Restaurant in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Serious small plates, ££ price, Michelin-backed.
Skua is a candlelit basement in Edinburgh's Stockbridge with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024, 2025) and a ££ price tag — which makes it the clearest value-per-credential option in the city. The seasonal small-plates menu is tightly composed, the natural wine list is genuinely curated, and the intimate counter seating makes it as good for solo diners as it is for pairs.
Yes, and it earns that answer on two fronts: a Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, and a price point at ££ that makes it one of the most credentialed-per-pound options in the city. If you want serious, seasonal small plates without a four-figure bill, Skua is the clearest recommendation in Edinburgh right now.
Skua sits in a basement on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge, reached down steep stone steps. The room commits to a particular mood: black walls, marble tables, banquette seating, candlelit throughout, with an ambient soundtrack that reads as late-night drinking den rather than formal dining room. Chef Tomás Gormley, previously one half of the team behind eòrna and the Heron in Leith, runs the kitchen here. Chef Alejandro Aguirre is also credited in the kitchen. The format is a pared-back menu of small sharing plates, composed around seasonal British ingredients and disciplined in execution: nothing on the plate that doesn't need to be there.
The natural and rare wine list is curated by Heron's bar manager, Seoridh Fraser. A selection is available by the glass, with daily specials written on a blackboard. The cocktail list puts a bespoke spin on classics, so the drinks programme earns its place alongside the food rather than operating as an afterthought.
Skua's cooking is seasonal and ingredient-led, which means the menu shifts, but the approach doesn't. Dishes arrive as small plates designed to share, with flavour the clear priority over architectural plating. Michelin's own description of the cooking notes that dishes are "pleasingly free of superfluous elements, allowing their central components to shine" — which is an accurate summary of the kitchen's philosophy.
Verified dishes from the Michelin record give a clear picture of the register. A shallot preparation with fermented spruce, fig, cobnut and béarnaise delivers a plate-scraping sharpness: the caramelised onion balanced against mustard-laced sauce and fresh fruit. Belhaven lobster arrives as smoked crustacean meat on a dark squid-ink crumpet, butter-rich and textured. A halibut dish — billed simply as halibut , involves chicken butter, sea radish, tender leeks and bonfire-smoked potatoes: technically plain-looking, technically precise. For dessert, a single chocolate creation with a retro caramel register involves cracking a crisp casing over crushed biscuits to release white chocolate mousse with spiced apple and pickled ginger. One dessert, but calibrated to leave an impression.
The basement format and the room's layout mean the atmosphere at Skua is close and communal in a way that a larger dining room wouldn't replicate. The candlelit, dark-walled setting creates a genuinely intimate experience at any seat, but the bar and counter positions here put you closest to the action of a small, focused operation. For solo diners or pairs who want to watch the drinks programme in action and make decisions off the blackboard, counter or bar seating is the way to sit. The blackboard of natural wine specials with intriguingly described daily entries is leading navigated from a position where you can ask questions easily. Skua's room is small enough that there's no bad seat, but the counter seats are where the Bib Gourmand experience feels most direct.
Skua works leading for food-forward diners who want a serious small-plates meal at a price that doesn't require a special occasion. The ££ price range, combined with back-to-back Michelin recognition, makes it the right answer for anyone asking where to eat well in Edinburgh without committing to the higher spend of a ££££ room. It also works well for solo diners and pairs , the intimate basement format and bar seating options suit small parties. Larger groups should consider whether the room's compact size works for them before booking.
For context on Edinburgh dining more broadly, see our full Edinburgh restaurants guide. If you're planning around a stay, our Edinburgh hotels guide covers where to sleep, and the bars guide covers where to drink afterwards. Skua fits naturally into an Edinburgh night that also takes in venues like eleanore, Spry, or The Little Chartroom across the week.
For Modern British cooking at this standard elsewhere in the UK, the reference points are places like L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, or hide and fox in Saltwood , though Skua operates at a significantly different price tier than most of those. Hand and Flowers in Marlow is the closest British analogue in terms of Bib Gourmand-level ambition at a mid-range price. If you're visiting Edinburgh specifically for a higher-end one-off meal, CORE by Clare Smyth or The Fat Duck represent the ceiling of the British dining category , but Skua is not trying to be that, and is more useful for it.
Skua is at 49 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh EH3 5AH, in the Stockbridge neighbourhood. Price range is ££, making it mid-range for Edinburgh. Booking is rated Easy. The Google rating is 4.6 from 161 reviews. Hours, phone, and specific booking method are not confirmed in our data , check directly with the venue. Nearby options for a full evening include The Broughton and eòrna. For experiences and activities to build around a Skua visit, see our Edinburgh experiences guide and Edinburgh wineries guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skua | Modern British | ££ | This tiny basement operation in the suburb of Stockbridge comes with dark, moody décor and impressive cooking from the get-go. The menu of rustic sharing plates pushes flavour-packed British ingredients to the fore and the dishes are pleasingly free of superfluous elements, allowing their central components to shine. A carefully curated list includes a selection of natural wines, with those available by the glass listed on the blackboard. Cheery, well-organised service adds to the experience.; Tomás Gormley (one half of the duo behind Heron in Leith) is now at the helm of Skua – a bijou basement eatery down steep stone steps on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge. Flickering candlelit interiors, black walls, marble tables, banquette seating and a hip, ambient soundtrack give the place a late-night drinking den vibe, while the pared-back menu is a carefully curated selection of small plates inspired by the seasons. 'Shallot' with fermented spruce, fig, cobnut and béarnaise has an exciting, plate-scraping sharpness, the caramelised onion balanced with the mustard-laced sauce and sweet chunks of fresh fruit. Pretty-as-a-picture Belhaven lobster, meanwhile, arrives as a butter-smeared mound of smoked crustacean meat teetering atop a dark squid-ink crumpet. It's mouth-coatingly rich – if a little claggy. However, the showstopper is a dish that looks almost boringly plain but turns out to be simplicity elevated to another level. Billed simply as ‘halibut', it's an exquisite creation involving chicken butter, sea radish and tender leeks, plus 'bonfire smoky' potatoes and sensationally seasoned greens. There's just one dessert, but one is all you need when it’s a Willy Wonka-esque chocolate creation with a retro 'Caramac' twang. Cracking the crisp casing on its bed of crushed biscuits releases a white chocolate mousse with spiced apple at its centre, a disc of pickled ginger gel adding another spicy kick. The drinks list is equally innovative with a handful of signature cocktails putting a bespoke spin on the classics. Alternatively, there’s a decent selection of natural and rare wines curated by Heron’s bar manager, Seoridh Fraser – check out the blackboard scrawled with intriguingly described daily specials. Named after a predatory seabird, Skua might have started life as Heron's little sister, but in terms of culinary prowess and wow-factor it's a thrilling prospect in its own right.; Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Martin Wishart | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| The Kitchin | Modern British, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Timberyard | Modern British - Nordic, Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| AVERY | Creative | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Condita | Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Skua measures up.
Yes. The basement room has banquette seating and a close, communal atmosphere that works well for solo diners. The small-plates format means you can eat lightly or work through several dishes without the format penalising a table of one. At ££, it's also low-risk for a solo meal.
Skua is a small basement space on St Stephen Street, so large groups are not its format. It suits pairs and tables of up to four comfortably. If you're planning a group of six or more, check availability directly — the room's capacity makes it better suited to intimate dinners than party bookings.
The room has black walls, marble tables, candlelight, and a hip ambient soundtrack — think relaxed but deliberate. Smart casual fits the tone: you won't feel out of place in jeans, but arrive looking like you mean it. A Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen in a late-night den format doesn't require dressing up.
It's a small basement reached down steep stone steps on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge — easy to miss if you're not looking for it. The menu is seasonal small plates, so it shifts regularly, and the natural wine selection is listed on a blackboard rather than a fixed list. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024 and 2025) make it one of the stronger value plays in Edinburgh at ££.
The venue includes banquette seating and a close, communal layout in a basement format. Whether standalone bar eating is available is not confirmed in current information — check the venue's official channels before banking on it. The drinks programme, including signature cocktails and a curated natural wine list, is a genuine draw in its own right.
The menu is ingredient-led and seasonal, with dishes built around specific components like lobster, halibut, and shallot preparations. For specific dietary requirements, contact Skua directly before booking — the pared-back, product-focused style means substitutions may be limited on some dishes.
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