the desert wildflowers are out in full force in Anza-Borrego.  In fact, they’re saying this may be the biggest super bloom in 20 years.

Desert wildflowers along Anza-Borrego's Peg Leg Road.

If you’re in Southern California, you’ll want to get out to Anza-Borrego as soon as possible to see the fields of desert wildflowers, because they’re not going to last very long.  The delicate flowers will only last as long as the sun, wind, and caterpillars will allow.

Barrel Cactus in bloom.

Bigelow's monkeyflower.

Brown-eyed evening primrose.

Blooming creosote bush.

Desert chicory.

Desert dandelion.

We visited Anza-Borrego on Sunday, March 12, 2017.  We were worried it would be incredibly crowded as it was the weekend, plus we got a late start thanks to daylight savings time.  However, while there were more people than I’ve ever seen in Anza-Borrego, there was always plenty of space to park, even in the more popular spots, so don’t let the thought of weekend crowds scare you if you have to work during the week.  It was crazy how many people were out with their cameras.  We decided we haven’t seen that many cameras in one place, even in the touristiest places in Europe.

Desert lily.

Desert sunflower.

Dune evening primrose.

Ocotillo.

Popcorn flower.

Sand verbena.

Using a map on the DesertUSA website, we chose to search for the Anza-Borrego wildflowers along Henderson Canyon Road and Peg Leg Road.  We also found some good wildflowers that were a little bit different along Yaqui Pass Road.  The desert wildflowers we found included purple sand verbena, yellow desert sunflower, white desert lily, desert dandelion, brown-eyed evening primrose, dune evening primrose, popcorn flower, Bigelow’s monkeyflower, desert chicory, barrel cactus, ocotillo, and creosote. 

Wildflower eating caterpillar.

This size of super bloom of desert wildflowers doesn’t happen every year, so if you get the chance, take a drive to Anza-Borrego as soon as possible.

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