(Bloomberg) -- When you wake up at the 100 Princes Street hotel, there’s no question of what city you’re in. The walls are upholstered with handmade tartan, and the views open on Edinburgh Castle and its hilltop perch.
It’s a good time to be proudly Scottish: Edinburgh is celebrating its 900th birthday in 2024, and after a few years of exciting openings, the city is brimming with interesting restaurants, hotels and drinking establishments.
Data from national tourism board VisitScotland says 2023 was the country’s best year ever for international visitors, welcoming 4 million people. Chase Travel cardmember spending indicates that 2025 will continue the upward trend for the city, with bookings to Edinburgh already 20% higher than 2024 at this point.
Carolyn Addison, head of product at luxury travel outfit Black Tomato, says Edinburgh is definitely trending now, with bookings more than doubling from 2023 to 2024. She notes that in the past few years, it’s been increasingly easy to get there, too. “More flights directly into the city also means it’s very easy to skip London entirely for clients who want to maximize their time in Scotland and have been to London many times.”
In 2024, JetBlue launched its first route into Edinburgh, and United and Delta have increased their US-based services—including direct Delta flights from Atlanta. Many of those American travelers hopping on flights are high-spenders: VisitScotland’s data indicates that visitors from the US will spend an average of £1,500 ($1,900), whereas tourists from the UK spend around £250 each.
As the tourism industry booms, historic buildings are being repurposed and benefiting from the hospitality gold rush. Take the Gleneagles Townhouse, a city outpost of the famed resort in Auchterarder, Scotland. It used to be a Bank of Scotland branch before becoming a swanky 33-room hotel and members club. It was busy even on a Monday in late November, as people sipped drinks at the rooftop bar overlooking the manicured St. Andrew Square.
The new 222-room Virgin Edinburgh, on the colorful, Instagram-famous Victoria Street in historic Old Town, occupies a mishmash of former buildings, including what was once a city registry office. A bellhop might tell you his parents got married there.
Steven Fyfe, director of hotel capital markets at real estate company Savills, says hospitality companies are taking over spaces that, until recently, were used as retail and office space.
“Hoteliers were jumping on these opportunities even pre-Covid, as occupancy and room rates have been trending upwards,” he says.
Fyfe points to Jenners, also on Princes Street: It’s a grand Renaissance revival building that used to be Edinburgh’s oldest department store, and now it, too, is being turned into a hotel.
Likewise, the food and drink offerings are getting more competitive in a city where the dining scene was historically a joke and most cocktail descriptions invariably included the word “whisky.”
“With tourism continuing to boom in Edinburgh, hospitality has been highly competitive and dynamic,” says Joseph Radford, owner of the new destination restaurant Montrose and the Michelin-starred Timberyard. “Whether it’s casual or high end, the scene is evolving every month.”
One of the city’s most famous chefs, Stuart Ralston, whose restaurant empire includes Aizle and Tipo, points to the increasing popularity of Scottish ingredients and the talent he sees in kitchens. “I’ve really noticed the effect of certain chefs who have come back from working abroad and bring diverse skills, flavors, etc., that they’ve learnt. There is also a lot of homegrown talents in the Edinburgh dining scene.”
Alex Palumbo, co-owner of destination Italian lounge Hey Palu in Old Town, agrees. “The Edinburgh food and drink scene has become so fantastic because a small, independent bar or restaurant can thrive here, bringing something different to the city.” He adds, “It also helps that the quality of the produce is outstanding, from fish to meat to whisky.”
Ewan Grant moved back to his native Scotland this autumn after six years in the village of Kingham in the Cotswolds, where he was at the Wild Rabbit, a country-chic Daylesford property, to become the new general manager of the Gleneagles Townhouse. “There’s a real breakaway from the chain restaurants now and a real focus on what we know are the right things to do in terms of sustainability and seasonality,” says Grant. “Sometimes in the past, that felt like lip service, but there’s a real movement now.”
Here’s a guide to the best of the exciting new Edinburgh.
Where to Eat: What’s New
Montrose Set in a building that (appropriately) looks like a mini castle, Montrose has a ground-floor wine bar with a list of small plates like gildas and chicken liver parfait. Upstairs in the intimate, timber-framed dining room, the five-course, £80 menu from Jimmy Murray and Moray Lamb goes all in on UK ingredients with dishes such as cured sea trout mixed with green tomatoes in a pepper-spiked broth. The Borders pheasant is glazed with cherry and mustard and—diners are warned—might contain buckshot. The monumental wine list covers all of Europe; if you’re going big, literally, there’s the option of a jeroboam of 2015 Jacques Maillet pinot noir for £320.
ArdfernThe newest spot from local hero Roberta Hall-McCarron, who also runs the Little Chartroom next door, is a Leith neighborhood café that’s dedicated to food that goes well with a wide-ranging wine list. Crispy hash-brown cakes are topped with sauteed mushrooms; thick, pancake-like crumpets are smothered with crab curry. Prices start at £4 for starters and go up to £20 for bigger dishes. The list of by-the-glass wines extends from Meunier Champagne (£10.5) to Joseph Swan Russian River pinot noir (£16).
LannanA trip to Darcie Maher’s bakery Lannan, where the specialty is laminated pastries including croissants, takes planning; It’s only open Thursday through Sunday, and it’s best to get there close to 8 a.m. when the doors unlock. (There are reports of hourlong lines.) But it’s been a sensation since it opened in the summer of 2023. Among her specialties are a crème brûlée danish with a browned golden custard center as well as rotating sausage rolls that might highlight pork and peach.
TipoBehind an unassuming storefront, a flight of stairs leads you up to the light and airy dining room where Ralston slings inventive small plates in this Italian-centered spot. The focus is fresh pasta, like a tender short rib raviolo with kale and shallot (£18), but don’t miss the savory fried dough zeppole, with pecorino cheese. The cocktail list is a treat, too, with local options like a fermented bramble with white rum for £12.
The Best Tried-and-True Spots
Panda & SonsDownstairs from a red-fronted barber shop and behind a faux-looking bookcase, you’ll find Iain McPherson’s energetic multiroom speakeasy, ranked 30th on the latest World’s 50 Best Bars list. The boundary-pushing drinks, about £15 each, might include the whisky-based Birdcage, served under a bell jar with a cloud of cinnamon-clove smoke waiting to escape (the bartenders say that once one person orders it, the whole room will, too). This winter the Frozen Delights section includes Baltic Bru, a mix of Buckfast wine, peach ice cream, Campari and the bright orange Scottish soda Irn Bru.
PomeloWhen he opened his dynamic Chinese restaurant in 2021, chef Jun Au was cooking in a minuscule space; now he has a little more room on a friendly neighborhood street, south of the city’s tourist-packed Old Town. At lunch there’s the option of just a few dishes including hand-ripped noodles with a choice of pork or vegetables and garlic chile or peanut sauce. And then there’s the gloriously crispy fried chicken sandwich, with kimchi and sesame slaw for £12. At night you’ll find mapo tofu and a platter of lechon pork belly with Sichuan peppercorn liver sauce, for £23.
The PalmerstonThere’s no better place to sit down with a pastry and a coffee than this sunny corner spot in a former Royal Bank of Scotland building; the hard choices to be make range from pain au chocolat to sugar-crusted kouign amann and a classic croissant. At dinner the place transitions to restaurant mode, with a Mediterranean-styled menu and starters like lemony brandade with a soft-boiled egg. Entrees include rigatoni with black cabbage and Parmesan as well as slow-roasted lamb with barley and green sauce. Prices range from about £20 to £48. Both the wine list and cocktail program are strong.
Hey PaluIn the five years since it opened, this sultry, crimson-lit lounge has become one of the city’s prime drinking destinations. The specialty is Italian drinks (for around £11), and the signature one is a wonderfully fruity white strawberry Negroni made with a local Edinburgh gin. (The drink is so popular that owners Alex and Rachel Palumbo sell handsome bottles of it for the holidays.) Hey Palu has also become known for its amaro selection; there are over 60 including some that are impossible to find outside of Italy.
Where to Stay
100 Princes StreetThis 30-room hotel has the vibes of a private members club, with no obvious signage or large lobby. The walls are decked out in handmade tartan, with moody blues, green and gold accents. The location is ideal for first-time visitors, offering an easy journey to the Scotland National Gallery. It’s also just across from Edinburgh Castle, giving it some of the best views in town. There’s no gym or spa; the hotel feels more like an elegant pied-a-terre, but the well-dressed staff in their greens and tartans can arrange activities like historical walking tours with locals or whisky tasting in the hotel’s private dining room. Rooms from £435
Gleneagles TownhouseThe chic little sister of legendary golf resort Gleneagles, this new hotel and members club is a smart renovation of the grand neoclassical pile. Rooms are decorated with some art deco touches, lots of pastel colors and velvet. Some rooms feature roll-top bathtubs. There’s also a rooftop bar with expansive city views, and in the basement, there’s a spa with a cryotherapy chamber and exercise classes. Rooms from £495
Virgin EdinburghThere isn’t a better location in Old Town, at the top of Victoria Street. It’s a transformation of the former India buildings, known for their Scots Baronial style. But now that it’s a Virgin hotel, there’s a red carpet at the entrance, with a light-up quartz wall that leads to the reception. Don’t miss the rooftop bar or the stylish rotunda area where tea is served in the afternoon. The rooms themselves are highly functional, with Virgin’s signature sliding door separating the sleeping and living areas in every room. Rooms from £300
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