Best Restaurant in Scotland

Opened in 2023, Stuart Ralston’s flagship restaurant is within the space that was once home to the late Paul Kitching’s influential 21212. He has big shoes to fill, then, but is more than qualified for the job with a CV that includes working for Gordon Ramsay in New York and leading the kitchen at L’Acajou, the signature restaurant at Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados.

The Glenrothes-born chef is already a familiar face on Edinburgh’s restaurant scene having launched his debut solo restaurant Aizle in 2014 and followed up with the more casual but still fairly high-end Noto and Tipo. 

The 28-cover Lyla is billed by Ralston as ‘unapologetically fine dining’ and the chef’s focus (he now cooks there exclusively). The experience begins in a stylish upstairs bar featuring a Krug-branded champagne trolley, a large lighting installation, and meat and fish ageing fridges stocked with house-made charcuterie and top-tier local seafood including whole halibut and plaice.

The main restaurant space below has been completely redesigned. It’s calm and elegant, with crisp white tablecloths, grey velvet chairs, and dramatic lighting cast by wall sconces. The kitchen is now almost fully open to the dining room, adding to the sense of theatre.

Lyla is not a fish restaurant per se but is fish-focused, with the majority of the tasting menu built around seafood. With just 10 tables, Ralston delivers beautifully composed dishes that showcase his technique while letting the ingredients shine.