Restaurant in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Michelin-starred Leith: book for a special occasion.
Martin Wishart has held a Michelin Star at its Leith waterfront address since 2001, serving modern French cooking built on Scottish seasonal produce. At £95 (Market Menu) to £145 (six-course tasting menu) per head, it is Edinburgh's most reliable fine dining option for special occasions. Book four to six weeks ahead for weekends; midweek lunch offers the best availability.
At £145 per head for the six-course tasting menu (or £95 for the evening Market Menu), Martin Wishart delivers some of the most assured French-technique cooking in Scotland, built on Scottish seasonal produce and a dining room that takes special occasions seriously. If you are planning a celebration dinner in Edinburgh, this is the benchmark against which other options should be measured. It is not the most adventurous table in the city, but it is among the most reliable at this price point — and reliability matters when the bill is this size.
Martin Wishart has occupied 54 Shore on Leith's regenerated waterfront since 2001, which gives it something few Edinburgh fine dining rooms can claim: over two decades of consistent operation at the leading of the market. The dining room — light wood panels, black leather chairs, discreet lighting, immaculately laid tables , is designed for comfort rather than spectacle. This is a gently civilised space that will suit a milestone birthday or a business dinner as comfortably as a long-planned anniversary. Readers consistently report feeling valued and welcomed here, which at this price point is not a given.
The cooking sits firmly in the modern French tradition, with Scottish produce at its core. Dornoch lamb, Orkney scallops, grouse, Gigha halibut, Borders mallard , the kitchen sources well and lets the ingredients carry the dishes. Technique is classical and precise. Dishes like halibut paired with kohlrabi rémoulade, compressed cucumber and caviar sauce, or mallard with creamed cabbage, braised salsify and Armagnac jus, show a kitchen that understands balance: nothing unnecessary on the plate, nothing undercooked in the thinking. Desserts follow the same logic , a Valrhona chocolate fondant with black cherry sorbet, a honey mousse with lavender and apricot curd , restrained compositions that land well. For diners who want pyrotechnics or theatrical plating, this may feel conservative. For diners who want everything on the plate to be there for a reason, it is close to ideal.
The wine list is a genuine asset. It covers French regional classics alongside selections from lesser-known producing countries, with a strong selection of half bottles and superior pours by the glass , useful when two diners are ordering different menus or want flexibility across courses. Star Wine List awarded it a White Star in January 2025, which is a credible signal of depth. If wine matters to your occasion, factor this in.
Martin Wishart opens Wednesday through Saturday only , lunch at 12PM to 1:30PM, dinner from 6:30PM to 10PM , with Monday, Tuesday and Sunday closed. The 10PM last-order time for dinner is important context: this is not a late-night table. If your plan involves a post-theatre dinner or a late arrival, you will need to be seated by 8PM at the latest to work through the tasting menu at a reasonable pace. For a special occasion dinner, aim for a 7PM reservation to give the evening room to breathe without rushing the final courses.
Booking difficulty is high. With a Michelin Star, a La Liste score of 80 points (2026), and an Opinionated About Dining ranking of #323 in Classical Europe (2025), demand at weekends is consistent. Book at minimum three to four weeks ahead for a Friday or Saturday dinner; six to eight weeks is safer around Edinburgh Festival season (August) or over the December holiday period. Lunch on Wednesday or Thursday is your leading option for shorter lead times, and the £95 Market Menu makes it meaningfully more accessible without sacrificing the kitchen's full range.
Reservations: Essential; book 4-6 weeks ahead for weekend dinners, 8+ weeks around August and December. Budget: £95 per person (Market Menu, evenings) or £145 per person (six-course tasting menu); wine pairing additional. Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, lunch 12PM-1:30PM, dinner 6:30PM-10PM; closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Address: 54 Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RA. Dress: Smart dress expected; this is a formal fine dining room. Groups: Better suited to parties of two to four; larger groups should enquire directly about table configuration. Late night: Last dinner orders at 10PM , not a late-night option; plan accordingly.
Martin Wishart holds a Michelin Star, a La Liste score of 80 points (2026, down from 82 in 2025), and ranks #323 in Opinionated About Dining's Classical Europe list (2025, up from #246 in 2024). The Star Wine List White Star for the wine programme (awarded January 2025) is a further credible signal. Taken together, these credentials confirm a restaurant operating at the leading of the Edinburgh market and within the broader context of serious UK fine dining , comparable in ambition and recognition to venues like Gidleigh Park in Chagford or Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and in the same tier (if a different register) as CORE by Clare Smyth in London or The Ledbury. For context on the international tier, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, and Rutz in Berlin represent the ceiling above it.
Service has been flagged by some readers as occasionally lacking its usual attentiveness. It is worth naming because at £145 per head, service execution is part of what you are paying for. On most visits this appears not to be a consistent issue , the dominant reader experience is of feeling genuinely welcomed , but it is an occasional variable to be aware of, particularly if your occasion depends on seamless front-of-house timing.
For more options across the city, see our full Edinburgh restaurants guide, Edinburgh hotels guide, Edinburgh bars guide, Edinburgh wineries guide, and Edinburgh experiences guide. For nearby fine dining, Ardfern is worth considering.
Lunch is the smarter booking for most diners. The same kitchen, the same produce-led French cooking, but at a lower price point and with easier availability , Wednesday and Thursday lunches are your leading chance of a shorter lead time. If the full six-course tasting menu is the goal, dinner is the right call, but at £95 for the evening Market Menu versus £145 for the tasting menu, lunch offers strong value. For a first visit or a business lunch, the midday sitting is the one to target.
The kitchen's strengths are in Scottish seafood and game, treated with classical French technique. Gigha halibut, Orkney scallops, grouse, and Borders mallard represent the produce the kitchen knows leading and sources most carefully. On the dessert side, the Valrhona chocolate fondant with black cherry sorbet has been singled out by multiple reviewers as a standout. The tasting menu is the most coherent way to experience the full range of what the kitchen does , picking à la carte risks missing the sequences where the cooking lands most effectively.
Martin Wishart works leading for parties of two to four. The dining room is designed around an intimate, civilised atmosphere, and larger groups can disrupt the pacing and service flow at a table of this calibre. If you have a party of six or more, contact the restaurant directly to discuss table configuration , there is no publicly confirmed private dining room in the available data, so do not assume that option exists without confirming. For a group celebration in Edinburgh at this price tier, The Kitchin may offer more flexibility.
Four to six weeks minimum for a weekend dinner; three weeks can work for a midweek lunch slot. During Edinburgh Festival (August) or the December holiday period, eight weeks ahead is the safer target. With a Michelin Star and a consistently high La Liste ranking, weekend tables fill fast and do not open up last-minute with any regularity. If your date is fixed and the occasion matters, book the moment you know you want to go.
At £145 for the six-course tasting menu, yes , if classical French technique applied to Scottish produce is the kind of cooking you want. The kitchen delivers on its promises without flash or over-ambition, the wine list is genuinely strong (Star Wine List White Star, 2025), and the room is calibrated for an occasion rather than a trend. The £95 Market Menu in the evenings makes the value case even more clearly. Where it may disappoint is if you want avant-garde creativity or boundary-pushing format , for that, Condita or AVERY are better fits.
It is one of Edinburgh's most dependable choices for a celebration dinner. The dining room is formal without being stiff, the service is attentive on most visits, and the cooking is consistent enough to deliver on a high-stakes evening. The Leith waterfront setting adds character without requiring effort. For a milestone birthday, anniversary, or a significant business dinner where quality matters more than novelty, book here. If you want something more experimental for a celebration, Timberyard takes a different approach at the same price tier.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Wishart | ££££ | Hard | — |
| The Kitchin | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Timberyard | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| AVERY | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Condita | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Dulse | ££ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Lunch is the more accessible entry point: the same kitchen, shorter service window, and typically easier to book than weekend dinners. Dinner adds the evening Market Menu at £95 per person or the six-course tasting menu at £145, giving you more format choice. If budget is a factor, a weekday lunch lets you experience a Michelin-starred kitchen at lower risk. For a full occasion, the evening tasting menu is the stronger case.
The six-course tasting menu at £145 per person is the format the kitchen is built around, pairing Scottish seasonal produce with classical French technique. Seafood from Scottish waters has drawn particular praise from reviewers, with dishes like Gigha halibut cited as highlights. If you want flexibility on price, the evening Market Menu at £95 is the alternative. The wine list is noted for its depth, with strong by-the-glass and half-bottle selections.
The restaurant operates as a small fine dining room, so larger groups should check the venue's official channels well in advance to discuss availability and seating. Martin Wishart opens Wednesday through Saturday only, which limits the scheduling window. For groups of six or more, lead time of 8+ weeks is advisable, especially around August and December.
Book 4–6 weeks ahead for weekend dinners under normal conditions, and 8+ weeks around August (Festival season) and December. The restaurant operates only four days a week — Wednesday through Saturday — which tightens availability considerably compared with most Edinburgh fine dining options. Weekday lunch slots are the easiest to secure on shorter notice.
At £145 for the six-course tasting menu, Martin Wishart holds a Michelin Star and ranks in La Liste's top restaurants (80 points, 2026), which puts it in credentialed company at that price point. The cooking draws consistent praise for marrying Scottish produce with French technique without excess flourish. The one recurring caveat is service, flagged by some reviewers as occasionally below the standard expected at this price. If service execution matters as much as food to you, factor that in before booking.
Yes — a London-based reviewer in the venue's award notes described it as a go-to for special occasions over several years, citing the service and presentation. The dining room is described as a calm, well-appointed space: light wood panels, black leather chairs, discreet lighting, and properly laid tables. At £95–£145 per head, it sits at the top of Edinburgh's fine dining tier, and the Michelin Star gives it the occasion-appropriate credential. Just be aware that service has drawn some criticism, so it is worth noting this is not universally consistent.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
