From Tyne to Tay

In Edinburgh there's a lot at good prices... Forth Floor at Harvey Nichols is good for the view of the castle and an early coffee, while the cafe in the back of the magnificent Valvona & Crolla does great pizza and pasta all day. However, trying to leave without spending a fortune on cheese, meat and wine in the deli can be tough... The wonderfully over-the-top bar in the Scotsman hotel does pretty decent brasserie food for around a tenner. It's frankly worth it for a drink in the unbelievable room, if nothing else. L'Alba d'Oro just into the New Town is a great chip shop, which also implausibly sells fine champagne and cognac (nudging £1,000 a bottle). Their sage and onion breaded fish is great, and both the squid and scampi are decent. Chop Chop is supposed to do fantastically authentic Chinese dumplings for very little money, though shamefully I've not made it through there yet. (Joanna Blythman reviews it very warmly here.) And then, a little to the north of Edinburgh, is the lovely, relaxed Wee Restaurant that is definitely worth the half an hour-ish drive to get there. The chef has worked at Charlie Trotter's and with Martin Wishart in Edinburgh, but has gone his own way and is producing superb, simplified food in a fantastic setting. Three courses at lunch are about £16, including Saturdays. Booking ahead, however, is absolutely essential.

I'll second all of the above... Jesmond Dene House is very comfortable with solid, polished food, while the Fisherman's Lodge is really quite an exciting place to eat, as it's in the middle of an splendid inner city park, totally isolated from the houses all around it. Prices at both will be around £50 for three courses, and I'd say both are definitely worth it. (JDH got a new head chef this year, so I'd be interested if anyone's eaten there since he took over...) I'd also warmly recommend the Grainger Rooms for some hearty, very seasonal and very local food. Local rare breed meats, masterly cooked bits of offal and a very respectable wine and ale list. Relaxed, good fun, with occasionally over-keen portions! Three courses were around £35 at our last visit.