Channings

Edinburgh is so compact that you don’t have to travel far from the centre to feel as if you’re half a world away – so it goes at Channings Hotel, which is not even a mile north-west of Princes Street. Friendly & discreet, its modern-style basement restaurant was long regarded by non-residents as a pleasant option for dinner or a special weekend lunch for four (three courses & two bottles of wine, £74.95). The hotel changed hands at the end of 2010, so the kitchen is having to re-build its reputation anew. An all-day menu promises a range of easy plates (risotto, pasta, salads, burgers, nachos), while the more ambitious dinner offering could bring roast beetroot with haloumi, sweet pepper purée & smoked paprika/polenta croûtons followed by venison with braised red cabbage, fondant potato & chocolate jus, with a serving of cranachan parfait with raspberry compote and almond biscotti for dessert.